Master's Degree Programme
| About the programme Language: English (See language requirements) | Place of study: Aarhus | Commencement: August / September (See if this programme also offers a January/February start for international applicants). |
The two-year MSc programme in Economics gives students an in-depth familiarity with a range of economics and management disciplines. The programme is flexible, as students can specialise in a specific field or a combination of economics and management.
Researchers within the programme work in the fields of finance, macroeconomics, microeconomics, econometrics, and economics of business. The MSc programme allows students to create a personal academic profile within one or across several of these fields. Progress in the chosen courses is closely followed and monitored to ensure the students’ academic development. Each semester, the department offers about 25 elective courses. The broad range of courses allows you to specialize in a particular field of interest and to compose an individual course programme.
The courses are taught on a high level and require that students are interested in and are thoroughly versed in mathematics, econometrics, and economic theory.
Students enrolled in the programme are based at the Department of Economics and Business Economics. The department is renowned for setting high academic standards, and the department engages in close collaboration with many leading international researchers, including Nobel Laureates Dale T. Mortensen (February 2, 1939 – January 9, 2014) and Robert F. Engle. The department’s outstanding research environment includes the Center for Research in Econometric Analysis of Time Series (CREATES), where Nobel laureate Robert F. Engle serves as member of the advisory board.
The academic environment at the department is characterized by international diversity: more than one-third of faculty members and PhD students have an international background. The international atmosphere provides the basis for an enriched and challenging student life.
The department conducts research and teaching in the following fields:
The degree programme allows students to create a personal academic profile within one or across several of these fields. There is a compulsory progression in the chosen courses, which ensures students' academic development. Each semester, the department offers about 25 elective courses. The broad range of courses allows you to specialise in a particular field of interest and to compose an individual course programme.
In this section you can learn more about the admission requirements relevant to the master's degree programme in Economics. Depending on your educational background and your qualifications, there are different ways to meet the admission requirements:
This section is relevant for you, if you have:
The two sections listed below are relevant only for students with a bachelor's degree from a Danish institution:
Below these sections, you can learn more about the English language requirement. You can also find out which ranking criteria we use to assess your application when prioritizing among the submitted applications.
If you have an international educational background, you must meet both the general admission requirement and the specific admission requirements:
You must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent that is comparable to a Danish bachelor's degree in both level and duration (180 ECTS).
For more information about how your bachelor's degree is assessed, please see the national database.
If you meet the general admission requirement, the university will continue on to assess whether or not you meet the specific admission requirements.
You can be admitted to the master's programme if the university assesses that your education has a level, scope, and content that corresponds to the academic requirements specified below.
| Subject area | Number of ECTS |
| Microeconomics | 20 |
| Macroeconomics | 20 |
| Statistics and Econometrics | 20 |
| Accounting, Finance and Investment | 20 |
| Mathematics | 15 |
| Total | 95 |
Certain Professional Bachelor's degrees or similar covering specific subject areas from other Danish institutions have been determined to fullfill the admission requirements to this master's degree programme:
| If you hold a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Aarhus University, you are qualified if you have passed the following electives in your 5th semester: |
One of the following courses:
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Two of the following courses:
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We cannot assess in advance whether your specific degree will meet the above requirements. Therefore, we recommend that you apply for the programme if you believe that you meet the academic requirements. In this regard, it is a good idea to compare your degree with the programmes that provide direct admission.
As of the summer 2027 admission round, a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration with the above mentioned electives will no longer fulfill the admission requirements.
The following bachelor's degree programme(s) from Aarhus University entitles you to an offer of admission to the master's degree programme in Economics:
Please note that the you must apply for admission to the master's degree programme witin three years of completing your bacherlor's degree programme.
Learn more about 'Legal right of admission'
Certain bachelor's degree programmes from Aarhus University and various other Danish Universities have been determined to meet the admission requirements to this master's degree programme in Economics:
If you hold a Bachelor’s degree from a non-Danish university, you must complete the appendix below and upload it to the application portal. The appendix helps the academic assessors with the assessment of your application.
Download appendix
All Master’s degree programmes at Aarhus University have limited intake. This means that you are not guaranteed admission even if you meet the entry requirements. When we prioritize among applicants, we assess your application based on a set of fixed ranking criteria, which you can see below.
If you have a legal right of admission, you are guaranteed a place in the programme and do not need to consider the ranking criteria.
Ranking criteria:
* The relevant subject fields are evaluated based on the following point system: 1 point per additional ECTS within the relevant field. You can earn a maximum of 15 points in this criterion. Example: If you have 25 ECTS in a relevant field where the requirement is 20 ECTS, you will receive 5 points.
In order to be admitted to this programme you must meet the university's English language requirements.
Students with bachelor's degree from Aarhus University with a so-called 'Legal right of admission' are exempt from the English language requirement.
Unfortunately, Aarhus University is not able to assess your qualifications beforehand. In order for your qualifications to be assessed you must apply for admission. To learn more, please go to Assessment of your qualifications.
Here you can finde the academic regulations for the programme
At the Department of Economics and Business Economics, there is close contact between lecturers and students. The department has many study areas and excellent IT facilities. When you need a break from your books, the Economics Association organizes study tours, parties, company visits, etc.
The Department of Economics and Business Economics is located at the AU campus at Fuglesangs Allé, DK-8210 Aarhus V. At the campus you will find all important facilities including the main library, teaching rooms and lecture halls.
The department’s active student environment offers a wide range of both academic and social activities.
You share the canteen with students from other economics' and business administration programmes. Teaching will consist of a combination of lectures and classroom tutorials.
Notice: The actual schedule for a student depends on the specific courses chosen. Most students also use the weekends to prepare for lectures and classes.
Monday
08:00–12:00 Preparation
12:00–14:00 Lecture
14:00–16:00 Lecture
Tuesday
08:00–11:00 Lecture
12:00–14:00 Lecture
14:00–16:00 Preparation
Wednesday
08:00–10:00 Lecture
11:00–13:00 Preparation
13:00–16:00 Work in study group
Thursday
08:00–12:00 Preparation
12:00-16:00 Work in study group
Friday
08:00–10:00 Lecture
10:00-15:00 Work in study group
As a student of economics and management, you are part of an active study environment, which is not just about socio-economic discussions. There is a whole host of clubs and associations, which you can join.
The department’s active student environment offers a wide range of both academic and social activities.
-experienced, photographed and filmed by the students themselves.
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Economics graduates are in very high demand in the job market. Many graduates achieve top executive positions in the corporate world (e.g. financial institutions and consulting firms) or management advisory positions in the public sector (e.g. ministries and local authorities). Graduates of Economics enjoy some of the highest lifetime earnings and lowest unemployment rates among university graduates in Denmark.
Students who are interested in pursuing an academic career may also progress to the PhD programme. There are options for both a three-year programme for students having completed their master degree and a four-year programme, where students are enrolled after having completed the first year of the master programme.
Below you can see the typical job categories and industries that our graduates from the two tracks Economics and Public Policy work in.
The distribution of graduates working in the private and public sectors is as follows:
The distribution of graduates working in the private and public sectors is as follows:
These analyses are based on Aarhus BSS graduates from 2015–2025 and were conducted in 2026. The information reflects the most recent job and industry identified at the time of the analysis. Data were gathered from publicly available sources and interpreted with the assistance of large language models. Although a sample of results was manually verified, the findings may involve incompleteness or classification uncertainty.
