Master in Immunology and Inflammation

The MSc in Immunology and Inflammation at the University of Copenhagen is a two-year research-based master's taught in English. It trains you to find solutions and design new therapy strategies to combat human diseases. You will work with immunology, autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases, allergies, tumour immunology, and related areas such as immune-pathology, immune-toxicology, immune-pharmacology, immune-therapy and translational medicine.

What you study

The first year is built from compulsory and elective courses. The mandatory courses give you a thorough introduction to key areas: immunology, autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases, allergies and tumour immunology. The named courses in the structure are:

• Basic Immunology (7.5 ECTS)
• Computational Immunology (7.5 ECTS)
• The Immune Defence and Cancer (7.5 ECTS)
• The Immune Response to Infection (7.5 ECTS)
• Clinical Immunology (7.5 ECTS)
• Skin Immunology (7.5 ECTS)
• Laboratory Animal Science (7.5 ECTS)
• Vaccine Development (7.5 ECTS)

You can choose electives from different departments. The programme itself offers Vaccine Development (7.5 ECTS) and Laboratory Animal Science, Immunology and Inflammation (7.5 ECTS).

How the programme is organised

The degree is roughly 37% mandatory courses, 13% elective courses and 50% thesis. Teaching is student-centred and includes lectures, project work, student presentations and laboratory exercises. In your second year you specialise through an extensive thesis project of 60 ECTS, a full-time study year founded on your own experimental work. You choose the thesis subject within immunology, and researchers at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences offer inspiration for a range of subjects. The programme takes in around 30 students per year and is closely linked to industry. You study mainly at the University of Copenhagen's North Campus, alongside students from other health and medical sciences programmes.

Who it suits

The programme suits you if you want a research-based degree with substantial laboratory work and a large individual project. Students come from many nationalities and academic backgrounds, including biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biomedicine, microbiology, veterinary medicine and pharmacy, which creates an interdisciplinary environment. You should be comfortable with experimental work and ready to take responsibility for your own learning.

Admission, language and next steps

You apply through the application portal. You must be enrolled in or have completed a qualifying bachelor's programme, or another relevant Danish or foreign degree that the admission board assesses as meeting the academic requirements. Several degrees automatically meet the academic requirements, including Biology, Biochemistry, Medicine, Molecular Biomedicine/Molecular Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Basic and Experimental Biomedicine, Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Biotechnology Research in Medicine, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Other Danish or international degrees are eligible if they are within Biology, Biochemistry, Medicine, Molecular Biomedicine/Molecular Medicine or Veterinary Medicine, and you have at least 30 ECTS in cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biomedicine and genetics. You must meet the English B language requirement. Your bachelor's degree must normally be no more than five years old at the start of the programme; an exemption is possible in exceptional circumstances. The university does not offer pre-assessment. If qualified applicants exceed places, priority goes to grade point average, experimental laboratory experience, relevant internships or work and stays abroad, and relevant courses in immunology. Applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland pay an application deposit and tuition fee; students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland study free of charge.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.