Flagship programmes get underway

When students on the five programmes – History, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Economics, Sport and Health, and Market and Management Anthropology – begin the new semester, they will also be part of the new flagship programmes at the University of Southern Denmark.

Across the faculties, the five degree programmes are currently developing specific initiatives designed to strengthen students’ academic development, their engagement with the programme and their experience of an active learning environment. The initiatives range from new teaching methods and closer contact with researchers to academic meeting places, mentoring schemes and enhanced feedback.

The five degree programmes have been selected from departments that excel in both research and curriculum development, and represent different subject areas.

The new flagship degree programmes are a key initiative in SDU’s strategy towards 2030. The aim is for SDU to raise the quality of its programmes by experimenting with relatively resource-intensive teaching formats targeted at a smaller number of academically strong students. This provides an opportunity to foster innovation in curriculum development.

Shared ambitions, local solutions

Although the programmes have different areas of focus, several themes recur. They are working to create more active forms of learning, strengthen the integration of research, increase the intensity of study, and develop stronger academic communities.

• History
  In History, the focus includes rethinking first-year courses and creating new ‘signature seminars’, where smaller groups of students have the opportunity to work closely with lecturers actively engaged in research. At the same time, new academic meeting places are being established.
  
  
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  In the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the development work builds on existing experience with, amongst other things, case-based teaching, enhanced feedback and close-knit learning communities. Here, the focus is particularly on retention in the first academic year and progression through the programme.
  
  
• Economics
  The Economics programme is working on, amongst other things, more case-based teaching, integrated study group activities within teaching, study cafés and mentoring schemes. In addition, new examination types are being trialled, along with opportunities to concentrate teaching into four weekly campus days.
  
  
• Sport and Health
  In the Department of Sport and Health, the aim is, amongst other things, to strengthen the academic identity and the intensity of study through more feedback, the integration of research, mentoring programmes, signature events and closer collaboration with external partners.
  
  
• Market and Management Anthropology
  Market and Management Anthropology is focusing on the intensity of study after the first semester. Here, initiatives being trialled include new debate-based teaching formats, modified examination types, academic cafés, greater student involvement in research activities, and strengthened academic communities across year groups.

Development in close collaboration with the academic communities

The individual degree programmes develop their own initiatives based on local needs, challenges and areas of strength. Some measures can be implemented as early as the autumn of 2026, whilst others require changes to the curriculum and are therefore not expected to be implemented until the 2027/2028 academic year.

What they all have in common is that the development work is closely monitored through evaluations of teaching, dialogue with students and ongoing consultation within the academic communities. In addition to the development of the specific degree programmes, the lessons learnt will also contribute to the broader development of SDU’s degree programmes.

This work therefore represents an important step towards degree programmes that combine academic depth, active learning methods, strong communities and close links to research and the wider world to an even greater extent.

Positive reception on social media

SDU Communications reports that the target audience’s interest in SDU’s video adverts on social media prior to the summer holidays has exceeded expectations. The ThruPlay rate for our video adverts in the awareness track stands at 25% overall. This means that, in 25 per cent of the times the videos were shown, the viewer watched them for at least 15 seconds. For the 49-second video, the benchmark is approximately 12 per cent, and for the 28-second video, the benchmark is 22 per cent. We are therefore performing slightly above the benchmark.

23 per cent of visitors to the landing page click through to an education page. This is very good, considering that all information about the signature programmes can be found on the landing page itself, and visitors are not prompted to click through. It can therefore be interpreted as genuine interest when visitors click through to a programme page.

The new students

In 2026, 160 students accepted a place on a signature programme. A key aspect of the concept behind the signature programmes is that they are organised to an ambitious academic standard whilst admitting a limited number of students. The total number of applicants for the signature programmes has risen to 1,293 in 2026 (1,183 in 2025), and combined with the smaller number of places, this means that the admission grade point average for the programmes lies between 7.5 and 8.7.

The programmes will thus attract strong cohorts of students, which will help to support the ambition to deliver programmes of high academic quality, close contact between students and lecturers, and attractive study and learning environments.