Norway
In Norway three separate categories of university colleges exist:
- University-level colleges (vitenskapelig høgskole/høyskole), which hold the same rights as the universities and are sometimes known as specialized universities in English
- Institutionally accredited university colleges (høgskole/høyskole)
- Educational institutions with accredited programs, which have the right to call themselves university colleges (høgskole/høyskole)
The difference between a university and a university college is that a university has received the status of university from the Norwegian government. Only the government has the authority to grant university status. In the past years, any institution that offered at least four PhD programmes has been allowed to apply for university status, and in recent years several university colleges have received university status, becoming so-called new universities. In 2014 the government announced that no institutions would become new universities in the near future. In 2015 the government announced new and more strict criteria.
The practical distinction between universities and university colleges has been gradually reduced through legislative reforms in 1995 and 2005, and the two types of institutions are now governed by the same law, have the same basic structure and in principle the same obligation to provide research-based education.[3]
Denmark
In Denmark, university colleges (professionshøjskoler) are similar to universities of applied sciences. Danish university colleges offer profession-specific tertiary education, also known as medium higher education (MVU) and diploma courses, but do not offer university education at the postgraduate level.
The duration of bachelor's programmes is seven semesters and corresponds to 210 ECTS. Specific to university college programmes is that curricula always include internships and placements. This focus on professional practice, as opposed to academics, is what separates a bachelor's degree at university colleges from a bachelor's from a university.
The difference between a university and university college degree is narrowing. Since 2012, university colleges have been awarded the right and governmental funding to carry out applied research.
In addition, several bachelor's degrees are articulated with master's degrees at research universities in Denmark and abroad.
Denmark has 7 university colleges, which all have a school of health and a school of education, pedagogy, and social studies. Some also have a school of technology, a school of business, and a school of design.
In addition to higher educational programmes, university colleges are important suppliers of lifelong education for public and private industries.