Academic environment 

Approx. nine in ten AU students find that the academic environment is good

• 90% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that there is a good academic environment. This is on a par with the result in 2023 (88%), 2021 (89%), 2020 (90%) and 2018 (91%).
• The rating of the academic environment is high among Bachelor’s students (92%), professional Bachelor’s degree students (89%) and Master’s degree students (88%)
• The rating is high across all faculties: Nat (93%), Health (92%), Tech (90%), Arts (89%) and Aarhus BSS (87%)

Social environment

Approx. four in five AU students find that there is a good social environment

• 82% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that there is a good social environment. This is higher than in 2023, 2021 and 2020 (78%) and on a par with the result in 2018 (83%).
• The rating of the social environment is highest among Bachelor’s degree students (86%) and professional Bachelor’s degree students (85%), followed by Master’s degree students (77%).
• The rating is particularly high among students at Health (89%), Nat (87%) and Tech (86%), followed by Arts (80%) and Aarhus BSS (76%).

Fellow students

The percentage of AU students who find that they are able to get help and support from fellow students is increasing

• 87% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that they can get help and support from fellow students when they need it. This is higher than in 2023 (84%) and in 2021 (82%).
• The percentage is highest among professional Bachelor’s degree students (90%) and Bachelor’s degree students (89%), followed by Master’s degree students (84%).
• The percentages vary across faculties: Health (92%), Nat (90%), Tech (89%), Arts (87%) and Aarhus BSS (81%).

The percentage of AU students who experience collaboration with other students and generally feel comfortable working with other students is increasing

• 68% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that they often collaborate with other students on academic assignments. This is higher than in 2023 (64%) and 2021 (63%).
• The percentage is somewhat higher for professional Bachelor’s degree students (81%) relative to Bachelor’s degree students (69%) and Master’s degree students (62%).
• The percentage is highest at Tech (80%), Health (72%) and Nat (70%), followed by Arts (65%) and Aarhus BSS (58%).
• 86% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that they generally feel comfortable working with other students. This is higher than in 2023 (80%) and 2021 (81%).
• The percentage varies across degree programme type: professional Bachelor’s degree (89%), Bachelor’s degree (87%) and Master’s degree (84%).
• The percentage is highest at Health (90%) and Tech (88%), followed by Nat (85%), Arts (84%) and Aarhus BSS (82%).

Lecturers

Approx. nine in ten AU students find that the lecturers are enthusiastic about the subjects they teach

• 90% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that the lecturers seem enthusiastic about the subjects they teach. This is the same result as in 2023 (90%).
• The percentage varies across degree programme type: Bachelor’s degree (91%), Master’s degree (89%) and professional Bachelor’s degree (86%)
• The percentage varies across faculties: Arts (95%), Nat (90%), Health (89%), Aarhus BSS (88%) and Tech (83%).

The percentage of AU students who find that there are good opportunities for discussing important academic topics with their lecturers and that the lecturers are good at involving students is increasing

• 74% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that there are good opportunities to discuss important academic topics with their lecturers. This is higher than in 2023 (71%) and 2021 (70%).
• The percentage is somewhat higher for professional Bachelor’s degree students (80%) relative to Bachelor’s degree students (73%) and Master’s degree students (72%).
• The percentage is highest at Arts (80%), Tech (80%) and Nat (79%), followed by Health (68%) and Aarhus BSS (62%).
• 67% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that the lecturers are good at involving the students in the teaching. This is higher than in 2023 (64%) and 2021 (63%).
• The percentage is roughly the same across degree programme type: Bachelor’s degree (68%), Master’s degree (66%) and professional Bachelor’s degree (65%)
• The percentage is highest at Arts (81%), followed by Health (71%), Nat (62%), Tech (60%) and Aarhus BSS (53%).

Learning outcome

Approx. four in five AU students find that their learning outcome is high

• 79% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that their learning outcome is high. This is higher than in 2023 (74%), lower than in 2021 (85%) and on a par with the results for 2020 (80%) and 2018 (81%).
• The rating of the learning outcome is roughly the same across degree programme type: Bachelor’s degree (80%), Master’s degree (79%) and professional Bachelor’s degree (77%)
• The percentage varies across faculties: Nat (84%), Arts (81%), Health (80%), Tech (78%) and Aarhus BSS (76%). 

Feedback

The percentage of AU students who find that the feedback they receive helps them make progress in working with the material they need to learn is increasing

• 68% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that the feedback they receive helps them make progress in working with the material they need to learn. This is slightly higher than in 2023 (64%) and 2021 (66%).
• The assessment of useful feedback is roughly the same across degree programme type: professional Bachelor’s degree (70%), Bachelor’s degree (68%) and Master’s degree (67%). 
• The assessment is particularly high at Nat (78%), Arts (75%) and Tech (71%) and somewhat lower at Health (54%) and Aarhus BSS (61%).

Link to practice

Approx. two-thirds of AU students find that their degree programme has given them a sense of how professionals work in the field in question, and that the lecturers attach importance to ensuring that the students can use what they have learned in a new context or in relation to practical issues

• 68% of AU students find that their degree programme has given them a sense of how professionals work in the field in question. This is higher than in 2023 (58%).
• The percentage is highest among Master’s degree students (73%) and professional Bachelor’s degree students (72%), followed by Bachelor’s degree students (64%).
• The percentage is highest at Health (73%), followed by Arts (68%), Tech (68%), Nat (67%) and Aarhus BSS (61%)
• 63% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that the lecturers attach importance to ensuring that the students can use what they have learned in a new context or in relation to practical problems. This is on par with the results for 2023 (61%).
• The percentage is somewhat higher among professional Bachelor’s degree students (73%) relative to Bachelor’s degree students (61%) and Master’s degree students (60%).
• The percentage is highest at Health (69%) and Tech (68%), followed by Arts (63%), Nat (60%) and Aarhus BSS (53%). 

Academic time on task

The time AU students spend on their degree programme is decreasing

• AU students state that they spend an average of 35.2 hours a week on their degree programme (exam period not included). This is lower than in 2023 (36.0), 2021 (36.4), 2020 (37.3) and 2018 (38.7). 
• The academic time on task is highest for professional Bachelor’s students (39.5 h/w), followed by Bachelor’s degree students (35.8 h/w) and Master’s degree students (33.5 h/w).
• Students at Tech (38.8 h/w), Health (38.3 h/w) and Nat (38.0 h/w) spend more than 37 hours a week on their degree programme, followed by Aarhus BSS (33.2 h/w) and Arts (31.3 h/w). 
• In the period 2021 to 2025, the decrease in the students statement of how much time they spend on their degree programme has been highest at Tech (2.4 fewer h/w), Nat (2.1 fewer h/w), Aarhus BSS (1.9 fewer h/w), Arts (1.1 fewer h/w) and Health (0.4 fewer h/w).

Time spent on paid and voluntary work

AU students’ time spent on paid and voluntary work is stable at 11 h/w (average) and 4.5 h/w (average), respectively

• 57% of AU students respond that they have paid work and that they spend an average of 11.0 hours a week on it. This is on par with 2023 and 2021 (10.9 h/w)
• The time spent on paid work is highest for Master’s degree students (12.1 h/w), followed by professional Bachelor’s degree students (10.3) and Bachelor’s degree students (9.1 h/w).
• Students at Aarhus BSS (13.5 h/w) and Arts (11.1 h/w) state the highest number of hours spent on paid work, followed by Tech (9.9 h/w), Health (9.3 h/w) and Nat (9.0 h/w).
• 27% of AU students respond that they have voluntary work and that they spend an average of 4.5 hours a week on it. This is on par with 2023 (5.0 h/w) and 2021 (4.4 h/w).
• The time spent on voluntary work is highest for Master’s degree students (4.9 h/w), followed by professional Bachelor’s degree students (4.5 h/w) and Bachelor’s degree students (4.2 h/w).
• Students at Aarhus BSS (5.1 h/w) state the highest number of hours spent on voluntary work, followed by Arts (4.5 h/w), Health (4.4 h/w), Tech (4.3 h/w) and Nat (4.1 h/w).

Well-being and own approach

The percentage of AU students who generally feel very comfortable in their degree programme is increasing

• 85% of AU students find that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that they generally feel very comfortable in their degree programme. This is better than in 2023 (80%) and 2021 (75%).
• The assessment is the same across degree programme type: professional Bachelor’s degree (85%), Bachelor’s degree (85%) and Master’s degree (85%)
• The assessment is slightly lower at Aarhus BSS (81%) relative to the other faculties: Health (88%), Nat (86%), Tech (85%), Arts (85%).  
• 89% of AU students state that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ that if something is difficult in their degree programme, they will try again. This is a new question.
• The assessment is the same across degree programme type: professional Bachelor’s degree (89%), Bachelor’s degree (89%) and Master’s degree (90%)
• The assessment is slightly lower at Arts (86%) relative to the other faculties: Health (93%), Nat (90%), Tech (90%), Aarhus BSS (89%). 
• 76% respond that they know where they can get support and guidance in their degree programme if they are not thriving. This is on par with the result in 2023 (75%).
• The percentage is the same across degree programme type: professional Bachelor’s degree (76%), Bachelor’s degree (76%) and Master’s degree (74%).
• The percentage is somewhat lower at Aarhus BSS (66%) relative to the other faculties: Health (80%), Arts (79%), Nat (79%), Tech (74%).

Loneliness

Approx. 1 in 8 AU students find that they are ‘often’ or ‘always’ lonely  

• 12% of AU students find that they ‘Often’ or ‘Always’ experience feeling lonely in their degree programme. This is slightly fewer than in 2023 (14%), 2021 (15%).
• Slightly more Master’s degree students experience loneliness (14%) relative to Bachelor’s degree students (12%) and professional Bachelor’s degree students (10%).
• The fewest experience loneliness ‘Often’ or ‘Always’ at Health (8%), Tech (9%) and Nat (12%), while slightly more experience loneliness ‘Often’ or ‘Always’ at Arts (13%), Aarhus BSS (16%).

Stress and pressure

Approx. 1 in 5 AU students find that they ‘often’ or ‘always’ experience strong stress symptoms in connection with their day-to-day studies 

• 20% of AU students find that they ‘Often’ or ‘Always’ experience strong stress symptoms in connection with their day-to-day studies. This is higher than in 2023 (15%) and on par with 2021 (19%), 2020 (21%) and 2018 (19%).
• The percentage is roughly the same across degree programme types: Master’s degree (21%), professional Bachelor’s degree (20%) and Bachelor’s degree (19%).
• Slightly fewer experience stress ‘Often’ or ‘Always’ at Tech (18%) relative to the other faculties: Arts (20%), Aarhus BSS (21%), Health (21%) and Nat (21%).  
• When asked to choose among a number of pre-selected possible causes, 69% of AU students state that their own expectations of their academic performance is the main cause of their feelings of pressure in recent weeks. This reason for perceived pressure scores the highest across all faculties, followed by ‘thoughts about my future after I complete my studies’ (51%).

Bullying, harassment and discrimination, etc.

Extent

The percentage of AU students who assess that they experience bullying, harassment and discrimination, etc. is stable

The students were asked about ‘To what extent have you been exposed to the following during your current degree programme within the past 12 months’, followed by a predefined list of 7 statements regarding bullying, harassment and discrimination, etc. 

• 94-100% of AU students find that they ‘Never’ or ‘Rarely’ experience bullying, harassment, discrimination, etc.

• 0-5% of AU students find that they experience bullying, harassment, discrimination, etc. ‘Monthly, Weekly, Daily’.

The latter answer is broken down as follows:

• Been ignored or excluded from the study community: 3% monthly (330 students), 1% weekly (163 students), 1% daily (89 students)
• Negative discrimination: 2% monthly (203 students), 1% weekly (75 students), 0% daily (23 students)
• Unwanted sexual attention: 1% monthly (74 students), 0% weekly (20 students) and 0% daily (8 students)
• Received offensive, abusive or condescending comments: 1% monthly (130 students), 0% weekly (50 students), 0% daily (7 students)
• Your appearance or gender has been commented on in a way that you found unpleasant or offensive: 1% monthly (125 students), 0% weekly (42 students), 0% daily (8 students)
• Experienced threatening behaviour: 0% monthly (19 students), 0% weekly (4 students) and 0% daily (3 students)
• Experienced physical violence such as punching, pushing or kicking: 0% monthly (11 students), 0% weekly (3 students) and 0% daily (2 students)

Who

AU students state that they are mainly subjected to bullying, harassment and discrimination, etc. by their fellow students.

The students who have responded that they have been subjected to bullying, harassment and discrimination, etc. within the past 12 months were asked who subjected them to this.

• For all statements regarding bullying, harassment and discrimination, etc., the AU students respond that they have mainly been subjected to this by ‘fellow students.
• For the statements ‘experienced threatening behaviour’ and ‘experienced physical violence’, in addition to 'fellow students' (39% and 42% respectively, a high percentage also respond ‘don’t want to answer’ (23% and 32% respectively).
• For the statement ‘negative discrimination’, in addition to ‘fellow students’ (48%), a high percentage also respond that ‘lecturers’ have subjected them to this (28%).

Where

AU students state that ‘negative discrimination’ and ‘offensive, abusive or condescending comments’ mainly occur at their place of study, while ‘unwanted sexual attention’ and ‘Your appearance or gender has been commented on in a way you found uncomfortable or offensive’ occur in other study-related contexts. For the statement ‘Been ignored or excluded from the study community’, a high percentage respond that this has occurred in both places.

The students who have responded that they have been subjected to harassment and discrimination, etc. within the past 12 months were asked where they were exposed to this.

Percentage of AU students who respond ‘At the place of study’

• ‘Negative discrimination’: 53%
• Been ignored or excluded from the study community: 46%
• Received offensive, abusive or condescending comments: 44%
• *Your appearance or gender has been commented on in a way that you found unpleasant or offensive’: 39%
• Experienced threatening behaviour: 26%
• ‘Unwanted sexual attention’: 23%
• Experienced physical violence such as punching, pushing or kicking: 17%

Percentage of AU students who answer ‘In other study-related contexts’:

• ‘Unwanted sexual attention’: 63%
• Been ignored or excluded from the study community: 56%
• *Your appearance or gender has been commented on in a way that you found unpleasant or offensive’: 51%
• Experienced threatening behaviour: 45%
• Experienced physical violence such as punching, pushing or kicking: 43%
• Received offensive, abusive or condescending comments: 43%
• ‘Negative discrimination’: 42%

Percentage of AU students who answer ‘Don’t want to answer’:

• Experienced physical violence such as punching, pushing or kicking: 42%
• Experienced threatening behaviour: 33%
• Received offensive, abusive or condescending comments: 21%
• ‘Unwanted sexual attention’: 21%
• *Your appearance or gender has been commented on in a way that you found unpleasant or offensive’: 19%
• ‘Negative discrimination’: 18%
• Been ignored or excluded from the study community: 15%

Health and safety

60% of AU students are satisfied with the indoor climate, cleaning, toilet facilities and safety

The students were asked whether they think that the indoor climate, cleaning, toilet facilities and safety at their educational institution are satisfactory. It was possible to choose multiple options.

Satisfied with everything

• 60% of AU students are satisfied with everything (indoor climate, cleaning, toilet facilities and safety)
• The most satisfied students are those at Nat (66%) and Health (64%), followed by Arts (59%), Aarhus BSS (59%) and Tech (55%)

Dissatisfied with the indoor climate

• 35% of AU students are not satisfied with the indoor climate in the premises where they most often have classes (sound, light, air and temperature). There are variations across faculties, where the students at Tech are those who are most dissatisfied with the indoor climate: Tech (42%), Arts (38%), Aarhus BSS (34%), Health (29%) and Nat (29%)

Dissatisfied with toilet facilities

• 10% of AU students are not satisfied with the toilet facilities (number of toilets, location, condition, cleaning, etc.). There are variations across faculties, where students at Aarhus BSS are those who are most dissatisfied with the toilet facilities: Aarhus BSS (15%), Health (12%) and Tech (9%), Arts (8%) and Nat (7%)

Dissatisfied with cleaning

• 3% of AU students are not satisfied with the cleaning of the classrooms, group rooms and communal areas. There are variations across faculties, where students at Aarhus BSS are those who are most dissatisfied with the cleaning: Aarhus BSS (5%), Health (3%), Tech (3%), Arts (3%) and Nat (2%)

Dissatisfied with safety

• 1% of AU students are not satisfied with safety (broken furniture and equipment, protruding wires, defective machines, etc.). There is no variation across faculties.

Space, furniture and equipment and decorations

Almost four in five AU students think that the physical surroundings are satisfactory

The students were asked whether they think that the physical surroundings at their educational institution are satisfactory (including space, furnishings, furniture and equipment and decorations).

• 78% are satisfied with the physical surroundings (‘Yes’), while 22% are not satisfied with the physical surroundings (‘No’)
• There are variations across faculties: Nat (82%), Aarhus BSS (82%), Health (77%), Arts (75%) and Tech (75%)

The students who have stated that they are not satisfied with the physical surroundings were asked three additional questions regarding space conditions, furniture and decorations:

• 37% ‘Strongly disagree’ or ‘Disagree’ that there is sufficient space in the classrooms
• 38% ‘Strongly disagree’ or ‘Disagree’ that the furniture and equipment in the classrooms are sufficient and suitable for teaching purposes
• 25% ‘Strongly disagree’ or ‘Disagree’ that the physical surroundings at the educational institution are inviting and pleasant to stay in

Relevance

Graduates continue to rate their degree programme as highly relevant

• 76% of AU graduates report that they ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that their degree programme prepared them for their job. This is in line with the results from 2023 and 2021.
• The proportion of graduates who ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ is highest among graduates from Tech, Nat and Health (86%, 84% and 84% respectively), while BSS and Arts are slightly below average (75% and 66% respectively).
• Graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes are much more likely to report that their degree prepared them for their job (85%) than graduates of Master’s degree programmes (75%).

Graduates still report a match between the skills they learned during their degree and those required in their jobs

• 67% of graduates report that they ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that there is a match between the skills they learned on their degree programme and those required by their employer. This figure remains stable from 2021 to 2025.
• The proportion of graduates who ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ is highest among graduates from Health, Tech and Nat (76%, 76% and 73% respectively) and lowest among graduates from BSS and Arts (65% and 57% respectively).
• Graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes are more likely to agree that there is a match (77%) than graduates of Master’s degree programmes (66%).

Skills match

Graduates develop strong theoretical skills and the ability to acquire knowledge and think critically

• The proportion of graduates who report a skills match remains largely unchanged between 2021 and 2025.
• However, this match has improved for ‘the ability to work in a project-oriented manner’ (from -7% in 2021 to -1% in 2025) and ‘the ability to work on real-life issues and solutions’ (from -32% in 2021 to -24% in 2025).
• Graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes are more likely to report a skills match than graduates of Master’s degree programmes. The reported skills match also differs across faculties. For example, the highest match for ‘the ability to communicate verbally’ is reported at Nat and Tech. The highest matches for ‘the ability to think critically’ and ‘the ability to acquire new knowledge’ are reported at BSS and Tech, whilst the lowest matches are reported at Arts. Conversely, the highest match for ‘the ability to work in a project-orientated manner’ is reported at Arts and the lowest is reported at BSS and Nat.

The ability to acquire new knowledge and analyse complex issues are the skills AU graduates use most

• Graduates also frequently use their communication skills and their ability to work in a structured way.
• Graduates from Arts name communication skills in particular as those they use in their job. Graduates from BSS name their analytical skills, while graduates from Health identify their social skills . At Nat and Tech, most graduates highlight their ability to acquire new knowledge.
• Graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes identify their ability to acquire new knowledge and their technological competencies as skills they use in their jobs, while graduates of Master’s degree programmes name their analytical skills and their ability to acquire new knowledge.

Entrepreneurship

Few students engage in entrepreneurial activities during their degree

• 17% of graduates report that they engaged in entrepreneurial activities during their degree.
• The proportion of students who engaged in entrepreneurial activities is higher at Tech (36%) than at AU’s other faculties. This is followed by Arts and BSS, with relatively high levels (15% and 16% respectively) compared with Nat and Health (8% and 9% respectively).
• Graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes report that they took part in entrepreneurial activities much more during their degree (35%) than students of Master’s degree programmes (15%).

Focus on job hunting and the path to a first job

Only around one in four graduates report an AU focus on job hunting

• 27% of AU graduates report that they focused on job hunting as they approached the end of their studies.
• The proportion of graduates who report a focus on job hunting was relatively consistent across Arts, BSS, Nat and Tech, with 27-30% responding with ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’. Among graduates from Health, the proportion was 16%.
• 35% of graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ that there was a focus on job hunting, while the figure is 26% among graduates of Master’s degree programmes.

Around half of AU graduates start looking for a job before they graduate

• 49% of AU graduates report that they started looking for a job before they finished their degree.
• Graduates from BSS in particular started job hunting before they graduated (61%).
• 23% of graduates from Health report that they have not yet applied for a job. This does not necessarily mean they are unemployed, since they may have found work through other, less traditional application routes.

• Graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes and Master’s degree programmes start looking for jobs at a similar stage in their degree programme.

Around half of AU graduates get their first job through a job advertisement

• 48% of AU graduates report finding their first job through a job advertisement, while 17% report continuing in the same workplace they worked in as a student. Only 1% became self-employed.
• Across faculties, most graduates report finding their first job through a job advertisement (especially at Arts and BSS, where the proportions were 53% and 54% respectively). Graduates from Nat were more likely to continue working in the same place where they had written a thesis/term paper/project assignment or completed a work placement (19%), and graduates from BSS were more likely to continue in the same workplace where they had worked as a student (27%).
• 49% of graduates of Master’s degree programmes report finding a job through a job advertisement, while this figure is only 36% for graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes.

Transition to the labour market

Students gave more serious thought to their job and career in the run-up to and after graduation

• 35% of graduates report that they thought about their job and career ‘to a considerable extent’ or ‘to a greater extent’ before starting their degree programme. This rose to 82% after graduation.
• The same trend is evident across graduates from all faculties as well as graduates from professional Bachelor's degree programmes and Master’s degree programmes.
• Most graduates who report thinking about their job and career before starting their degree are from Health, while most who report thinking about them after gradation are from Arts.

Around one in three graduates found the transition to the labour market difficult

• 41% of AU graduates report finding it difficult to transition from university to the labour market.
• The proportion of graduates who ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that the transition was difficult is highest at Arts (50% and 52% respectively).
• Graduates of Master’s degree programmes are more likely to say they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that the transition was difficult than graduates of professional Bachelor's degree programmes (42% and 31% respectively).