Q1. Does Roskilde University have a medical school or hospital?
+A: No. RUC has no clinical medical degree or teaching hospital; its health-sciences programmes are research- and strategy-oriented, not clinical.
As the name suggests, Roskilde University does not have an independent Faculty of Health Sciences like the other universities in Denmark, including Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Southern Denmark University. Rather, the university has four interdisciplinary faculties named Communication and Arts, People and Technology, Science and Environment, and Social Sciences and Business.
The health-related education options within Roskilde University are spread across these four faculties according to the type of focus, whether social, technical or biomedical. So, talking about Roskilde University as a university with a specific medical faculty will be misleading.
The history of the university is linked to this unique structure. Indeed, Roskilde University was founded in 1972 as a response to traditional Danish universities and influenced by the student movements of the late 1960s.
Problem-Oriented Project Learning (PPL), the unique pedagogical concept of the university, still defines the philosophy of teaching. In general, up to half of the ECTS credits of a student are earned through projects instead of lectures.
It means that each student spends one semester working in a group, researching the problems of society under scientific supervision and writing project reports. Even in Basic Studies, students learn using the same interdisciplinary approach to project learning.
There are two distinct programs of health education at Roskilde University: a three-year bachelor's program called Health Promotion and Health Strategies, studying health issues from sociological, psychological, and educational aspects, and the two-year master's program, which is called Molecular Health Science.
The graduates of the former often enroll in Danish-language master's programs like Interdisciplinary Studies or Master in Health Promotion, which are social science-oriented programs.
Molecular Health Science, on the other hand, is an English language program of the Department of Science and Environment. The main disciplines in the program include molecular biology, cell biology and medicine.
Subjects of the program include immunology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, infectious diseases, biotechnology, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, and drug development.
It is important to note that admission to this program requires fluency in Danish at the level of "Danish A" in addition to fluency in English. This requirement tends to be overlooked by international applicants.
Thus, for applicants considering this university among those that offer clinical medicine programs, it is necessary to know that Roskilde University is not intended to prepare doctors.
The programs of Roskilde University are intended for future careers in the field of public health, health promotion, health care management, biomedical research, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and molecular diagnostics. Applicants interested in clinical practice should look for another university.
However, for those interested in health policies, population health, laboratory sciences or biomedical research, the unique PPL approach of Roskilde University may be very attractive. It is quite different from what most Danish universities offer.
Finally, applicants should pay attention to several facts related to Roskilde University. In 2025, the university became under criticism from the government concerning the enrollment of foreign students and family dependents, mostly from Nepal and Bangladesh.
In the opinion of the Danish government, these enrolment strategies contradicted the national immigration goals. Because of this situation, the university introduced some admission requirements in late 2025 and 2026.
Among the direct consequences of the above situation, one can point out the closure of the Master's in Business Administration and Leadership. Nevertheless, the content and structure of Molecular Health Science were not affected by these events.
Therefore, prospective applicants are advised to contact the admissions office of Roskilde University for the information on the latest admission requirements.
Practically speaking, Roskilde University is less noisy and usually more affordable option than the city center of Copenhagen. The main campus of Roskilde, named Trekroner Campus, is about 20 minutes train ride from Copenhagen Central Station.
Student housing at Trekroner usually costs between DKK 3,600 and 6,000 per month, including utilities. It is cheaper compared to Copenhagen.
The tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students in Molecular Health Science are approximately EUR 14,000 per year. Some Danish government scholarships and waivers may be awarded to students.
Moreover, similarly to other Danish universities, the students who acquire a CPR number have access to the free Danish healthcare system, making any private insurance unnecessary during the studies.
