The first cohort of bachelor’s students in medicine has begun studying at the University of Southern Denmark in Esbjerg, meaning the full medical degree can now be completed in the city.
According to reporting by DR, 63 future doctors have just started the first semester of the new bachelor’s program in Esbjerg. The program is run by Syddansk Universitet, the University of Southern Denmark, at its Esbjerg campus.
Until now, aspiring doctors from Esbjerg had to move to another city to begin their studies. The new bachelor’s degree means the entire medical education is gathered in the southwest Jutland city.
One of the new students is 22-year-old Mathilde Hansen Uhd. Per DR, she had always assumed she would study in Aarhus, but changed her plans when the medicine program came to Esbjerg. She says she would have moved to Odense or Aarhus if she had not been admitted in Esbjerg.
Uhd told DR that the location of a medical education matters a great deal. She pointed to the network students build during the many years of study, adding that some also find a partner in the city.
Aimed at doctor shortages in southern Jutland
The stated hope behind the newly created program is that it can help ease the shortage of doctors in South and Southern Jutland. That is according to Christian Backer Mogensen, study leader for the new bachelor’s program and a doctor at Aabenraa Hospital.
As stated by Mogensen to DR, research shows that where a person studies has an effect on where they later work. He said he believes the same pattern will apply in Esbjerg.
Esbjerg has had a master’s program in medicine since 2022. The addition of the bachelor’s degree means students no longer need to complete the first part of the degree elsewhere before returning to the city.
Information from SDU confirms that the medicine bachelor’s program is based at the university’s Esbjerg campus. The program follows the same structure as the university’s medical education in Odense.
The launch adds another route into Danish healthcare training in a region facing recruitment difficulties. Denmark has also expanded intake in other health programs, including a rise in foreign nursing students in recent years.
Uhd said she is looking forward to showing new arrivals what Esbjerg has to offer. The city is Denmark’s fifth largest and hosts SDU’s engineering and health science activities in the region.
The bachelor’s program in Esbjerg runs alongside the existing master’s program, allowing students to stay in the city through both stages. The first bachelor’s cohort started on September 8, 2026.
