Content
Sweden
Swedish higher education in brief
| 1) Organization Higher education is provided by universities (universitet) and university colleges (högskola). 2) Access To be admitted to undergraduate education, applicants must meet the basic eligibility requirements; these are the same for all courses and programmes. They may either have a school-leaving certificate from an upper secondary national programme (at least a pass for 90% of the credits) or work experience. The criteria for work experience are that applicants should be at least 25 years old, have worked for at least four years and have knowledge of Swedish and English corresponding to a completed upper secondary programme. Most courses and programmes also have special requirements that vary depending on the subject or type of course. The Nordic countries have specific agreements on access to higher education and transfer of upper secondary examinations. If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of places available, a selection must be made on the basis of one or more of the following criteria: upper secondary school grades, university standard aptitude test and work experience. Within this generally formulated framework, responsibility for the admission of students rests with the institutions. Virtually all state or state-subsidised education is free of charge. The student aid system is thus designed to cover student’s living costs during the study period, as well as study-related expenses, such as course literature. A fundamental principle is that all students who want help to finance their studies can receive assistance from the central government. The support is a combination of nonrepayable grant and a larger repayable loan and may be awarded for full-time and part-time studies. 3) Qualifications There are two kinds of undergraduate degrees; three general and 42 professional degrees. The general degrees are the diploma (two years of study), Bachelor’s degree (three years of study), and Master’s degree (four years of study alternatively one year of study for students who already have a degree of at least 120 credits). The professional degrees are awarded upon completion of programmes of varying length (from two to five-and-a-half years) leading to specific professions. The requirements and aims for the general and professional degrees are set out in the Degree Ordinance and thus stipulated by the Government.
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