Pro-Rector: “The decision goes against everything we want to achieve as a university”
The senior management team has decided to convert the English-taught bachelor's degree programme in Cognitive Science into a Danish-language programme, even though the decision "goes against everything we want to achieve as a university", as Pro-Rector Berit Eika puts it. The decision has also drawn criticism from both staff and students.
The senior management team has decided to make the popular Cognitive Science degree programme Danish-taught and cut the number of places on the four other English-taught bachelor’s degree programmes: Economics and Business Administration at Aarhus BSS, and Data Science, Computer Science, and IT Product Development at Natural Sciences.
The reason for this decision is that Aarhus University must reduce the number of English-taught study places from 436 to 272 by the 2027 summer admissions cycle in order to comply with the national cap on international study places at both bachelor's and master's level.
"The decision has been made in an attempt to limit the academic damage as much as possible based on the assessment that the programmes in question have a sufficiently large and well-qualified pool of Danish applicants," the senior management team stated in a news release issued after its meeting in early July, when the decision was made.
One question remains – Why?
At Cognitive Science, both students and staff question the argument that there is a sufficiently large and well-qualified pool of Danish applicants as justification for switching the programme to Danish.
Cognitive Science
Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree programme that examines how the human brain, consciousness, and behaviour work.
The degree programme was popular from the outset, filling all 60 places with students from Denmark and across the world, with an admission cut-off grade of 9.9. Since then, the number of applicants and the admission cut-off grade have increased, peaking in 2025 with 859 applicants for 97 study places.
The degree programme combines neuroscience, psychology, computer science and linguistics. Students learn to investigate human cognition through experiments, brain data, and behavioural data, while building strong competencies in statistics, data analysis, and programming, including the languages R and Python.
Since the degree programme was established in 2015, English has been the language of instruction with the aim of creating a strong international study environment that prepares students for an international job market. The research community surrounding the degree programme similarly has a strong international profile. Source: Bachelor's degree programme in Cognitive Science - Aarhus University
“I was surprised, and I'm actually a little saddened about it,” says Professor and Head of Department for Cognitive Science Joshua Skewes, who helped develop and establish the programme, which first admitted students in 2015.
“We are the kind of programme the government wants to promote, and at the same time we attract strong, highly qualified international students, whom the government also wants more of,” says Joshua Skewes, referring to the political focus on increasing the number of study places in the so-called STEM disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as well as the politically prioritised IT disciplines.
The international dimension is central
According to Joshua Skewes, no one is pleased about the programme switching to Danish, nor does anyone believe it will make things easier. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“Everyone is used to working in English. International staff and lecturers will have to learn Danish much faster, and in the long term the degree programme will lose capacity, as we will be less attractive to researchers from the international academic community," he says, adding:
"Another important consequence may be that several students have said, at least in their opinion piece, that one of the reasons they chose to apply to our degree programme was that it represents a successful integration of Danish and international students."
Joshua Skewes believes that this is why many international students stay in Denmark after they finish their degree. But he also sees clear signs that this is precisely why some Danish students choose to apply to the programme as well.
"The reason for the decision is that there is a sufficiently large pool of Danish applicants. But what if those applicants chose the programme because we have an international study environment,” asks Joshua Skewes.
Students question the decision
The students at Cognitive Science are also questioning the senior management team’s decision, and not least the reasoning behind it. In the opinion piece in Omnibus that Joshua Skewes refers to, a group of current and former students highlights the fact that the university itself wants greater internationalisation and, in 2025, launched three new English-taught degree programmes at the Faculty of Natural Sciences: Data Science, Computer Science and IT Product Development. These new degree programmes will continue as English-language programmes, but will have to reduce enrolment.
OPINION: AU wants international talent – but is closing the door on them at Cognitive Science
“The reaction from those who know the degree programme shows what is at stake. 252 people have signed a petition opposing the decision. More than four out of ten are international students or alumni, and many describe Cognitive Science as the reason they came to Denmark. They choose Denmark, become part of academic and professional communities and often stay here afterwards to work and conduct research," write the group of students behind the opinion piece.
And that was exactly one of the cornerstones of the degree programme when it was established, says Head of Department Joshua Skewes.
“The degree programme has always had a strong international focus. We wanted to create the best possible academic environment, with the best students, teaching staff and researchers from all over the world. It is a degree programme that combines an understanding of people with an understanding of technology, and that is a combination that is in demand among companies, where its international dimension is praised for contributing positively.”
Understands the frustration
Pro-Rector Berit Eika fully understands the frustration within Cognitive Science.
"I completely understand that people are frustrated by the decision to switch Cognitive Science to Danish. I also fully understand the desire to preserve the programme’s strong international study and research environment. This has been a difficult decision and one we have not wanted to make, because it goes against everything we aspire to as a university," says Berit Eika.
To be, or not to be international
2015: When Cognitive Science was launched in 2015, political support for globalisation was also in full swing. Attracting international students was part of Aarhus University's strategy. The programme became AU's fourth English-taught bachelor's degree programme.
2018: Political attention turned towards reducing the number of English-taught study places. AU closed the Marketing and Management Communication programme, and in 2024 Global Management and Manufacturing was converted into a Danish-language programme.
2023: With the Master's Reform (Kandidatreformen), universities were required to reduce overall student intake. Politically, there was a desire for more young people to choose professional or vocationally oriented higher education programmes. At the same time, the political agreement following the Master's Reform meant that universities also had to adapt to a political focus on strengthening the so-called STEM disciplines.
There was also a political recognition that Denmark, particularly within certain areas of information technology, needed international talent. Consequently, the government allowed
universities to establish new English-taught IT programmes in an effort to attract precisely this type of student. Against this backdrop, Aarhus University launched three new English-taught degree programmes in 2025.
At the same time, politicians maintained, through the Master's Reform and subsequent political agreements, that the overall number of English-taught programmes should be reduced.
When the university decided to launch the three new English-taught degree programmes at Natural Sciences in 2023, it did so within the overall quota of English-language places the university was permitted to offer.
"At the time we decided to introduce the three new degree programmes, there was no political distinction between bachelor's and master's places. That meant there was room for the new programmes. Shortly afterwards, and almost like a thief in the night, the differentiation that is now affecting us was introduced," Berit Eika explains.
She does not believe that the senior management team could have foreseen the challenges that have now led to drastic cuts in English-language study places and the conversion of Cognitive Science into a Danish-taught degree programme.
A management decision
The university has been politically instructed to comply with the reduction in English-taught bachelor's degree places.
For an English-language programme such as Cognitive Science, all places are counted as English-taught places regardless of how many international students are enrolled. The university may not discriminate against EU citizens; therefore, admission is determined solely by the admission cut-off grade.
“It is a highly attractive degree programme that also receives a large number of applications from Danish students. Therefore, the assessment is that the programme can continue to maintain a high academic standard even after it is converted to Danish. Up to 50 per cent of the teaching may still be conducted in English,” says Berit Eika.
She acknowledges that this is not the same and regrets that Arts will no longer offer any English-taught bachelor’s programmes.
“Two other faculties are in the same situation and do not offer any English-taught bachelor's degree programmes, even though they would very much like to. Everyone wants to be more international and expand opportunities to strengthen both the study environment and the research environment. As a university, we would also like to do that, but unfortunately it is not possible,” says Berit Eika.
The English-taught Economics and Business Administration programme at Aarhus BSS is also affected by the changes, which in this case will result in the loss of around 60 English-taught places out of 220. All alternatives have been considered, including converting Economics and Business Administration into a Danish-language degree programme.
“Many considerations have been taken into account, including labour market demand. We have also had to consider that the faculty holds a so-called Triple Crown accreditation. This encompasses three international accreditations that place the faculty’s degree programmes, both Danish and English-taught, on a par with programmes offered by other recognized business schools, including Copenhagen Business School (CBS). If we discontinue the English-language programme, we would lose that status, with significant consequences, including for the Danish-language programme,” Berit Eika explains.
Another option was to discontinue the three new degree programmes, but according to the Pro-Rector, this would create a different challenge.
“The English-taught Computer Science programme has one of the highest admission cut-off grades in the country, and students are queuing to gain admission. However, it has not been possible to fill all places on the Danish-language programme. If we close the English-taught programmes, those places would disappear altogether,” says Berit Eika.
Hopes for more STEM study places
The decision on how to comply with the political requirements regarding the number of English-taught bachelor's places was made by the university leadership without involving the individual degree programmes or the students.
"This is a decision for which there is no single right choice, and no choice that everyone could ever agree on. That is why it has to be a management decision," says Berit Eika.
That said, she once again stresses that reducing the number of English-taught bachelor's places goes against the university's wishes.
"As a university, our top priority in discussions with policymakers is to secure more English-taught study places in Aarhus. Preferably, these should be bachelor's places, so that international students stay here for a longer period, have the opportunity to learn the language, become integrated, and develop a desire to remain here," says Berit Eika, who sees opportunities ahead.
"The government wants to create 2,000 new STEM study places. As things stand, it is unlikely that we will be able to recruit enough Danish students to fill those places. I hope there will be an opening for these to be English-taught places as well, and that the definition of STEM will be broadened somewhat, particularly with regard to how IT-related degree programmes are classified," says Berit Eika, concluding:
"If that happens, we will need to revisit our priorities."