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Industrial master

Studerende

Gain professional experience while you study

Would you like to combine a research-based master's degree with relevant professional experience? With a three-year industrial master’s programme at ITU, you can develop your academic skills while working in a company and building experience, networks, and career opportunities.

An industrial master’s programme offers the same academic level and the same 120 ECTS credits as a two-year full-time master's degree. The difference is that you combine your studies with relevant employment, bringing theory and practice closer together.

You will have the opportunity to apply the latest knowledge from your studies to real work tasks, while your professional experience strengthens your learning at the university. This provides a strong foundation for your future career.

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ITU’s model

Industrial master’s programmes at ITU follow a 1+2 model.

The first year consists of full-time study at the university, followed by two years of part-time study while working a minimum of 25 hours per week in a relevant company.

The model allows you to:

  • build professional experience during your studies
  • combine theory and practice in your work
  • receive a salary during the final two years of the programme
  • strengthen your career opportunities after graduation

You can apply for a position at one of ITU’s partner companies or find a company on your own. It is also possible to complete your industrial master’s programme as an entrepreneur employed in your own start-up company. Regardless of which path you choose, the employment must meet the requirements for an industrial master’s programme, which you can read more about below.

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ITU partner companies

At ITU, we collaborate with a group of leading companies and organisations that offer a range of industrial master’s positions to our students.

As an industrial master’s student at one of our partner companies, you will be involved in daily operations and take on professionally relevant responsibilities closely linked to your degree programme.

Our partners represent a variety of sectors within technology, digitalisation, data, business development, and finance, investment, and consultancy. These organisations will give you the opportunity to put your academic knowledge into practice, work on real-world challenges, and develop your skills in a professional and ambitious environment.

ATP
Partner company

ATP

ATP aims to be one of Denmark’s leading IT and digitalisation organisations. As an industrial master student, you will have the opportunity to work with data, AI, and technology at scale, helping to develop solutions that make a difference in the lives of millions of citizens every day. Working alongside some of the country’s most skilled specialists, you will gain close insight into the systems and technologies that help keep the Danish welfare system running.

Deloitte
Partner company

Deloitte

Deloitte Denmark is a professional services firm that works closely with clients to deliver consulting services including innovative solutions within technology and transformation. You will join Deloitte as an Analyst and contribute to delivering business transformations powered by technology in engineering, AI, or data. Together with colleagues, you will leverage new technologies into measurable impact while you learn, grow, and develop.

New master's opportunities

In 2023, the Danish Parliament approved a reform of Danish university education that requires universities to offer new types of master's programmes.

At ITU, the industrial master’s programmes are part of this reform. They are organised as special combination programmes following the 1+2 model, where you study full-time during the first year and combine studies with work during the following two years.

In 2028, ITU also plan to launch the one-year master’s programme Responsible AI worth 75 ECTS credits.

Learn more about the programmes

Industrial master
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Advanced Software Engineering

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Industrial master
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Business Analytics & Artificial Intelligence

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Frequently asked questions

A standard master's degree at ITU is a two-year full-time programme worth 120 ECTS credits.

An industrial master’s programme also comprises 120 ECTS credits but is completed over three years. Here, you combine your studies with relevant employment and gain professional experience throughout the programme.

None of ITU’s bachelor’s programmes grant automatic admission rights to the industrial master’s programmes. This means that no places are reserved in advance, and applicants from outside ITU have the same chances of admission as other applicants.

You gain relevant professional experience and build a professional network while studying. At the same time, you can apply theories, methods, and tools from your courses directly in practice.

Many students find that the close connection between studies and work strengthens both their learning and their career opportunities after graduation.

ITU works with a selection of partner companies that offer industrial master’s positions.

You can also find a company or organisation yourself. In that case, we assess whether the employment is relevant to the programme and meets the requirements for industrial master’s students. We consider factors such as:

  • a description of the work tasks
  • terms of employment and workload (minimum 25 hours per week)
  • the academic content and areas of responsibility

You may also apply if you already have a relevant job. This requires that you and your employer can organise the employment in accordance with the industrial master’s model, with full-time study during the first year and work alongside study during the following two years.

You can also be an entrepreneur while studying. Your business must be relevant to your programme and meet the same requirements as other industrial master’s employments. Contact us to learn how your entrepreneurial activities must be documented.

No. You first apply for admission to the programme.

However, you must have submitted and received approval for an agreement regarding relevant employment before the start of your second year of study. ITU is responsible for approving the agreement.

The employment as an industrial master’s student is a regular position under standard employment conditions, where the work is academically relevant to your degree programme. You become part of the workplace and take on responsibilities, tasks, and collaboration similar to other employees.

At the same time, the work must support your academic development and be closely connected to what you learn in your studies. Therefore, it is not a traditional student job but an integrated part of your master's degree.

As an industrial master’s student at ITU, you must work an average of at least 25 hours per week during your second and third years of study.

The number of hours is calculated as an annual average, meaning there may be periods where you work more or fewer hours.

You may change jobs during the programme as long as the new position is relevant to your studies and meets the minimum weekly working hours requirement.

If you lose your job, you must secure new relevant employment before the start of the next semester. Both you and your employer must inform the university if the employment is terminated, and you must then document your new employment.

If you have not secured a new position before the semester begins, you will transfer to the equivalent full-time master's programme so that you can continue your studies.

Yes. Group work is an integrated part of teaching at ITU, including the industrial master’s programmes.

You will work in groups alongside your employment, and most students find a good balance between study and work.

If you are an EU-EEA citizen, the industrial master’s programmes are publicly funded in the same way as other master's programmes in Denmark.

If you are not an EU/EEA citizen, the standard ITU rules regarding application and tuition fees apply.

During the two years, you study part-time you will receive a salary from your employer.

The salary is negotiated between you and your employer and should reflect your skills, responsibilities, and educational level.

In Denmark, you can only receive Special Educational Support (SPS) if you are a Danish citizen, an EU/EEA citizen, or have the same status as a Danish citizen.

Please note that you can only receive SPS during the first year of an industrial master’s programme and not the second and third year while you are working.

However, you may still apply for special arrangements, for example in connection with examinations.