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If you have fallen ill and the disease affects your ability to participate in one or more exams, you have several options.

Guidelines for illness and examinations

You may come across situations that may temporarily affect your ability to be active in your studies:

Work is not considered an extraordinary circumstance and cannot grant you any dispensation.

Problematic family relations, financial difficulties, a difficult housing situation and the like are all conditions that might affect your ability to be active in your studies. At the same time,they are all situations which are not considered as extraordinary circumstances. If your doctor assesses that the conditions affect you so much that you have become ill, it is equated with illness. It requires your doctor to state in a doctor's certificate how the conditions are affecting you.

Individual study plan

If you are delayed in your course of study due to extraordinary circumstances, it is a good idea to make an individual study plan describing how you plan complete your programme. The student counsellors at the Faculty of Science can help you with that.

Under normal conditions, you are allowed three attempts to successfully pass an exam. If you don't pass the ordinary exam, you must register for the re-exam yourself.

Read more about your options if you don't pass an exam.

If you need to downgrade your study intensity for a period of time, you can do so as long as you meet the study activity requirement and the time limit regulations. Only extraordinary circumstances may exempt you from these rules.

Additionally, in certain situations you can be granted a leave of absence from your studies.

Congratulations!

If you wish to take parental leave from your studies, you can either use your right to parental leave dispensations or apply for parental leave.

Read more about your options.

When you resume your studies, it might be a good idea to draw up an individual plan for your remaining course of study. The student counsellors at the Faculty of Science can help you with that.


Is it the right programme for you? Would another programme be better suited in view of your interests? If you have thoughts like these, it may be a good idea to talk to someone and figure out why you are having these doubts.

Feel free to contact the General Study Counselling or the student counsellors at the Faculty of Science if you need to talk to someone about your doubts.


If you aren't thriving in your programme, it may be a good idea to find out why and to talk someone about the challenges you are facing.

Feel free to contact the General Study Counselling, who can help you clarify the causes of your failure to thrive and what you can do yourself to improve your situation.


In order to change programmes, you will most likely have to apply again and start over. If you want to start over on a new programme, it may be a good idea to continue your current programme until you know whether you have been admitted to the new programme. This way, you’ll be sure to remain on your current programme if, for some reason, you are not admitted in the new one.

You must apply for starting credits your new programme, and if the new programme has any courses corresponding to ones that you have already passed in your previous programme, you’ll get starting credits. Getting starting credits means that some or all of the courses that you have passed in your previous programme will be transferred to your new programme. That way you should be able to reduce the completion time on your new programme.


If you are considering terminating your studies prior to finishing your programme, there are a number of circumstances that you need to be aware of.

Read more about study termination.


It is not possible to start over on your programme, and you cannot re-sit an exam that have already passed, for example in order to get a better assessment.

However, you may attend courses again that you have previously failed.

Please also be aware of the time limit regulations and the study activity requirement.


As a Bachelor's student at SDU, you can apply for permission to take up to 30 ECTS of a Master's degree programme, even though you have yet to complete your Bachelor's degree.

Read more about registration for Master's courses without a completed Bachelor's degree.

 

If you have personally been exposed to abusive behaviour and/or discrimination in relation to your studies, you should tell SDU about your experience.

Read more about what to do in case of abusive behaviour or discimination.

Do you need any help?

You are always welcome to contact the student counsellors at the Faculty of Science if things are not going well for you or if you are in doubt about what rules and regulations apply to you and your course of study.

Contact the student counsellors at the Faculty of Science.

Last Updated 10.10.2023