Horizontal Stratification in Access to Danish University Programs by Institution and Field of Study

In this paper we use register data to investigate social stratification within fields of study and university institutions in Denmark. We argue firstly, that it is important to utilize a relatively detailed classification of parents’ occupation, in order to single out how students are endowed with different resources, even when their parents would normally be characterized as belonging to the same class. Secondly, we distinguish between disciplines as well as between university institutions in explaining the dynamics of inequality in the Danish University system. Several dimensions are found to be important: the degree of social stratification in different fields of study − separating applied from more classical disciplines − and the degree of social stratification prevalent at the university institution − whether it has a liberal arts, classical university profile or one that favors more applied subjects.In this paper we use register data to investigate social stratification within fields of study and university institutions in Denmark. We argue firstly, that it is important to utilize a relatively detailed classification of parents’ occupation, in order to single out how students are endowed with different resources, even when their parents would normally be characterized as belonging to the same class. Secondly, we distinguish between disciplines as well as between university institutions in explaining the dynamics of inequality in the Danish University system. Several dimensions are found to be important: the degree of social stratification in different fields of study − separating applied from more classical disciplines − and the degree of social stratification prevalent at the university institution − whether it has a liberal arts, classical university profile or one that favors more applied subjects