Who can apply to become exchange or guest students?
Students who are enrolled at an art academy, art school or similar institution of education offering fine art classes in Denmark or abroad, may apply to be accepted as exchange or guest students at the Schools of Visual Arts.
Students who do not meet these conditions must apply for admission to the BFA study programme just like all other prospective students.
We accept exchange students and guest students
Exchange students are students who are funded by the Erasmus or KUNO schemes. Exchange agreements can be entered into with any institution that takes part in the Eramus or KUNO scheme.
Guest students come from institutions with which the Schools of Visual Arts has special individual agreements, e.g. Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, The Danish National School of Performing Arts – and the other two academies in Denmark, the Funen Academy and the Jutland Academy.
Exchange and guest students must still be students while studying at the Schools of Visual Arts, meaning that they must not have graduated from their own academy or school prior to the intended exchange study period at the Schools of Visual Arts.
Also, exchange students cannot extend their exchange period beyond the date of their graduation from their home academy/school.
All applications are processed jointly after the deadline for submitting applications has expired. The teachers at the Schools of Visual Arts will assess the applications based on the quality of your portfolio and the overall balance between incoming and outgoing students. Please note, that being nominated by your home instituion is not a guarantee of admission.
Exchange period
Exchange students can apply to study at the Schools of Visual Arts for up to one full academic year. Exchange students are expected to follow the two-semester structure used at the Schools of Visual Arts to the greatest extent possible.
When should you apply?
Exchange and guest students are accepted twice a year. The application deadlines are:
- 1 May at 11:59 (noon) for applications to enrol for the autumn semester or a full academic year (online application portal available from April 1st)
- 1 November at 11:59 (noon) for applications to enrol for the spring semester (online application portal available from October 1st)
The autumn semester runs from 15 September to 31 January the following year. The spring semester runs from 1 February to 30 June.
Application
You can apply to enrol as an exchange or guest students in the weeks prior to the application deadlines stated above. First you must sign up as an applicant in our online application system. Once you have registered ,you can create an application. Please note, that your application is received only after clicking 'send' on the last step in the application form.
It is possible to save the application and later return and edit it. You can edit the application until the deadline - even if you have submitted it. However, every time you edit an already submitted application, be sure to click 'send' again.
Access the application system here: Bachelor's programme or Master's programme
As a prospective applicant you must submit the following documentation:
- A portfolio (pdf file, max 5 pages) and/or max 2 video or sound works or video footage documenting performance works or installations*
- CV
- Nomination (attached as pdf-file)
- Picture of your passport
* If you apply with video or sound works or video footage documenting performance works or installations, please follow the guidelines below:
Insert a five-second “sign” (white typeface against a black background) at the beginning of each video. The sign must state your name, the title of the work, and whether the video features audio. If the video is an excerpt of a longer work, state the original length of the work.
For example: Hans Hansen – ”Title” no sound, original duration: 6 min.
This is to say that each video can have a duration of no more than one minute and five seconds (1 min 5 sec). Please note that videos with no opening “sign” will be rejected upon receipt.
The video must be in the format QuickTime mpeg4/H264 in the size 1920x1080 pixels, and the size of the file must not exceed 100MB.
If you have any questions about the application process, you are welcome to contact the Student Administration at
ECTS credits
Applicants should be aware that the Schools of Visual Arts award 30 ECTS credits for one semester’s study. The 30 ECTS credits are earned for the entire semester as a whole; they are not portioned out among separate activities or courses.
Language requirements
BFA programme: Applicants must be able to read, speak and understand Danish (or Norwegian or Swedish) well enough to follow the teaching and other activities provided in the programme. The programme includes compulsory lessons where all teaching is conducted in Danish. Applicants must also have basic English proficiency.
MFA programme: Applicants must have sufficient fluency in English to communicate with professors, assistant professors and fellow students with ease, but there are no formal requirements for specific exam scores.
Availability at specific schools
Potential exchange and visiting students apply for admission to one program, but since the master program is divided into four professorial schools, you may wish to apply for a specific professor school. Send an email to stating that you wish to apply for admission to a specific professorial school. However, we cannot guarantee that you will be admitted to the school you want.
Fees, living costs, grants, etc.
As an exchange or guest student, you must pay all living costs (including accommodation) yourself.
The Schools of Visual Arts offer no grants, scholarships or student housing, and they cannot assist exchange and guest students on matters of accommodation, personal finances and similar issues.
This means that as an exchange or guest student, you are responsible for ensuring that you have sufficient funds for your stay in Copenhagen before you leave your own country.
Tuition fee – Only for students who are NOT citizens of EU or EEA countries
The Schools of Visual Arts are legally obliged by Executive Order no. 364 of 1. April 2019 on tuition fees for foreign students at higher education programmes in art under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Culture, to charge tuition fees from international students who are not citizens of the EU or EEA.
The study fee is DKK 120,000 for a full year of study, corresponding to DKK 60,000 for the autumn semester (15 September to 31 January) and DKK 60,000 for the spring semester (1 February – 30 June).
Tuition fees must be paid before the semester begins. Tuition fees for a full year can be split into two payments, one for each term. Payment is done as a bank transfer to the Schools of Visual Arts’ bank account.
The Schools of Visual Arts cannot offer subsidies or grants towards covering these tuition fees.
KUNO
The Schools of Visual Arts are members of KUNO; a Nordic-Baltic association of institutes of fine art higher education. For more information about the KUNO scheme, please contact your home institution or go to KUNO's website.
Erasmus
Please contact your home institution (i.e. your own academy/school) for more information about the Erasmus scheme.