Costs: Practical Details / International Cultural Studies at Aalborg University, Denmark

The actual costs of attending International Cultural Studies will vary from individual to individual, depending in large part on their lifestyle. There are, however, minimum costs that all students should anticipate.

Autumn Semester at Aalborg University

Expense	Cost in Kroner	Comments
Tuition	varies	Exchange students will pay tuition to their home universities.
Housing[1]	13,200	Approximately 2,200 per month for 6 months.
Food[2]	12,000	Based on 2,000 per month for 6 months. This assumes you will do most of your own cooking.
Textbooks and copy cards	2,000	This assumes that most materials will be purchased individually, not shared.
Health Insurance	0	Students enrolled full-time for at least three months receive health insurance coverage from the Danish government.
Personal Expenses	5,500	This includes such basic expenditures as a two-zone bus pass and/or bicycle, laundry, telephone calls and stamps, as well as school supplies, some clothing, and personal items such as shampoo, hair cuts, toothpaste, etc. See chart below for some detailed prices
Subtotal	32,700 DKK	(4,933 DKK per month for 6 months)
Optional expenses (Entertainment/ short excursions)	4,800	Movie/concert tickets, participation in Eurasmus activities, short-trips in Scandinavia; this does not include purchase of alcohol or cigarettes, which are very expensive in Scandinavia. See chart below for some detailed prices
Grand Total	37,500 DKK	(6,250 DKK per month for 6 months)

Important Consideration

When considering your average costs for living and studying in Denmark it is important to keep in mind that your actual cost of living will be dependant on the current exchange rate between your local currency and the Danish Kroner. Thus, things will be cheaper or more expensive depending on the current exchange rate.

For example (October 2007):
1 USD is equal to 5.35 DKK
1 EUR is equal to 7.55 DKK

To following links provide exchange rates for all currencies and are updated daily: http://www.economist.com/markets/currency/fullconverter.cfm and http://money.cnn.com/markets/currencies/

[1] Housing ranges from 1,700-2,200 DKK per month where facilities (kitchen and bathroom) are shared and from 2,200 to 2,600 DKK where facilities are individual. Housing contracts run for six months regardless when you arrive and depart.

[2] The International Office estimates between 1,500-2,000 DKK a month for food, if you are extremely thrifty and shop in cheaper stores such as Aldi, Netto and Fakta, then you can probably assume around a 1,500 DKK. However, if you eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, these are quite expensive and you can expect your total food cost to be higher.

There are ways of saving money during your stay in Aalborg. One way is through thrifty grocery shopping. The table below highlights the different stores and includes a link to their homepage where you can view their latest offerings and specials. Each week stores have different items on sale. It is important to note that the sale price in a more expensive store may be the normal price in a cheaper store. The main difference between a cheaper grocery store and more expensive is not quality (except sometimes in relation to fresh fruit and vegetables but is very much dependant on the individual store) but how many assistants they have working and the overall appearance of the store. Most of the cheaper stores are smaller in size.

Here are some suggestions from current exchange students on how to save money while studying at Aalborg University.