Transferring to MSc programme

Transferring to an MSc programme (transitional semester) and early start of studies

Who can apply for transfer to an MSc programme (transitional semester)?
If you only need to complete 25 ECTS credits or fewer in your BEng/BSc programme at DTU, you can apply to take MSc courses worth up to 30 ECTS credits. It is a prerequisite that you wish to apply for admission to an MSc programme at DTU and meet the admission requirements and academic prerequisites for admission into the MSc programme in question, once you have completed your BEng/BSc programme. You cannot be granted an exemption to take more than a total of 30 ECTS credits, regardless of the number of semesters you follow in the transitional semester. 

Which courses can I take as part of the transitional semester?
The desired MSc courses can be project courses. In that case, you must specify in your application the department that delivers the special course and the number of ECTS credits that the individual special course constitutes.

While you are in a transitional semester
You must take courses or the final project as part of your BEng or BSc programme concurrently with the courses in the transitional semester forming part of the future MSc programme. However, this rule can be waived in special study-related circumstances. Even though you are in a transitional semester, you must comply with the maximum period of study that applies to your BEng or BS programme. Transfer to the MSc programme must therefore not cause an extension of the study period beyond the maximum duration of the programme.

How do you apply for a transitional semester at DTU?
You must file your application via a digital form found at student.dtu.dk under ‘Study rules’ / ‘Transferring to an MSc programme’. The application must be completed and sent from your student email to kandidatopt@adm.dtu.dk. The decision regarding the application will be sent to your student email.

When processing the application, DTU emphasises whether you are deemed to have the academic prerequisites to complete courses on the MSc programme concurrently with completing the BSc/BEng programme.

Deadline for applications:

  • 13-week period in Autumn: 20 September  
  • 3-week period in January: 1 November (only relevant if you are applying for 3-week courses in January during your transition semester)
  • 13- week period in Spring: 20 February  
  • 3-week periods in June, July, and August: 1 May (only relevant if you are applying for 3-week courses in June, July and August during your transition semester)

Students can only apply for one semester at a time. The autumn semester runs from September to and including January, and the spring semester runs from February to and including August. 

If you have already had a transition semester approved with a 13-week course, but later wish to add a 3-week course or a new course in the same semester, you must: 

  • Complete a new application form with the additional courses included and send it to the Study Administration at overgangssemester@dtu.dk. 
  • Follow the regular course registration and withdrawal deadlines (you can find these at student.dtu.dk under Course registration and withdrawal deadlines). 

Can I apply after the deadline?
In special cases, the application deadline may be waived if grades are not reported or are reported late, or if the qualifying programme has not been passed before the application deadline.

If you have taken MSc courses concurrently with completing your BSc/BEng programme, you must still comply with the study activity requirement of the MSc programme you become enrolled in. The number of credit transferred ECTS credits from your transitional semester will not be counted when DTU checks for study activity.

Your maximum study duration on your future MSC programme will be reduced by one semester for each 30 ECTS credits of MSc courses passed under the transitional procedure.

How do you enrol for and withdraw from courses under a transitional procedure?
Course registration under the transitional procedure must be done via the digital application form, which you send when you apply for a transitional semester. If you wish to change your course during the transitional semester or withdraw from courses, you must send a new, updated application form to the Study Administration via your student email at overgangssemester@dtu.dk. 

How do I apply for admission to a master's programme after the transitional procedure?
You must apply for admission to the master's programme with the application deadline when you are about to complete the BEng or BSc programme. Please note that the application deadline may be several months before your graduation. See more about applying for the master's programmes at dtu.dk under 'How to apply for MSc programmes'. 

MSc courses passed under the transitional procedure
MSc courses passed under the transitional procedure will be automatically transferred from the BEng/BSc programme when you are admitted to the MSc programme.

If you choose a different MSc study programme than the one originally planned, only the passed MSc courses that are mandatory for the new study programme will be transferred. You can always request that passed electives be transferred. The same rules then apply when changing the study programme.

MSc courses not passed under the transitional procedure
MSc courses not passed under the transitional procedure are binding to you, cf. the rules on binding courses. That also applies to elective courses if you apply for admission to the same MSc programme that you chose during the transitional procedure. Find more information on student.dtu.dk under 'Study Rules'/'Teaching'/ 'Binding Courses'. Thus, any courses not passed will be transferred from the BEng/BSc programme when you are admitted to the MSc programme.

If you apply to do a different MSc study programme than the one originally planned, your binding registration for a failed course will be cancelled, unless the course is mandatory in the new study programme.

SU on completion of the BEng/BSc programme
The BEng/BSc programme is completed when the grade in the last course/project on the study programme has been registered. That also applies even if the final grade is registered at the midpoint of the semester, and even if the courses in the semester that the transfer of courses concerns are not yet concluded.

When the BEng/BSc programme is completed, you will no longer be entitled to receive SU or a completion loan, as you are no longer enrolled in a study programme, even though you are still following courses in the semester in which the transfer of courses concerns.

Early start of studies at the MSc programme
Once you have passed your qualifying degree to the MSc programme (and passed any supplementary courses), you may apply for an early start of studies. It is possible to take courses from the MSc programme in the 3-week periods leading up to the start of studies. If you start the MSc programme on 1 February, you can, therefore, take a course in January, and if you start the MSc programme on 1 September, you can take courses in July and August.

It is a condition for early study start that you have completed the qualifying degree.

If you want to apply to take courses before the formal start of studies on the MSc programme, you must write from your student email to kandidopt@adm.dtu.dk and state which course(s) you wish to follow with course numbers. The possibility of early start of studies is also evident in your admission letter.

Information about the possibility of receiving the State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme (SU) for early start of studies can be found on student.dtu.dk under 'SU (State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme)'.

How can I register for courses as part of an early start of studies?
When it is approved, you can start your studies early, you will receive an approval in your email. Shortly after approval, you will receive your student number, which means you are now registered as a student at DTU. You must send an email to the Study Administration at studadm@adm.dtu.dk containing the following to be registered for courses for early start of studies:

  • Your name and student number
  • Course number and course title of the course(s) you have specified in your application for early start of studies (course number and title can be found at www.kurser.dtu.dk) 

You cannot register for the course(s) yourself.

How to apply

Rules in my study programme

Go to 'My Programme Specification' to see which study rules apply to your study programme.

Find more information