Denmark Graduate Studies: Student Profile

Thomas Madsen enjoys the academic atmosphere of Denmark's Aarhus University, and the student parties "aren’t half bad either", he tells TopUniversities.com.

Studying for a master's degree in social sciences, Danish student Thomas Madsen says he chose Aarhus University because of the unique opportunities to combine his two main interests – business administration and psychology.

“The attraction was basically to be able to combine management with the more intra-psychological knowledge of the people in an organization,” he says. “This will provide me with a foundation for a human relations oriented career.”

Attractive place to study

Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark. Situated in the center of the country, Aarhus is also the main port, and with a marina, beaches and forest surrounding the city, it’s also an attractive place for students to come and study.

“Aarhus is a wonderful city,” says Thomas. “There is always something to do. There are excellent music venues, for example Train and Voxhall, with all kinds of different types of music. And the university is highly acknowledged, which provides me with great future career possibilities.”

Thomas has learned a lot during his time as a student. “At least that’s what I feel!” he says. He completed his bachelor’s degree and has continued on to graduate study because, “a bachelor’s degree in itself doesn’t open many doors in Denmark.”

“The type of study I have chosen is not particularly specific, but it provides me with a methodological and systematic way of thinking, which is going to help me very much in the future, when I’m going to face complex problems,” Thomas says.

Finding part-time work

Financing university study, both at undergraduate and graduate level, can be tough for many students but Thomas has been able to manage with a public education grant and a part-time job at the university.

His advice to other candidates searching for funding is to look for a combination of the two. “It’s basically about prioritizing your time in a sensible manner, and then it’s possible to make it work, both with studies and a job. It’s not hard to find a job in Aarhus, but a good idea is probably to look for something related to what you would like to do when you graduate.”

Thomas plans to graduate in 2011 and begin his search for his dream job, working in human resource management in an international company. One thing he wishes he had known before he started studying is how much effort is required to complete a degree, particularly "if you’re not satisfied with being just another graduate and instead want to stand out."

“The amount of reading one has to do is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of university life,” Thomas adds. “It’s not a secret that it requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline if you want to succeed.

“Three of the most enjoyable aspects of university are the possibilities to learn and be taught by some of the leading researchers in the world, the academic atmosphere, which is very inspiring, and the general atmosphere at campus. Obviously the parties are not half bad either!” he says.