If you have completed an education, parts of an education or perhaps just passed a single subject, you must apply to have the subject(s) included as part of your new education. It's called merit.
This also applies if you have passed an exam that is not part of your current education, but which you believe could replace a subject in your education.
It is the Study Board on your upcoming study at SDU that decides whether you can be granted credit. If you wish to apply for credit, you are advised to seek guidance from the student advisor.
It is not possible to apply for credit for the Master’s thesis, cf. Executive Order on Education § 54(2): "An academic postgraduate project or a Master's thesis may not be credited to another academic postgraduate programme or Master's degree programme if the project or thesis already forms the basis for a designation in an academic postgraduate programme or a Master's programme.”
You apply to the Study Board for credit via SPOC.
In general, you must apply for credit if you have passed an exams in similar subjects at another degree programme, another education or abroad. For example, it could be courses from a nursing education or it could be a semester that you have completed at a foreign university.
However, you cannot get credit for courses from the same programme, e.g. if a course or academic content is repeated in both your central subject and in your supplementary subject. In this case, you must contact the student advisor to hear about your options for exemption and choice of another subject instead.
If you have been admitted to SDU and previously have passed courses from another programme at the same level, you must apply for starting credit.
To get starting credit, you must submit your credit application via SPOC as early as possible in your degree programme. This is because you may be able to get credit for courses in the 1st semester (and thus avoid exams in these subjects) if your credit application is approved.
A credit requires:
- That all information regarding the subject is available to the university.
- You must be able to account for how many ECTS credits the course or courses count for.
- You must also be able to explain the content of the courses and argue why it is relevant to the programme you are applying for/have been admitted to.
When you apply for credit, it will be regularly checked that the documentation you have submitted is correct
If you are considering following a course or a subject alongside your education – i.e. courses or subjects that are not offered as part of your education (e.g. at another university, or at another programme at SDU) and you want this to be included in your education, it is important that you apply for a pre-approval. The application must be sent in advance – i.e. before you begin the course, otherwise you cannot be sure that the course can be included in your education. It is the Study Board that processes the application.
If the Study Board grant you the pre-approval, you must do one of the following:
- In the case of a course at another university, you must contact the university to be enrolled. You can find information about this on the website of the other university.
- In the case of a course at SDU, you must send the pre-approval to the Educational Law & Registration via SPOC. You will then be allowed to follow the course, as what is called an internal guest student, if there are places available and you meet any admission requirements. Students at SDU will receive answers via their student email.
If you wish to take your entire supplementary courses/education at another institution, you must also apply for pre-approval.
If you do not agree with the decision regarding your credits, you have the opportunity to appeal against the decision made by the Study Board. It will be stated in the decision how you are to complain.
If you want to complain about the academic assessment, you must bring the complaint before a Credit Board of Appeal, whereas complaints about legal matters must be brought to the rector of SDU. You will find a guide in the decision from the Study Board.