If you want your opinions to he heard, you like taking initiative and a little snow doesn’t scare you off, then the go-to country for your studies must be Sweden.
Long-time ago a country of barbaric Vikings, nowadays Sweden, has polished its manners, and nothing proves it more than the fact that the Swedish higher education system ranks second in the world. Did we mention cutting-edge research and real-world challenges in multicultural academic communities?
To get a better picture about what’s like studying in Sweden, you need to know that the education here is more about self-development through student groups and independent studies, than about listening to the typical teacher lecture. Let’s try and see the details behind this big picture.
That's right! If you come from the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), you don't have to pay any tuition fees to study at public universities in Sweden. And this is great news because you can use the money you save to cover living costs, which are above the European average.
These are the three core values of the Swedish society and citizens. These values are reflected in all aspects of life, including work, education, the natural environment, and so on.
Swedes will do as much they can to provide you with the support and resources you need to achieve your academic, professional, personal, or any other goal.
If you're environmentally conscious, you'll love living here. Sweden has been investing in the wellbeing and preservation of nature for a long time now.
It represents an example of what any nation can do through involvement and commitment. For instance, by 2040, Sweden aims to achieve 100% renewable energy production.
Sweden is one of those wonderful places where you don't have to worry about being different or not fitting it. They embrace everybody regardless of their personal choices or background. Stockholm, for example, is often considered as one of the most open cities in the world.
Over 80% of Swedes speak English, which makes it super easy to interact with them whenever you need help or simply want to enjoy a small chit-chat.
Still, we recommend learning at least the basics of Swedish, the most common words, for those rare cases when you meet someone who doesn't speak the English language.
Sweden is home to over 35 universities and university colleges, and they all offer degree programmes according to European standards.
Start your search for a dream Swedish university with one of these universities we recommend:
Studying in Sweden is likely to make you feel relaxed. Yes, students need to work hard, and expectations are high, but the higher education system is also very flexible and informal.
Popular student pastimes include team sports, cultural societies, and outdoor activities (performed very well dressed). There’s also a great nightlife, with clubs and bars dotting Sweden’s cities, and student unions organising evenings out.
Swedes are great with cars, great with IT, and great with the environment. So, it’s not hard to guess which are some of the most popular study areas in Sweden. These are:
Sweden is a great place to live and study. From buzzing larger cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö, to cosy university towns like Uppsala and Lund, there’s a place for every taste in Sweden.
Whether you end up close to the Arctic Circle in Luleå or bumping shoulders with continental Europe in Malmö, you’ll find accessible towns with extensive public transport and bustling student scenes. So, check and pick one of the Swedish cities below, like:
In Sweden, applications for Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes are processed through a central application service, Universityadmissions.se. Still, you can also apply directly through the university and program websites. The general application documents required are:
Additionally, most universities also tend to ask for:
These kinds of courses enable degree-seeking students to get an extra educational boost just before they start their Master’s degree or other post-graduate degree programme.
Try a pre-M.B.A., pre-Law, or pre-Medicine programme, as well as any other foundation or preparation courses that will allow you to study in the degree programme of your choice.
If you’re attending a degree programme in Sweden, you will need to prove that your language skills are good enough to participate in the classes and understand the lectures; some schools will require Swedish, while others will require strong English skills. These courses will also prepare you for any of the English-language tests that universities require.
English is a must-have in Sweden, seeing how many Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes are taught in this language. Swedish universities accept as proof of your language skills:
Let's take a closer look at tuition and living expenses in Sweden:
In Sweden, students from the EU/EEA, Switzerland, or other Nordic countries do not have to pay tuition, but only an application fee of around 100 EUR.
Students from non-EU/EEA countries pay tuition fees of 7,500–25,500 EUR per year. Some Business degrees can cost over 30,000 EUR per year.
Naturally, fees vary depending programme and degree type, so be sure to check them when looking for study options in Sweden.
Living costs in Sweden are not exactly a bargain, but in this country, paying more really means getting more in return, in terms of quality of life. The monthly student budget here is around 700–1,200 EUR/month, out of which some of the most common expenses are:
From Abba to Avicii, Sweden is a great music exporter. But don’t let that fool you! Sweden isn’t only about pop culture.
In fact, the country prides itself with a great tradition of monarchy and one the highest gender equality rates in the world. Ready for some more facts that will make you smile while reading? Here they are:
But, on a lighter note, you should also know that, in Sweden:
Education initiatives created in the past years greatly encourage university international cooperation and academic exchange attracting Bachelors degree students and staff from all over the world. These policies also facilitate mobility of students, graduates and higher education staff. Specialized institutions help prepare students for their future careers and, most importantly, they offer broad global access to high-quality higher education.
The possibility to study worldwide, for instance in Australia, Asia, Europe or North America, opens up opportunities to see more of the world. Not just because you would have the opportunity to travel, but also because it is becoming increasingly easier to go abroad to follow a semester at a different university. There is a wide range of different study options, and one of them can prove to be your dream Bachelors degree programme.
The number of English-taught Bachelors degrees in the world has increased explosively in the last couple of years. Some of the countries with the most English-taught study programmes include Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. However, higher education is often delivered in English in many other countries as well. From highly ranked research universities to smaller, specialised universities, the choices are endless.
A bachelors degree is an academic degree earned for an undergraduate course of study that could range in length of time. This depends on the country, discipline and sometimes the education institution. There is usually a difference between professional and academic bachelor programmes. A professional bachelor?s degree usually takes 4 to 5 years to complete, while an academic bachelor is 3 years long, in most countries. Although this is not always a general rule.
Bachelors degrees exist in almost every country in the world. The study programmes mainly lead to degrees such as: Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Law (LL.B.), Bachelor of Business (B.BA), amongst others.
A one-year honours degree can be achieved after the completion of a regular Bachelors degree in the same field. Sometimes, this means one year of research culminating with a written thesis. It is usually available only to students who achieve high scores in their previous years of undergraduate studies.
At some universities, you have the option of a joint honours degree. This requires at least half of the credits required for each of the respective majors (two subject areas). The subject areas do not have to be highly related, but they usually overlap both faculties and subjects.
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