To apply for admission to this master's degree programme, you must have completed, or expect to complete, a qualifying bachelor鈥檚 degree or a similar Danish or international degree programme which is assessed to be relevant. Apply for admission via the application portal.
Below, you can read more about admission requirements and which documents to upload in the application portal.
Here you'll find the different academic requirements depending on which qualifying degree you hold.
With a Bachelor's degree in
you are granted legal right of admission and guaranteed a place on the Master鈥檚 programme in Biochemistry if you apply in time to begin within 3 years of the completion of your Bachelor鈥檚 degree.
You meet all academic requirements if you hold one of the degrees listed below. Learn about when and how to apply. Note, however, that you still need to document that you meet the programme's language requirements.
If you have a Bachelor鈥檚 degree other than those listed above, you must submit additional documentation along with your application so we can evaluate whether or not you meet the admission requirements. Learn about when and how to apply.
If you have a Bachelor鈥檚 degree, Professional Bachelor's degree or equivalent from Danish or international universities you are qualified for admission if your programme includes the following:
Subject elements in protein chemistry or biophysical chemistry may be counted as either chemistry or biochemistry/molecular biology.
We may also admit applicants who, after an individual academic assessment, are deemed to possess educational qualifications equivalent to those required above.
When we assess whether you meet the admission requirements for the Master's degree program, Danish legislation only allows us to assess your Bachelor's degree. Consequently, you cannot study supplementary courses between Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in order to meet the admission requirements.
If you have passed courses/projects before you complete the qualifying Bachelor's degree, these can be included in the assessment, even though they are not part of the Bachelor's degree program.
You can only get an answer to whether or not your degree meets the admission requirement by applying for admission to the MSc Programme. Only the admission committee can evaluate whether you are qualified or not and they only do this once they have received your application.
You are entitled to 1 pre-assessment for 1 study programme, where, based on an assessment of the documentation you have submitted, we will inform you whether you meet the admission requirements.
This is a service offered by SCIENCE, but it is not a service you have to make use of in order for you to apply for admission.
Unless you have a legal right of admission to the programme you are applying for, you are required to document proficiency in English.
There are two application deadlines for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
The application portal opens on 16 January. You will receive a reply by 10 June.
The application portal opens on 15 August. You will receive a reply by 10 December.
There are two application deadlines for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
The application portal opens on 15 November. You will receive a reply by 1 May.
The application portal opens on 1 July. You will receive a reply by 1 December.
Choose the category below that fits you and read more about how to apply for admission. You will also find information about application deadlines and documentation on the websites.
Bachelor's degree with legal right of admission
Bachelor鈥檚 degree from Denmark
Bachelor鈥檚 degree from Denmark
If the number of qualified applicants to the programme exceeds the number of places available, applicants will be prioritised according to the following criteria:
Relevant courses include courses in metabolism, enzymology, protein science, cell biology, organic chemistry, physical chemistry and documented laboratory experience.
If you have already completed a Master's degree, please check out the rules concerning a second degree.
| Admission statistics Biochemistry 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Admitted | 69 |
| Admission distribution (legal right/other) | 90% / 10% |
| Applicants | 185 |
| Age average | 24 |
| Legal gender distribution (cpr. - m/f) | 28% / 72% |
| Nationality (dk/international) | 87% / 13% |
| Available spots | No |
In the 2-year Biochemistry MSc programme, you have a lot of freedom to compose your study by choosing elective and restricted elective courses according to your academic interests.
Early in your studies, and before selecting a thesis topic, you are required to do a major subject project in which you gain experience in analysing, justifying, and planning a large research project which typically could be your thesis project.
The thesis makes up the entire second year of the programme and equals 60 ECTS. Typically, you work on an independent project which represents a smaller portion of a large on-going research project.
The objective of the thesis is to enable you to independently plan and carry out scientific experiments within your thesis topic and related areas. The thesis is carried out at one of the departments associated with the programme and you will be assigned a supervisor at that department. The thesis may also be carried out externally at another research institution, hospital, or industrial laboratory.
You can use some of your elective courses to do a Project in Practice in collaboration with a company or an organisation. You can also choose to study abroad as part of your programme. Read more here:
The programme can be structured in two different ways, depending on whether you start in September or February:
Course Table, Study Start September
Compulsory courses: 22.5 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 22.5 ECTS
Elective courses: 15 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS
One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.
| Block 1 | Block 2 | Block 3 | Block 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted elective course | Restricted elective course | ||
| Elective course | Elective course | Restricted elective course | |
| Block 1 | Block 2 | Block 3 | Block 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thesis | |||
Course Table, Study Start February
Study start in February is only for students with legal right of admission to the programme. Read about legal right of admission.
Compulsory courses: 22.5 ECTS
Restricted elective courses: 22.5 ECTS
Elective courses: 15 ECTS
Master's thesis: 60 ECTS
One block each year equals nine weeks of study and 15 ECTS. The table is primarily for guidance and may be subject to revision.
| Block 3 | Block 4 | Block 1 | Block 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elective course | Restricted elective course | Principal Subject in Biochemistry | |
| Elective course | Restricted elective course | Restricted elective course | |
| Block 3 | Block 4 | Block 1 | Block 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thesis | |||
Choose your restricted elective courses from the list below. Click on each course for a detailed description.
Learn more about the programme in the
Upon completion of the master鈥檚 programme, you will obtain the title Master of Science in Biochemistry.
Biochemistry is the right choice for you if you want to help make discoveries in basic research or in the pharmaceutical field. As an MSc student, you will work experimentally and theoretically with biochemical and molecular problems within a focus area of your own choice.
Your thesis will be an independent piece of work, often contributing to an existing research project where you will be an integral part of the project's research group.
As an MSc in Biochemistry, you will have an internationally recognised research-based education geared towards research and teaching at the highest level.
You can find employment within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, at universities, institutions of higher education, or at hospital laboratories.
Some candidates find jobs within quality assurance and production or in ministries and departments, such as The Danish Ministry of Environment or The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
You can also continue your research and obtain a PhD in Denmark or abroad.
Pernille is an MSc graduate in Biochemistry and now work as a patent attorney. Please note: The video is subtitled in English 鈥� you can enable captions in the player window.
High quality education in English, a flexible study structure, excellent facilities, an international study environment, attractive and green campus areas, and the opportunity to experience life in Copenhagen, the cool capital of Denmark. These are some of the qualities about studying at Faculty of Science (SCIENCE) at 福利姬 that you can expect.
Throughout the year, various social activities are arranged for all SCIENCE students and for international students specifically. These activities include:
Students live in residence halls outside campus or share a flat in the Copenhagen area. You will find that the relatively small size of Copenhagen makes it easy to get around, even by bike.
The Biochemistry programme is primarily based at North Campus.
The University鈥檚 North Campus is centrally located. It is home to scientific, pharmaceutical and health science research, and neighbour to the Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), Metropolitan University College, and F忙lledparken.
Many exciting building activities are going on at the campus areas at the moment, including the construction of and the Niels Bohr Building. Furthermore, North Campus is part of a coherent district of science, health and interdisciplinarity 鈥� 鈥� which is being developed these years.
You can read more about campus life at the university here:
Here you will find some useful links and videos about student life and housing in Copenhagen, and the welcome programme for international students at Faculty of Science.
Meet Elizabeth and Alex who study at the 福利姬 in Denmark. See what it is like to live and study in Denmark.
The SCIENCE Welcome Programme is a great way for international students to be introduced to the Faculty of Science at the 福利姬.
Read an interview with a student from the Master of Science programme (MSc) in Biochemistry.
It was a natural continuation of my bachelor鈥檚 degree in Biochemistry. After studying Biochemistry for a year, I wondered if I should switch to Chemistry instead. But I decided in favour of Biochemistry, because it allowed me to combine biology and chemistry. I feel this makes it more relevant to society, and therefor more interesting.
We biochemists look at the whole system, and not just at particular molecules, as people often do in chemistry. We look at more complex systems. This is more directly relevant to society, because when you understand the biochemical aspects, you can understand where processes go wrong in the body and help to heal people.
Yes, very much. It was better than I expected. I originally wanted to study medicine 鈥� biochemistry was my second choice. But having found out what biochemistry is, it was the definitely the right thing for me. Patient contact is not me, I have discovered. I don鈥檛 know if I was embarrassed to admit it, but I just knew it wasn鈥檛 what I should be doing.
Many people talk about how they want to make a difference by helping people. So I thought that because I felt differently, I might be being selfish. But many feel the same way. It doesn鈥檛 suit my temperament, and it鈥檚 OK to feel that way. I鈥檝e found my niche.
You have to be very focused and disciplined. The lecturers won鈥檛 notice if you miss classes, as classes are often quite large. So they won鈥檛 come and ask about your absence either.
You are left much more to your own devices, if you don鈥檛 have good classmates who can give you a helping hand. You don鈥檛 get homework like in upper secondary school. You have to work out what to read yourself. The lecturers will hand out a syllabus list, but you have to decide if you want to follow a different textbook or read supplementary material. It takes a lot of self-discipline.
The bachelor鈥檚 programme is tougher than the master鈥檚 programme because there are many compulsory subjects that may not all appeal to you. There鈥檚 a lot of reading to do, a lot of rote learning and several written exams.
On the master鈥檚 programme you get to decide which path you want to take. So you will be working with what you are passionate about all the time. There are more written assignments, and you need to think and reason more.
I think it鈥檚 good. You鈥檙e sometimes very busy and may feel stressed as a student, but I鈥檝e made a point of asking the others how they were going if I suspected they were having a difficult time.
But there are many other great things. The lecturers respect you much more than teachers in upper secondary school. You are treated as an adult, and there鈥檚 a good dialogue. You鈥檙e more like equals 鈥� although, of course, the lecturers have a special knowledge. The lecturers have very extensive experience, which you can draw on in the laboratory.
I found it easy. The first-year tutors were great, and we were encouraged to reach out to them if there was anything we were in doubt about or needed help with. They鈥檝e been good at organising events 鈥� with and without alcohol 鈥� and arranging fun games where you get to make a fool of yourself. It gives everybody something to talk about. That鈥檚 a way to build networks.
As you register for courses, you also meet people from other disciplines and get the chance to build cross-disciplinary networks. I鈥檝e made a lot of friends at university, which I hope will last for many years to come.
I鈥檓 very interested in molecular and cell biology. I would like to work with cellular pathways and receptor signalling. I鈥檒l be starting my master鈥檚 thesis in a private company over the next eighteen months.
I鈥檓 toying with the idea of doing a PhD. Many people do, so the competition for the jobs can be hard. I dream of working in the private sector. In part because of the financing. University researchers have to find their own funding. This is perhaps less of a problem in the private sector.
Mie has since went on to graduate as an MSc in Biochemistry, and to do a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at 福利姬. She now works as Senior Clinical Data Scientist at Novo Nordisk.
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