If you are ill and cannot take an exam, you are allowed to take the reexamination. It is a good idea to contact your doctor so that, if required later, you can document that you were ill during the exam period.
If you are affected by long-term illness or other exceptional circumstances that prevent or limit you from following your degree programme, you have two options:
1) To apply for special leave
When you are on special leave, you will not be able to attend courses or take exams. You will be deregistered from classes and exams in the relevant semester(s), and your maximum period of study with be adjusted.
2) To apply for dispensation
You can apply for dispensation from the rules and frameworks that usually apply to you as a student. You will continue to be enrolled on the degree programme, and, depending on your situation, you can apply to be deregistered from some or all of your classes and exams for a period of time.
You can apply for dispensation if you are ill or if your capacity to work is affected by illness or death in your immediate family.
For example, you may need to apply to:
If you are writing your Master’s thesis, there are special rules that apply to you.
When you apply for dispensation, you must provide a doctor’s certificate. Below, you can read what information the board of studies requires the doctor’s certificate to contain.
It is a good idea to talk to a student counsellor about whether you need to apply for dispensation and, if so, which type of dispensation you should apply for. Together with your student counsellor, you can also put together a plan for how you intend to continue your studies when you return from your period of illness and/or whilst you are partly actively enrolled. It is a good idea to include this plan when you apply for dispensation in order to show that you have a realistic plan for how you intend to complete your degree programme. The board of studies does not need to approve the plan, even if you change it later, as long as you comply with the rules (e.g. for the maximum period of study).
If you are applying for dispensation because you have a medical condition or illness that affects your ability to complete your study programme on the terms and conditions that are generally applicable, you need a doctor’s certificate.
Paying for the doctor' certificate is your own responsibility.
The purpose of a doctor’s certificate is to demonstrate how, to what extent and for how long your medical condition or illness will affect your ability to study/take exams.
These questions must be answered in relation to the rule from which you are applying for dispensation. The doctor must also state which information comes from their own examination, and which information comes from a consultation with you, from a third party, from your medical records, or from other sources.
A doctor’s certificate is a medical assessment whose purpose is to give the university grounds for deciding whether you should be granted dispensation. The university are obliged to consider doctor’s certificates, but do not have to follow the doctor’s recommendations (if any are made).
If the university do not feel that they have sufficient evidence to assess your case, they may ask you to send further documentation. The university will not contact your doctor.
When your application for dispensation has been processed, you will receive a decision on your application via your e-Boks or AU email.
If we need additional information in order to make a decision on your case, you will be contacted via your AU email.
We will process your application as soon as possible, but be aware that it can take up to eight weeks (July not included). So we recommend that you apply well in advance.