History
Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is not only Denmark's oldest university, but also one of the oldest in Northern Europe. Its location in the capital city makes the University's development, key people and events part of the history of Denmark.
Education
- The University of Copenhagen is the largest educational institution in Denmark. Together, the six faculties offer over 200 programmes for study in health and medical sciences, humanities, law, science, social sciences, and theology.
- The University aims to prepare students for a broad range of jobs The University aims to prepare students for a broad range of jobs in the private and public sectors.
- Teaching and research are closely integrated in order to achieve this, first and foremost by according them equal importance in the daily work of the academic and scientific staff and whenever possible basing the teaching on research.
Research
The motivational force of the University's research activities is financially and politically independent, i.e. free basic research; however, specific collaborative endeavours with other institutions and companies also have a place among the countless research activities. The dissemination of knowledge and findings to other research environments and the general public is a natural element of the University's research efforts.
University Ranking
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
32
2023
32 7
2022
39
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
97 6
2024
103 11
2023
114
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
100 7
2024
107 -25
2023
82
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
44 -2
2023
42
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Student services
- The University of Copenhagen has a wide range of guidance options available for prospective and current students.
- If you feel you may be suffering from fear, anxiety or depression, have problems with your family, suffer grief or experience problems working together with other students, financial difficulties or other matters which seriously affect your studies, the Student Counselling Service is staffed by psychologists and social workers who are ready to help.
Housing services
The University of Copenhagen Housing Foundation (UCPH Housing Foundation) is an independent entity which assists international students and researchers in finding accommodation in Copenhagen.
Library services
Copenhagen University Library services approximately 5,000 researchers and 39,000 students. We give access to millions of digital and physical journals, articles and books and top-grade environments for studying and learning.
ICT services
As a student or employee at University of Copenhagen you are able to download and install certain software in accordance with the University of Copenhagen generel licence agreements. The agreements and the software you have access to depend on your faculty affiliation.
Campus life
- The University of Copenhagen has four campus areas. As distances in Copenhagen are relatively small, it is easy to get from one campus to the other either by bicycle or public transportation. The campus areas are integrated into the city of Copenhagen and students use the facilities available in the city, adding a lively buzz to the streets and cafés of Copenhagen.
- The University premises range from historic buildings in the medieval city centre to modern buildings being constructed today to develop the campus areas and accommodate state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities.
Sports facilities
KSI is the University’s student sports association (‘forening’), offering more than 70 sports teams with levels ranging from beginners to intermediate, experienced and skilled.
Some examples of sports are:
- Indoors: badminton, basket, yoga, pilates, various dance genres, gymnastics, handball and football.
- Outdoors: running, mountain bike, tennis, hiking, beach volley and parkour.
- Water: kayak, swimming (both indoor swimming pool and open water), and SUP/stand-up paddleboard.