Studying in Sweden
October 11, 2015
Studying in Sweden is free for people from the EU and the quality is high. It’s one of the main reasons people move to Sweden in the first place. I’ve had the opportunity to study at a university in Stockholm called Södertörns högskola which was great. University here is much more relaxed that the experience I had in the UK, with a focus more on seminars and own projects, and less on classic essays, exams, and papers.
Education in Sweden is broken down into programmes and courses.
Programmes are full time routes that end with something like a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Something like History, Chemistry, Art, etc.
Courses are the building blocks to further education. These can be things like Basic English Grammar, Topic Modelling, or something that is part of a larger educational topic.
Once you have decided what you want to study, these are the steps you need to take. This is a guide for university education.
Studying in Sweden - a step by step guide
1- Head to University Admissions in Sweden
This is the English/international version of the Swedish university application system (Antagning for Swedish students). Here you can easily search and refine what you are looking for. If you want to pick evening and weekend courses, this is the place to do it.
2 - Do your Research
Once you have found a course that interests you, click the link and read the program/course info. Some of the info will be in English and some in Swedish, so use Google Translate or ask a Swedish friend/partner to explain if you don’t understand.
Get a feeling for the course, check if there are any open days to visit the school, see if you can contact existing/past students to see what the course was like.
Very important - check the application timeline dates. Follow the application checklist and key dates to make sure you know what you need to do and when.
3 - Next Steps
Think about where you are going to live. Some schools will provide accommodation, but think about where you will live. Take a look at my guide on finding an apartment in Stockholm.
4 - Extras
Make sure you check if you need to do any extra work to apply for the course. Some programmes like Marketing and Business require applicants to do a GMAT test prior to applying for the programme. All of these things take time to be prepared well in advance.
If you are coming from outside the EU, you might need to convert or re-sit some previous courses like Maths to be at the same level as required in Sweden. Check with the university.
5 - Apply
Once you are ready and the application window is open, apply via the University Admissions website.
Some courses let you apply before or after the deadline via their own websites, but follow the info from the University Admissions website.
6 - Finally
After you have applied, you will probably need to send copies of previous certificates to prove you are eligible to apply for the course. You need to post these to a random office in the middle of Sweden, so check your emails and University Admissions website page to act on this as quickly as possible.
That’s a general overview on how to apply for university courses in Sweden.
From there you can look at getting study grants and loans from CSN.
If I’ve missed anything or you want more information, please let me know in the comments or by contacting me via the contact page.
Photo Credits: Simon Paulin/imagebank.sweden.se