I am writing this post as a summary of some questions I usually get from students who are considering coming to pursue a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree at Aarhus University. I hope people can benefit from it, and get some answers to the questions we have all asked ourselves when thinking about moving to another country to study. I will keep updating it when I come up with new things that I consider relevant.
Everything written here is my opinion and/or experiences, and I will try to avoid writing about facts that can be easily checked with a quick internet check.
The city itself
Let’s start talking about the city. Coming from a 5 years of Bachelor in Madrid, I didn’t feel like moving to another big city, so I only considered medium size (less than 500k inhabitants) cities. Aarhus is the right size for me, a city you can cross in a 30 min ride.
But it is also a vibrant city. Thanks to the university, a lot of young people choose to live here (the average age is 26 wtf!). It is also due to the university that there is a hectic international vibe. There are plenty of events for internationals, there is always something to do during the weekend.
Regarding transport, there is a very punctual and frequent public transport system. Nevertheless, people usually move around with their bikes since there is a dense and and well preserved network of bike paths. Also, getting a bike is quite cheap. You can get them from 500dkk (~60 eur) in the second hand market or you can rent them from 140 dkk (~20 euro) a month.
Sports
Based on my experience and the people around me, I think doing sports in Aarhus is quite cheap, even when compared with Spain. I am a member of a judo club and a climbing association, and the sum costs me around 6k dkk(~800 euro) a year. You will usually also have a gym at your dorm or if you prefer open spaces, there are a lot of parks and green areas where you can let go some steam by either running or going to the calisthenics zone.
Healthcare
It is universal and free, which means you don’t have to pay and you get everything you need(nice!), except for stuff like dentists or physiotherapy sessions. Anyway, I had to make use of it and the experience was smooth and as nice as it could have been. They took care of me and I felt safe all the way, which I think is important when you are in a foreign country.
SU and working
Basically, if you are an EU citizen and work for at least 10/12 hours a week, you get a grant from the state of 4k dkk (~600 euros), after taxes, every month. There are some rules around it, but that is basically it. HUGE perk in my opinion.
Of course, you still need to get a job for it. I think landing a studies-relevant student part time job is not difficult, if you are a CS student. Otherwise it is not so easy, take it into account. After the first six months, all my CS fellow international friends were able to get a job.
Housing
Unlike in other places in Europe, getting an apartment here is quite easy and cheap. I got mine 2 months before arriving here, through the university website. I share a kitchen with other students, but I have my own bathroom and bedroom(with furniture). You can pay from 300 to 500, depending on your preferences.
Here is the link to the place where I live, I think the gallery represents quite faithfully how the rooms are.
Life
I also get questioned a lot regarding how easy it is to meet people. As I said, there is a solid portion of the students who are international and easy to approach since they also are new and want to make new friends. I would reccommend attending the events promoted from the International Office, since it is an easy way to meet new people.
But I think most people meet their group of friends either at their dorm, at class or by joining some sports club. Those are also the best ways to start to make some danish friends, outside these eviroments I would say it is more difficult to approach the locals.
There is a concept, which I think is common accross Denmark, that is the Friday bar. Basically, every Friday, each department has a bar that is organized by students with usually very cheap prices. It is where students usually meet for a beer, or two, or three…
Depending of what you like, there is a Friday bar for you. Computer Science is known for being quite chill and as a good starter of the night, whereas Medicine or BSS are more like a proper night club.
The university
The teaching style depends on the classes but it usually consists of a mix of theoretical classes and then exercise classes where you apply what you learnt in class. Depending on the subject, you might get assignments or projects, team projects are a constant throughout the master, it is a very popular format.
Most of the exams are oral, which was a new format for me. It usually consists of a presentation and some afterwards questions. It may seem intimidating, but you get used to it and nowadays I actually prefer it.