Fewer students will study sports science and public health science from 2022

A total of 83 Master's degree programmes at Aarhus University have been selected for resizing, because too many of the graduates face unemployment. Among them two of Health's degree programmes. The decision means that fewer students will be admitted to the degree programmes in sports science and public health science in future, both of which are housed at the Department of Public Health. Department head Ole Bækgaard can understand the ministry's decision.

"It's fair enough that we have to resize. As a public institution, we can’t just send our graduates directly into unemployment. We have to take responsibility."

However, he is frustrated that things have come to this and that the details of the process are dragging on.

"This means that we can't be more specific. I want to tell the employees what consequences the resizing of our degree programmes will have. But it's still too early to say,” he says.

Possibly too late to revise the degree programmes

Vice-dean for Education Lise Wogensen Bach agrees.

"I think it’s annoying that we find ourselves in this situation. We have just revised our degree programmes with a view to future-proofing them. But we’re probably too late," she admits, and elaborates:

"Now we need to devote even more time to ensuring that our students get the best possible education. We must maintain interest in the two subjects and then establish closer collaboration with our employer panels. We already have a range of business-oriented initiatives that we need to strengthen and bring into play. For example, the Master’s thesis collaboration, where the students write a Master's thesis together with public and private organisations," she says.

Significantly reduced degree programmes

With the way things look at present, the degree programme resizing will mean that the Department of Public Health will have to gradually reduce admissions to the Master’s degree programme at sports science from 62 in 2021 to 42 in 2025. At the same time, the admission of students to the Master’s degree programme in public health science will be scaled back from 45 in 2021 to 38 in 2025.

It will also be necessary to reduce admission to both Bachelor’s degree programmes because there must be enough places available for the Bachelor’s degree students to exercise their statutory right to continue directly on the Master's part of their degree programme.

We are in dialogue about implementation

Ole Bækgaard is working closely together with Vice-dean Lise Wogensen Bach and Head of Studies Administration Anna Bak Maigaard, among others, on the implementation of the ministry's decision, and AU Studies Administration is engaged in a dialogue with the ministry about this at the central level.

“No decision has been made on the size of the reduction in admissions to the Bachelor's degree programmes, and neither have the financial consequences been calculated yet. However, it’s certain that the department must bear the decline in revenue from educational activities. So even though the cutbacks are gradually phased in over several years, we’re already initiating a process at the department to ensure the sustainability of our degree programmes in the future," says Ole Bækgaard.

Lise Wogensen Bach adds:

"Fortunately, we’ve succeeded in establishing a sensible model for how we implement the degree programme resizing in practice. The model, which covers the whole of AU, ensures that there is a continuing close dialogue between the university and the ministry, and that relevant employees from AU Student Administration and Services and the faculties are involved in the process," says the vice-dean.

Contact

Vice-dean Lise Wogensen
Aarhus University, Health
Mobile: (+45) 25 48 85 22
Email: lwb@au.dk

Department Head Ole Bækgaard
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health
Mobile: (+45) 60 20 26 74
Email: obn@ph.au.dk