Higher Education in Sweden

Sweden has a long and proud history of academic excellence, with outstanding universities dating back to the 15th century. Sweden is the home of the Nobel Prize, the world’s most prestigious academic distinction. Its higher education system is similar to that of other European countries. It has adopted the Bologna system in line with other European countries. Higher education in Sweden can include both complete degree programmes and individual courses. All higher education takes the form of courses at higher education institutions (HEIs) and independent higher education providers with degree-awarding powers.

Grading System:

Types of Higher Education Institutions:

University:

Swedish universities offer programmes across all three cycles, awarding qualifications at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.  Entry to programmes in each study cycle requires a qualification or proven equivalence of knowledge to the credit level of the cycle preceding it.

University College:

Self-governed and independent, university colleges will generally have the right to award undergraduate qualifications (first and second cycles), but must apply to relevant bodies in order to be able to award those on postgraduate at doctoral levels (third cycle). Programmes offered are typically vocationally or professionally oriented.

Types of Degrees:

Bachelor’s Degree:

Sweden offers approximately 40 bachelor’s programmes in English in a range of subject areas including engineering, business and IT. A Swedish bachelor’s programme encompasses three years of full-time study with a total of 180 credits (ECTS credits) earned.

Master’s Degree:

Swedish universities offer over 700 master’s programmes in English in a variety of study areas: science, business, IT, humanities, engineering, health and medicine and fine arts – to name a few. Most master’s level programmes are 120 credits (ECTS credits) and take two years of full-time studies to complete, although there are also one-year master’s programmes available.

PhD Degree:

It is also known as doctoral programmes, are research degrees involving several years of work toward a dissertation. The duration and setup of PhD programmes in Sweden vary between universities. A doctoral degree requires 240 credits (ECTS credits).