If you become a parent and want to take parental leave during your studies, there are two ways for you to take a break:
1. Exemption to take parental leave (parental leave with SU)
Many students choose this solution because it allows you to plan a flexible course of study, where you can either take time off completely or participate in individual courses and exams. You can read more about this in the section "How to apply for an exemption to take parental leave".
2. Leave of absence from your studies (parental leave without SU)
If you choose to take a leave of absence, you will not be able to attend classes or take exams. It is also not possible for you to receive SU (nor SU birth aid). You can read more about taking leave of absence from your studies under "Leave of absence" in the left-hand menu.
Make a plan with a student counsellor
Your student counsellor can help make a plan for your parental leave and your further studies. You can find your student counsellor under "Student counselling" in the left-hand menu.
When you apply for an exemption to take a break from your studies due to parental leave, you have the opportunity to plan your studies in a flexible way. For example, you can choose to take time off completely from your studies, or you can participate in individual courses or complete some exams if it suits your course of study.
You can take a break from your studies due to maternity leave for up to two semesters.
At the earliest, you can start your maternity leave in the semester your due date is expected.
Please be aware of the SU rules for parental leave, which you can read more about on the SU website.
You can take a break from your studies due to parental leave for up to two semesters.
Please be aware of the SU rules for parental leave, which you can read more about on the SU website.
You can take a break from your studies due to parental leave for up to two semesters.
At the earliest, you can start your parental leave in the semester your due date is expected.
Please be aware of the SU rules for paremtal leave, which you can read more about on the SU website.
You can be granted an exemption from your maximum duration of study and the inactivity rule if you are going on parental leave. Your maximum duration of study may be postponed for up to two semesters due to parental leave, and you may withdraw from exams after the deadline for withdrawal.
You apply for the exemption via mitstudie.au.dk/en. You can find the exemption form under "Apply to your board of studies".
When sending your application for the exemption, you must enclose the following documentation:
In case of adoption:
In addition, you must attach a new study plan that reflects how you plan to complete your studies after your break due to parental leave.
Your due date is in the month of October and you would like to take a break for two semesters. However, you would like to take a single exam in January. You would like to withdraw from the other exams in the exam period.
In association with your student counsellor (or the academic supervisor for BEng), you will make a plan for which exams you will participate in and which you won't, and together you will prepare a new study plan. On mitstudie.au.dk/en, you will apply for an exemption to follow the new study plan and withdraw from the exams you don't wish to take during your leave.
We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the rules for SU during parental leave.
Before you take parental leave, you should familiarise yourself with the SU rules. Please note that there are new rules for SU during parental leave that apply from August 2022.
Read more about the SU rules or contact Danish Students' Grants and Loans Scheme Office at Aarhus University if you have questions about your SU during your parental leave.
Pregnancy and maternity leave are not the same thing.
Pregnancy is not in itself regarded as an exceptional circumstance and therefore cannot justify an exemption. If you experience discomfort/illness during your pregnancy, you can apply for an exemption separately for this.
This requires that there are 'exceptional circumstances' and that you are able to document these circumstances.
If you become a parent while writing your bachelor's project or master's thesis, you can apply for an exemption to put this period on hold for the number of months you want to take parental leave.
You can suspend the bachelor's project or master's thesis period for a maximum of 12 months.
Remember to update your master's thesis contract when you have been granted the exemption to take a break from your studies due to parental leave.
You must also remember to make sure that your submission deadline for the master's thesis is postponed when you go on leave.
Jette must write a 30 ECTS master's thesis and begins the thesis period on February 1st. Her due date is April 15th, and she wants to take maternity leave for 12 months starting from March 15th.
Jette will resume her thesis period on March 15th the following year and then has 2.5 months to complete the thesis.
The new submission deadline is June 1st. The maximum duration of study will be extended by two semesters.
If your parental leave plans change, you have the option of applying for a new exemption, as long as your plans stay within the guidelines.
You have applied for an exemption to take parental leave for one semester. Along the way, you find out that you would like to take two semesters of parental leave. In this situation, you must apply for an exemption again via mitstudie.au.dk/en.
This also applies if you would like to shorten your parental leave.