Aarhus University (AU) has 38,000 students; about 1,800 PhD students, of which one in four is from abroad, and about 700 graduate students along with almost 11,000 employees (2018). AU has five faculties covering the entire spectrum of research: basic research, applied research, strategic research and research-based advice to authorities.

In recent years, AU has moved up in the top university rankings lists: In 2019, the university ranked 60th in the Shanghai Ranking; 108th in the Leiden Ranking; and 115th out of 17,000 universities in the Times Higher Education World University.

Its School of Communication and Culture offers a wide range of research and degree programs in a variety of fields: literature(s), information and media studies, linguistics, Scandinavian studies, Western European languages and cultures, as well as arts and aesthetics.