NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

II. Qualifications and diplomas
II.1. Qualifications for admission to higher education
General admission requirements
The general admission requirements for courses at Danish universities and colleges of higher education are the same, i.e. one
of the following four upper secondary school leaving examinations:
general upper secondary examinations:
studentereksamen — upper secondary school leaving examination;
højere forberedelseseksamen (HF) — higher preparatory examin-ation;
vocationally oriented upper secondary examinations:
højere handelseksamen (HHX) — higher commercial examination;
højere teknisk eksamen (HTX) — higher technical examination.
Upper secondary school leaving examination course
The course lasts three years and is offered in two different lines, a linguistic and a mathematics line. The curricula comprise
compulsory core subjects and optional subjects at up to three different levels. Students also have to write a major assignment
on a subject chosen by themselves.
Applicants must have completed 9 or 10 years of basic education, including English from the fourth form and a second
foreign language from the seventh form (German or French). They are admitted to the gymnasium on the basis of a statement,
issued by their previous school, that they are qualified, and the pupil must have passed the leaving examination of the
folkeskole with satisfactory results in Danish and mathematics — applicants for the linguistic line in English and German or
French as well and applicants for the mathematics line in science.
A total of 10 oral and written examinations must be passed for a complete studentereksamen. Up to three may be passed after
the first and second years.
Examinations are conducted in attendance of and under the control of the teacher and an external examiner.
Students are given marks for the year’s work as well as for their achievements in the examinations according to the 13-point
scale (see Appen-dix I). The average of the two sets of marks is the student’s examination result. In order to pass, the student
must have a minimum average of 6.0.
Higher preparatory examination course
The higher preparatory examination course (højere forberedelseseksamen (HF)) is directed at young people and adults. The
examination may be taken as a full examination after a full-time two-year course comprising a nucleus of common core
subjects, three optional subjects and a major written assignment. It may also be taken subject by subject after day or evening
courses, mainly for adults. For admission to a full-time two-year course directly after basic school, students must have completed
10 years of basic education.
A full HF examination requires oral and/or written examination in every subject studied.
Higher commercial examination course