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Part-time mas­ter

The part-time mas­ter is a part-time pro­gramme for stu­dents who are work­ing in a rel­ev­ant field of em­ploy­ment at least 25 hours per week at the same time as they are study­ing.

What is a part-time mas­ter?

Study part-time

A part-time master is a full degree you study part time. This means that it will take you 4 years to complete rather than 2. This gives you the flexibility to combine a graduate programme with a relevant job at min. 25 hours a week.

Bridging theory and practice

The part-time master bridges theory and practice. You get the opportunity to connect what you learn at CBS directly with relevant tasks and projects at work. You can contribute with the newest academic knowledge at work, and you will get practical experience using that knowledge.

“ The part-time mas­ter has the same aca­dem­ic con­tent and level as the full-time equi­val­ent. You will at­tain the same com­pet­en­cies and know­ledge as the full-time ver­sion of the pro­gramme you are in­ter­ested in. ” Lu­kas
Stu­dent guid­ance coun­sel­lor
Lukas, student guidance counsellor

Struc­ture

Structure

As a part-time student it will take you 4 years to complete the programme, divided over 8 semesters with 15 ECTS each semester. Read more about the structure of the programme:

  • The first 4 semester you will complete your mandatory courses.
     
  • During your 5th and 6th semesters you can select electives that match your specific interests. You can also choose to take electives at other Danish universities. The electives you choose must be relevant for your programme. 

    You can see a list of all the electives we offer at CBS here - Courses at graduate level
     
  • You will finish your 7th and 8th semester with a master’s thesis. You choose the topic you write about, so you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in your specific interests. Typically, you will write your master’s thesis with a thesis partner.

Classes and pre­par­a­tion

Classes during the day

As a part-time student you will have classes together with the full-time students in the programme. Typically, classes are scheduled in the daytime Monday – Friday between 09:00 and 17:00. You can expect to have 6-9 class hours per week, divided between 2 to 4 classes. These will be spread out throughout the week, so you might have classes e.g. Monday and Wednesday morning, as well as Thursday afternoon. 

Please note that classes will not be recorded and will not be scheduled outside of regular working hours as is the case for e.g. diploma or other part-time masters.

Be active during classes

We expect you to show up and actively participate in your classes. In some courses you will work in study groups, where you e.g. have to prepare a presentation or write an assignment together. Your study group may consist of both part-time and full-time students. 

You may also have courses where you need to pass certain mandatory activities or assignments during class as a pre-requisite for participating in the exam. This could e.g. be a multiple-choice test, a presentation, or a paper you hand in. It is important that you and your employer have an understanding to make sure that you have the flexibility and time to prepare for and participate actively in classes.

Preparation for classes

Your lecturers will expect you to show up prepared for classes. This means that you have done the reading for the class or sometimes prepared a case. Classes are planned with the assumption that students are prepared for the topic or theory you will be working on in class. Preparation is the key to getting as much out of your studies as you can. 

You should expect to spend 10 hours per week on average on preparation for classes. This could both be on your own and in groups. You might spend less time at the start of the semester, and more in the time leading up to an exam.

Ad­mis­sion

The ad­mis­sion pro­cess and entry re­quire­ments for the part-time mas­ter are the same as for the full-time pro­gramme. In your ap­plic­a­tion you must se­lect wheth­er you want to study as a part-time nor full-time stu­dent. You must also doc­u­ment your em­ploy­ment to­geth­er with your ap­plic­a­tion.

There is not a set num­ber og places re­served for part-time stu­dents, and there­fore, it is not easi­er or harder to get into the part-time mas­ter.

Read more about ad­mis­sion re­quire­ments and how to ap­ply on:

Re­quire­ments for em­ploy­ment

Relevant employment

To be eligible for admission to the part-time master, it is a requirement that you have relevant employment for at least 25 hours a week. What exactly constitutes relevant employment depends which programme you want to apply to. You can find more information in the description of the programme and in the description of the specific entry requirements for the programme.

Change in employment or responsibilities

Twice a year you need to document that you are employed within a relevant field, working at least 25 hours a week. You must inform CBS if your terms of employment or your tasks and responsibilities change.

Changing between full-time and part-time

You can apply to change between the part-time and full-time programme during your studies.

From part-time to full-time

You can always switch from part-time to full-time if needed. However, please note that you are not guaranteed the option to switch back again.

From full-time to part-time

You can apply to switch from full-time to part-time, but an approval is not guaranteed. Once enrolled, you can read more about this on CBS’ student intranet, my.cbs.dk.

Fin­ances and spe­cial sup­port

You re­ceive a salary from your job

As a part-time mas­ter stu­dent you re­ceive a salary from your job in­stead of SU. Read more about what this means for your fin­ances and your op­por­tun­it­ies for spe­cial sup­port.

Salary and SU

As a part-time student you are not eligible to receive SU as you are paid a regular salary from your employer. You have to negotiate your own salary with your employer. Please note that the salary should reflect your level of education and competencies.

In need of spe­cial edu­ca­tion­al sup­port?

You should note that you cannot receive Special Educational Support, SPS, in a part-time programme. The reason is that the part-time programme is not eligible for SU, and this is a requirement in order to receive SPS. You can still apply for special conditions e.g. at exams. 

Read more about Special Educational Support.

Tu­ition and oth­er pay­ment

You do not have to pay tuition in order to study a part-time master.

However, if you are not an EU/EAA citizen, you have to pay an application and tuition fee, as for any other graduate programme.

Read more about tuition and application fee

In­form­a­tion for the em­ploy­er

Combining a master programme with work

The part-time master programme was developed in order to meet a demand from students and companies for more flexibility in the educational system, and better options for combining a master programme with relevant work.

 

Why hire a part-time master student?

By hiring a part-time master student your company gets highly qualified employee while they are still studying.

They can contribute with:

  • new knowledge, theoretical and methodological input.
  • new perspectives on your organisation.
  • contact to the education and research environments at CBS.
  • contact to the student environment at CBS, which could e.g. be used inconnection with future recruitment.
“ A part-time mas­ter is a com­mit­ment for all parties in terms of time, com­mit­ment and plan­ning. ” Lu­kas
Stu­dent guid­ance coun­sel­lor
Lukas, student guidance counsellor

What is your com­mit­ment as the em­ploy­er?

For your em­ploy­ee it is a learn­ing pro­ces where the com­plex­ity and dif­fi­culty of the tasks should match what you would ex­pect from an em­ploy­ee with a fin­ished bach­el­or or dip­loma de­gree. The tasks them­selves should re­flect the com­pet­en­cies the stu­dent has and will de­vel­op dur­ing their 4-year mas­ter pro­gramme.

Flex­ib­il­ity between work and stud­ies

The company is expected to include the student on the same terms as any other full-time employee. But at the same time there must be a level of flexibility to allow the student to prepare for and attend classes during the day and participate in exams.

Re­quire­ments for em­ploy­ment

To study a part-time master at CBS it is required that:

  • The student must have an employment contract with your company for at least 25 hours a week on average.
  • Be employed based on a relevant bachelor’s degree or other equivalent Danish or foreign education at the same level.

Doc­u­ment­a­tion for em­ploy­ment

To be admitted to the part-time master programme the student must provide documentation that confirms employment for at least 25 hours a week on average.

Twice a year, the student must renew this documentation in order to remain enrolled in the programme.

Salary and oth­er terms of em­ploy­ment

Salary is negotiated between the employee and the employer as normal. Please note that part-time students are not eligible for SU. Therefore, the salary should reflect their level of education and competencies.

Changes in em­ploy­ment or tasks

Both the company and the student can end the employment at any time as normal. You are not obligated to keep the student employed for the full 4 years. If the student no longer can document relevant employment at at least 25 hours a week, they can be transferred to the full-time version of the programme and continue their studies full-time instead.

The student can be assigned new responsibilities during the 4-year period. These still have to be relevant for the programme, as that is a requirement for studying a part-time master.

If there are changes in employment status or significant changes to responsibilities, the students has to inform CBS of these changes.