As mentioned in the introduction to this section, it is mainly the universities and specialist institutions that concentrate on post-graduate study and research. Many doctorates still include a couple of years of taught courses but then require the candidate to complete their own research for their thesis.

Assuming you have not taken too long over getting your undergraduate degree, CSN money should still be available to help during the taught part of the course but will probably not last the duration of the doctoral studies. Then funding will be in the hands of the department. Fortunately research in Swedish universities is very well funded – with two thirds of all university funding being spent on research – but, as in any country, you will need to convince your chosen faculty that your research is valuable and you are the right person to do it.

HANDBOOK FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
is produced by Högskoleverket and contains most of the information you need about your rights and obligations and the conditions that apply to postgraduate programmes.

Most undergraduate education in Sweden is free – you will not be expected to cover any of the tuition costs.

You may also be eligible to get a grant to cover your living expenses. Funding is arranged through CSN (www.csn.se). If you are not a Swedish citizen, your eligibility for a grant will need to be assessed. Normally they will require that you have spent at least two years living and working in Sweden and that you have obvious intentions of staying (and a permanent residency permit to do so). EU citizens may get a slightly easier ride as may those with Swedish partner/family. You will not be eligible for CSN money if you came to Sweden with the sole purpose of studying – then you need to investigate the scholarships for foreign students shown below. Full details are given (in English) on the CSN website. It is also possible to call CSN for more details and to request application forms but not all their employees speak English so you may need to be able to handle the basics in Swedish. Most of their forms are also in Swedish.

If you are awarded a grant, the money comes in two parts – one part is a non-repayable grant, the other part is a loan which can be repaid over several years after you graduate. In total the value is about 7000 SEK/month. You need to reapply each term for your grant – after the first application, a form should be sent to you automatically for the next term but always needs to be verified by your university and returned. The money can either be sent to you as a cheque or paid directly into your bank account. In total you will be eligible for up to 240 weeks study which should be enough to cover you for an undergraduate degree plus some.

There are also a number of scholarships available for foreign students who come to Sweden with the sole purpose of studying to help cover the cost of living. The Swedish Institute is one of the biggest awarders with 500 a year awarded to foreign students. More details on these and other scholarships are available on www.studyinsweden.se. The university you are applying to may also have scholarships available to students (Swedish or foreign) so ask them for more details too.
 

There are no final exams in Sweden – the culmination of several years work – instead, each module of the course is assessed at the end of the module. This can result in smaller tests every few weeks but the assessment may not take the form of a test at all. Course work completed individually or in groups may also be assessed, along with general class participation assessments.

Our experiences of university is one test, one opportunity. If you fail your tests you fail the course and have to repeat the entire course to get a pass grade. Not the case here. There is usually at least one opportunity to do a re-take and there are stories of students spending years and years trying to get through. Nowdays CSN is a lot stricter and will not keep handing out the money to those who are not able to succeed after a couple of attempts.

While there are some ‘single subject’ courses where the entire syllabus is planned in advance, the majority of degrees allow for a student to choose modules as they go. This not only allows for flexibility of studies, it also means students can choose how much time they spend studying. It is very common for students to juggle a full-time job while studying or take a few months off to work during their degree. You can also select to just study individual courses with no intention of completing a full degree.It is thus very variable how long a degree takes because a three year full-time course often becomes spread out over six years.

Each study module counts for a certain number of credits (normally based on teaching hours) – a one term full-time course would be the equivalent of 20 credits. This assumes you study 40 hours a week. When you have studied (and passed – see below) courses worth 80 credits, you are eligible for your University diploma (högskoleexamen). After 120 points (three years study – there are two terms per year), you are eligible for your Bachelors degree although there are some caveats about how many of these credits must be related to your main field of study.

Since each institution varies in the courses they offer and the flexibility allowed, contact each directly for more information.

At undergraduate level, a degree is equivalent from any of the higher education institutions (although, as in any country, some universities are harder to get into than others so there is an unofficial ranking). Your decision should mainly be based on the structure and content of the course and how well regarded that faculty is. There may be some benefit from studying in a University that conducts extensive research in addition to its undergraduate teaching commitments. However, there can be big divides between teaching and research faculty even within one institution so be careful not to make assumptions.

Anybody who has passed gymnasium or the international equivalent (or who has gained equivalent knowledge through work experience) is entitled to apply to university. Each university is responsible for assessing applications. In addition to results from school, universities can also call you for interview or take into account marks from the university aptitude test (a non-compulsory national test). They will also consider the relevance of your previous studies or work to the course you are applying to do so it can be difficult to change speciality between gymnasium and university.

Students tend to apply for vocational courses – if you want to work in business, you apply to a business school or a business studies course, if you want to teach history, you study history. It can be hard to get a job in an unrelated field after graduation so spend time considering your course selection.

If Swedish is not your first language, you may be required to take a language test (TISUS) or provide evidence of having attained Swedish as a Second language (SASL) level B in order to be eligible to study in Swedish. Nevertheless, it is possible to find courses that are taught in English and, in either case, much of the course literature will be in English so don’t let a lack of Swedish hold you back – your choice of courses may just be more limited.