Tests and exams on EUX: from extraction to EUX certificate

One of the things that surprises many EUX students is that the exam is not a single event, but two streams running side by side. One stream is the vocational education's own tests — the basic course test and finally the journeyman's test or trade test, which makes you a tradesperson. The other stream is the academic tests, which make your exam university-qualifying. Both streams must be completed before you can call yourself both a journeyman and a university graduate.

According to UVM's rules on exams and examinations in EUX, students in the main course of a technical EUX programme — and in the academic course of a commercial one — must take at least six exams in academic subjects. One is fixed for everyone: the written exam in Danish at A-level. The rest are typically selected by drawing, like at grammar schools. This means that you do not know in advance exactly which subjects you will be tested in, and therefore must keep all your academic subjects at the same level — not just the ones you like best.

• 01At least six exams in subjects at upper secondary level in total
• 02Written Danish A is mandatory for everyone
• 03The other tests are selected by drawing among your subjects
• 04On top of the six comes an oral exam in the professional project area (EOP)
• 05Vocational education exams — e.g. basic course exam and journeyman exam — are in their own track.

Beyond the sampled tests, each student according to UVM must take an oral test based on the written vocational area project, EOP. You write the project at the end of the course in a self-chosen area where you use two of your subjects — at least one at B-level and at least one subject specific to your programme. At the test, you present the project and enter into professional dialogue with the examiner and censor. The EOP test is in many ways EUX's answer to the upper secondary school's major final project, except that your craft and your industry are a natural part of the topic.

The grades from the gymnasium subjects and exams are combined into an exam average on your eux certificate. That average is your admission ticket if you later apply to a higher education through quota 1, where applicants are ranked by average. If you apply through quota 2, the programs look more broadly — here your professional experience as a skilled worker can be a real asset. In any case, it is true that steady work throughout the course pays off better than a last-minute sprint: the draw can hit all subjects.

• 01Keep all trades even — you don't know the drawing in advance
• 02Use written assignments during the year as rehearsals for the exam format
• 03Start carefully and gradually with good ventilation
• 04Know the test format in each subject: written, oral, with or without preparation time
• 05Ask your teachers about past exam questions and typical pitfalls

“On EUX, you go to exams in two worlds — and the strength is that one helps the other: the workshop's experience gives your gymnasium tasks something to stand on.”