DROPOUT RATES: Get an overview of how many students complete and drop out of your degree programme
The completion rates of the many degree programmes at Aarhus University vary greatly. Psychology, Medicine, Odontology, Dental Hygiene, and Media Studies are the degree programmes with the highest completion rates, while Russian Studies, China Studies, Japan Studies, German, and Nanoscience have the lowest completion rates.
In this series of articles, Omnibus provides an overview of the dropout rate at AU. The latest dropout and completion figures are from students enrolled in 2019.
When Omnibus last did a similar overview of dropout and completion rates at AU in 2023, the latest data available was from students enrolled in 2017 (the articles are in Danish):
Disclaimer: This text was translated using machine translation / AI and post-edited by Maria Nielsen Pedersen
The Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA) has called it a persistent problem. Student dropout rates have been a longstanding issue at the country’s universities and remain so. EVA's most recent analysis from 2022 of dropout rates in higher education degree programmes revealed that around one in three students admitted to a higher education degree programme in Denmark ends up dropping out.
At Aarhus University, the issue varies depending on the faculty. Health has the lowest dropout rate at AU. In all of its degree programmes, at least 8 out of 10 students complete their studies. AU's other faculties have degree programmes with both high and low completion rates. At Arts, 8 out of 10 media studies students complete their programme, while just over a third complete Russian studies. At Natural Sciences, 4 out of 10 nanoscience students complete their programme, while the highest completion rate at the faculty is in Biology, where less than 7 out of 10 - 67 percent - complete their studies.
Psychology, Medicine, Odontology, Dental Hygiene, and Media Studies are the degree programmes with the highest completion rates, while Russian Studies, China Studies, Japan Studies, German, and Nanoscience have the lowest completion rates.
Get an overview
In the tables below, you can learn more about the dropout rates for your specific degree programme. The lower the completion rate, the higher the dropout rate. The number of students is indicated in parentheses. The figures on the far right are from the 2023 report on dropout rates for students enrolled between 2013-2017. They are included here for comparison. For some of the newer degree programmes, there are no figures from the 2013-2017 period.
The figures come with some caveats, which you can read about at the end of the article. For instance, it's important to note that a change of programme counts as a dropout in the statistics. The figures include students who started a Bachelor's degree programme at AU between 2015-2019, as 2019 is the most recent year where you can expect the student to have completed their Bachelor's degree.
Degree programmes marked with * indicate that the number could increase, as there are still 5-10 active students in the programme.
| Degree programme | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor's degree programmes between 2015-2019 | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor's degree programmes between 2013-2017 |
| Anthropology | 76% (398) | 74% (434) |
| Archaeology | 63% (193) | 61% (103) |
| Philosophy | 57% (311) | 52% (355) |
| History of Ideas | 59% (214) | 56% (255) |
| History | 62% (535) | 60% (593) |
| China Studies | 39% (142) | 50% (144) |
| Japan Studies | 39% (148) | 37% (150) |
| Russian Studies | 34% (122) | 33% (138) |
| Theology* | 45% (305) | 39% (346) |
| Study of Religiom | 55% (254) | 57% (300) |
| Arab and Islamic Studies | 43% (160) | 39% (215) |
| Scandinavian Languages and Literature | 70% (482) | 65% (534) |
| English | 70% (467) | 66% (488) |
| International Business Communication in English (new programme in 2017) | 70% (428) | 64% (136) |
| Spanish and Spanish American Language, Literature and Culture | 47% (148) | 51% (158) |
| International Business Communication in Spanish (new programme in 2017) | 61% (189) | |
| German Language, Literature and Culture | 39% (132) | 36% (151) |
| International Business Communication in German (new programme in 2017) | 56% (164) | |
| Linguistics | 67% (166) | 65% (177) |
| Comparative Literature | 67% (242) | 71% (259) |
| Art History | 64% (256) | 58% (294) |
| Aesthetics and Culture | 73% (171) | 69% (178) |
| Dramaturgy | 65% (213) | 63% (246) |
| Musicology | 73% (202) | 72% (213) |
| Media Studies | 81% (471) | 83% (523) |
| Information Studies | 80% (394) | 74% (354) |
| Digital Design – IT, Aesthetics and Interactive Design | 77% (202) | 72% (205) |
| Cognitive Science | 68% (309) | 62% (188) |
| Education Studies | 68% (887) | 62% (954) |
| Degree programme | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2015-2019 | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2013-2017 |
| Business Administration and Commercial Law | 71% (703) | 66% (751) |
| Law* | 71% (2,064) | 72% (2,186) |
| Political Science | 78% (1,346) | 77% (1,351) |
| Social Science | 56% (165) | 60% (207) |
| Psychology* | 85% (1,060) | 86% (1,035) |
| Marketing and Management Communication (last intake in 2018) | 80% (551) | 78% (599) |
| Economics and Business Administration (HA) | 66% (4,806) | 63% (4,839) |
| Business Administration | 46% (323) | 42% (342) |
| Economics and Management | 58% (808) | 54% (869) |
| Public Policy | 56% (280) | 49% (189) |
| Global Management and Manufacturing, Bachelor of Engineering | 70% (133) | 67% (126) |
| Degree programme | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2015-2019 | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2013-2017 |
| Medicine* | 84% (2,366) | 85% (2,344) |
| Odontology | 82% (385) | 77% (363) |
| Dental Hygiene | 82% (379) | 80% (387) |
| Public Health Science | 78% (264) | 76% (261) |
| Sports Science | 79% (392) | 82% (402) |
| Degree programme | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2015-2019 | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2013-2017 |
| Biology | 67% (608) | 62% (647) |
| Computer Science* | 55% (731) | 48% (725) |
| IT Product Development | 54% (246) | 43% (296) |
| Physics | 53% (462) | 47% (528) |
| Geoscience | 53% (176) | 51% (223) |
| Chemistry | 56% (220) | 54% (265) |
| Medical Chemistry | 48% (194) | 45% (214) |
| Mathematics | 41% (377) | 43% (426) |
| Mathematics-Economics | 40% (384) | 40% (394) |
| Molecular Biology | 61% (393) | 58% (438) |
| Molecular Medicine | 66% (272) | 69% (270) |
| Nanoscience | 39% (222) | 40% (275) |
| Degree programme | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2015-2019 | Completion rates for students enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programmes between 2013-2017 |
| Agrobiology | 55% (200) | 51% (189) |
| Biotechnology (new programme in 2017) | 50% (120) | |
| Chemical Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering | 78% (244) | 72% (218) |
| Biotechnology, Bachelor of Engineering | 68% (272) | 60% (282) |
| Architectural Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering | 45% (612) | 39% (603) |
| Civil and Structural Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering | 69% (882) | 69% (890) |
| Healthcare Technology Engineer, Bachelor of Engineering | 71% (224) | 72% (229) |
| Software Technology, Bachelor of Engineering | 61% (547) | 57% (573) |
| Electrical Power Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering | 64% (340) | 54% (285) |
| Electronics, Bachelor of Engineering | 49% (672) | 45% (687) |
| Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering | 73% (924) | 71% (893) |
FACTS: About the figures
The figures cover AU's Bachelor's degree programmes, including professional Bachelor's degree programmes.
The figures cover students enrolled between 2015 and 2019. The year 2019 is the most recent data available, as some Bachelor's degree programmes take 3.5 or 4 years to complete, and students have the opportunity to delay their programmes by up to a year, depending on their studies. Therefore, students who started in 2019 will have finished by 2024 at the latest.
The years refer to 'Admissions as of 1 October'. This means students who commenced their studies on 1 March and 1 October of the respective year, admitted through the Coordinated Enrolment System, including second round admissions. Note that students who dropped out within the first month are not included in the report. Late registrations are included.
Please note that students who apply and are admitted to another degree programme are counted as dropouts from their original degree programme. This applies even if they stay at AU and complete the other degree programme. In the new degree programme, they will be counted as having completed it.
Degree programmes with fewer than 100 students enrolled between 2015 and 2019 have been excluded to ensure greater robustness in the figures.
The Business Development Engineer programme and the International Business Communication programmes at Aarhus BSS are not included in the table as they have been redesigned.
In the 2019 intake, there are still just under 1 percent active students. Therefore, some of the figures might end up being slightly higher.
Some programmes will not appear on the list as they started after 2019. Others will no longer admit students because they have been discontinued, merged, etc.
Source: AU Student Administration and Services