To apply for admission to this master's degree programme, you must have completed a qualifying bachelor鈥檚 degree or a similar Danish or international degree programme which is assessed to be relevant. Apply for admission via the application portal.
Below, you can read more about admission requirements and which documents to upload in the application portal.
Here you'll find the different academic requirements depending on which qualifying degree you hold.
If you hold one of the degrees listed below and hold documentary proof that you meet any and all language requirements, you are considered to meet all academic admission requirements and have direct access to apply to the master鈥檚 degree programme in Security Risk Management.
In order to be admitted into the Master鈥檚 programme in Security Risk Management, applicants must fulfil the following requirements:
Degrees that do not qualify for admission
The following degrees do not qualify for admission and will not be taken into consideration:
As a rule of thumb a degree in business studies does not qualify. However, applicants whose business degree contains an international, sociological, organizational, political or cultural perspective might be taken into consideration depending on the total amount of ECTS/credits within social sciences.
As a rule of thumb a degree in the humanities does not qualify. These include History, Philosophy, Literature and Cultural studies. However, applicants whose humanities degree contains half or more of ECTS/credits within the social sciences might be taken into consideration.
All applicants must document qualifications on par with the Danish upper secondary school 鈥楨nglish level B'.
The English language requirement must be fulfilled and documented by the application deadline.
If you need to take a language test/exam, your scores must be available to the Faculty by the application deadline. To ensure that your test/exam scores are available to us on time, it is important that you sign up for a test/exam taking place well in advance before the deadline. You should expect 3-4 weeks from the test date until you can make the results available to the Faculty.
If you have already taken an IELTS or TOEFL, remember to check that your test is no older than two years on the date that you commence your studies.
Do I fulfil the English level B requirement?
Read more about it below.
Applicants to the MSc in Security Risk Management must prove that their qualifying Bachelor's degree contains a minimum of 15 ECTS credits in qualitative and/or quantitative research methods within the Social Sciences.
Issues relating to Security Risk Management can be studied from a number of different angles, and it is necessary to be familiar with both qualitative and quantitative ways of collecting and analyzing data when studying and working in the field. It is, thus, a requirement that applicants prove that they have qualifications within qualitative and/or quantitative research methods. This includes both research design and application of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods within the Social Sciences.
The main requirement is that they provide knowledge of the characteristics of the different methods and how to apply the methods to study a given subject area. Moreover, they must document the ability to consider any given study or data set critically on the basis of the applied method of data collection and analysis.
Courses within qualitative and/or quantitative research methods most often consists of one or more of the following:
Each applicant is required to write a short description (approximately 1-2 pages) of how the requirement of 15 ECTS of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods within the social sciences is covered in the qualifying bachelor degree
In order to get a thorough assessment the applicant is encouraged to write specific how the applicant meet this criteria. This is done by using an official course description and at the same time explaining how much the course focused on qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
Some applicants have taken specific courses which covers this criteria. These courses often bear the title of 鈥渜ualitative/quantitative/research methods鈥�, but could also have other titles.
Other applicants have used quantitative and/or qualitative research methods as part of their studies even though they have not taken a specific methodology course. For example as part of a theme-based course or final project during their bachelor degree.
Examples of quantitative research methods within the social sciences:
Examples of qualitative research methods within the social sciences:
Examples of what is not considered as qualitative and/or quantitative research methods in social science:
Application deadline for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 16 January. You will receive a reply by 10 June.
Application deadline for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 15 November. You will receive a reply by 1 May.
Before you apply to the master's degree programme in Security Risk Management, please make sure to acquaint yourself with all the important information on the application procedure, application deadlines and details about how to apply. Select an option below to read more about your application.
As the Master鈥檚 degree programme only admits a limited number of students each year, meeting the admission requirements does not in itself guarantee admission to the programme. Allocation of student places is based on an overall assessment.
If more applicants than the maximum intake allows for fulfill the admission requirements, a selection will be made on the basis of a comprehensive evaluation, with emphasis on the following criteria:
Relevant courses are defined as courses that fall within the general field of security risk management, either theoretically, methodologically and/or empirically.
The programme accepts a maximum of 48 students in September 2025.
Any improved grades are not considered. This is due to the fact that in Denmark it is not possible to improve grades in courses that has already been passed on the Bachelor's degree programme. Thus, if you have been awarded more than one grade in the same course, we will only consider the grade that you were awarded the first time that you passed the course when calculating your grade point average.
All applicants from non-Danish universities must, consequently, upload a complete transcript showing all examination attempts, the date of each examination attempt and the appurtenant exam result. If the applicant is unable to obtain a complete transcript from the home university, a confirmation that the applicant's transcript does not contain improved grades issued by the current home university is required instead.
Random checks of the applicant's basis for admission may also be made to the home university. In the case of admitted students, any fraudulent information in terms of grades may result in the student being deregistered from the degree programme in case of admission without entitlement.
However, any grade awarded on the basis of an appeal against the original grade will be considered. In this case, it must be clearly stated that this is an improved grade as a result of a complaint. Any such grade must be made available to the Faculty no later than the deadline for applications. Otherwise, the grade can only be considered in subsequent application rounds.
Random checks of the validity of international exam results will be carried out.
If you are in doubt about the rules or have questions about your entry qualifications read about who to contact here.
If you already have a master's degree from Denmark or another country, you can, in principle, only be admitted to a new degree programme if there are places available on the programme for which you are applying for admission (the master's degree admission rule).
In exceptional cases, we may grant dispensation from the master鈥檚 degree admission rule. Read more about the master's degree admission rule and the possibility of applying for dispensation here.
| Admission statistics Security Risk Management 2024 | |
|---|---|
| Admitted | 53 |
| Admission distribution (legal right/other) | 0% / 100% |
| Applicants | 253 |
| Age average | 24 |
| Legal gender distribution (cpr. - m/f) | 51% / 49% |
| Nationality (dk/international) | 34% / 66% |
| Available spots | No |
The MSc programme in Security Risk Management is a full-time 2-year programme (120 ECTS), which is completed with a master's thesis. The programme is taught in English.
The first year consists of six compulsory courses and two elective courses. The second year consists of four elective courses and the master's thesis.
The MSc in Security Risk Management is an innovative combination of both research-based teaching and involvement of practitioners and real-life cases that enables graduates to operate and deal with issues of security and risk in complex and changing organizational environments. The teaching is thus comprised by a mix of classroom lectures, guest lectures by practitioners, seminars, student discussions and exercises based on real-life working situations (e.g. policy assessments, crisis communication exercises and compilations of work-life products).
The teaching staff at the MSc programme in Security Risk Management comprises of a wide range of well-renowned researchers within the field of security and risk studies.
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
|---|---|
| Security Studies (7.5 ECTS) | Risk and Uncertainty in a Connected World (7.5 ECTS) |
| Risk Analysis (7.5 ECTS) | Risk Regulation and Governance (7.5 ECTS) |
| Organisation and Risk (7.5 ECTS) | (7.5 ECTS) |
| Knowledge and Methods (7.5 ECTS) | (7.5 ECTS) |
| Semester 3 | Semester 4 |
|---|---|
| (7.5 ECTS) | Master's thesis |
| (7.5 ECTS) | |
| (7.5 ECTS) | |
| (7.5 ECTS) |
Elective courses provide students with the option to choose an orientation within the programme and develop more specific interest and competences.
It is possible to study abroad as part of your MSc in Security Risk Management. Students in the MSc Programme in Security Risk Management are entitled to transfer a maximum of 30 ECTS credits from another educational institution in Denmark or abroad. However, courses must correspond to the courses in the MSc programme and you are only allowed to replace optional courses.
Studying abroad has many benefits both professionally and personally: You broaden your intercultural understanding, you are introduced to different study methods, and you obtain new knowledge and new insights.
Why study abroad?
A main objective of studying abroad is to further widen your academic knowledge and network. It is a good idea to seek advice from lecturers and student advisors when planning your studies abroad to find out where to go and how to structure your academic programme. Your lecturers may have academic inputs, international contacts and may be able to provide you with references which can prove useful. If you have a successful study abroad experience academically, you are also more likely to benefit socially and culturally.
Exchange agreements
The University of Copenhagen has an extensive number of exchange agreements with universities world wide. For more information about exchange programmes and partner universities available at the University of Copenhagen, click .
Students at the Security Risk Management programme have the opportunity to replace elective elements with an academic internship corresponding to 15 or 30 ECTS.
The purpose of the academic internship is to enable students to gain knowledge, experience and insights into 鈥榮ecurity risk management in practice鈥�. The aim is that students, by their presence and active participation in performing relevant task(s) in a workplace, become able to apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical context. Internship sites for Security Risk Management students are very diverse, ranging from government agencies, private companies and NGOs involved in security issues. The academic internship is concluded with an academic paper assessed by a supervisor from the department.
The MSc programme, in Security Risk Management is an innovative combination of research-based teaching and involvement of practice and practitioners. The programme thus provides students with a solid theoretical and empirical knowledge about security policy, risk analysis and organisations in a global and changeable world. Students will achieve the analytical tools to understand and analyse complex risk and security issues and developments, as well as the ability to plan and implement strategic processes in organisations and companies. The purpose of the programme is to train graduates, through critical reflection and professional insights, to identify opportunities for change in the complex and risky environments in which they operate and to put these reflections into action.
Upon graduating you will be awarded the academic title Master of Science (MSc) in Security Risk Management (in Danish: cand.soc. i sikkerheds- og risikoledelse). If you click on the button on the right you can read more about what you will be able to as a graduate in Security Risk Management.
The MSc in Security Risk Management provides graduates with an innovative professional profile. This profile entails both a methodological knowledge of risk analysis and an understanding of the international political reality that face organisations and private companies today.
The MSc in Security Risk Management is part of at the University of Copenhagen. The Department of Political Science provides an active academic environment with its about 1700 students and strong and international research in a wide range of areas within political science. In terms of security and risk research the department is one of the leading in the world today having established the research centres Centre for Advanced Security Theory (CAST), (CRIC) and (CMS). Together these three centres both provide research in security theory, risk and peace as well as military solutions to world conflicts. Furthermore, they offer various lectures and workshops in which students can participate. In addition to security and risk, the department also provides strong research in organisation and management as well as researchers specialised in Asia, Europe and Africa.
Being a student in the MSc programme in Security Risk Management is not only an academic experience. The Department of Political Science is situated right in the heart of Copenhagen only a few steps from the city centre. The old buildings of what used to be a hospital set the frame for a vibrant student life with student caf茅s, a very popular weekly Friday bar, various student associations and many other social events. Moreover, the University of Copenhagen has a , which offers all students more than 80 different sporting activities. There are thus plenty of opportunities to meet and socialise with fellow students.
The Faculty of Social Sciences (SAMF) is part of City Campus and is located at the old Municipal Hospital (called Centre for Health and Society, CSS) in central Copenhagen.
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