Higher education in Sweden
Sweden is a popular country for international students: every year their number in the country increases. Why Sweden is so attractive? The reason is the level of education in the country with the top universities — Sweden ranks fifth in the world in the ranking of national systems of higher education U21. Another reason, of course, is Sweden's seventh-happiest country in the world according to the latest UN World Happiness Report!
Education features
The semester of study in Sweden is divided into several parts, this is intentionally done so that the student can concentrate on one course or a couple of courses in a specific period, rather than studying everything in a row. One course is often worth 7.5 ECTS (credits). This means that you can choose 4 courses per semester (30 ECTS per semester). The advantage of this system is that students are not overburdened and study the chosen course in detail.
There are so many educational programs offered in English in Sweden: over 1000 programs from 39 universities at the moment. The vast majority of Swedes know and can speak English, so you can feel at ease even without knowing Swedish. Undergraduate and postgraduate studies for citizens from countries outside the EU/EEA are generally fee-paying, but there are scholarships (for free study opportunities read on), and doctoral and postgraduate studies — free and with a salary.
Universities, rankings, and scholarships
Sweden has several highly ranked universities around the world, among the most famous are Korolin Institute of Technology, Karolin Institute, Stockholm, Uppsala and Lund universities. Let's look at each of them separately.
Korean Institute of Technology
KTH Royal Institute of Technology is the largest and most prestigious technical university in Sweden, located in Stockholm. It ranks 98th among all universities in the world by QS ranking, 75th in the world by employment ranking, 17th in Engineering: Electricity and Electronics ” 17th in Engineering “Architecture ” — 20th! So if you plan to study in technical areas, you should take into account the rating of the university!
The Royal Institute of Technology also offers a KTH Scholarship for students with citizenship outside of the EU/EEA who plan to enroll in a master's program. The scholarship covers the full cost of tuition and does not cover housing costs. Selection is based on academic merit, you need to put a master's program at the Royal Institute of Technology as your first priority when applying to study in Sweden (more on this in the next section).
Karolin Institute
This is Sweden's largest medical university and center for academic medical research, ranked (by the way) fifth worldwide by QS among medical destinations after Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, and Stanford universities. In 2019, it ranked first among all universities in the world in the field of dentistry. So, if you study medicine in Sweden, you're better off at the Carolina Institute!"
There they offer scholarships for citizens from outside the EU/EEA to study for a master's degree, the condition for getting one is to list the university program as the first priority and high academic standing.
Stockholm University
The university ranks 181st in QS ranking of all universities in the world, and by the areas of study associated with environmental studies it takes 31st place in the world. Also highly ranked are the programs related to social policy and administration, linguistics, and sociology. So, now you know where you can get a quality education in the humanities in Sweden. The current King of Sweden studied economics here.
Stockholm University is offering fee coverage to prospective master's students from outside the EU/EEA. To qualify for the scholarship, you must apply in the first intake stream. Scholarship selection is based on applicants' academic achievements, and priority will be given to those who have selected Stockholm University as their first choice on the admissions website.
The scholarship will be awarded to those who have chosen Stockholm University as their first choice on the admissions website.
Uppsala University
This is Sweden's first university, located near its capital city of Uppsala and ranked #124 in the QS ranking of all universities worldwide. The direction in development (this interdisciplinary direction, which studies political, economic, cultural, social development of regions) is ranked 29th in the world, high rankings have areas in environmental sciences, pharmacy, biology and archaeology. The current King of Sweden and the future Queen studied here.
In Uppsala University you can get a stipend to cover tuition fees for future bachelors and masters if a program at Uppsala University is chosen as the first priority.
Lund University
It is ranked 97th among all universities in the world by QS. It is the best university in Sweden and also the most popular among international students. It is located 45 minutes from Copenhagen in the campus of Lund. Direction in development and geography is ranked 24th in the world. At the same time, the social sciences, life science and medicine, nursing and politics at Lund University are among the top 100 majors worldwide.
As with other universities in Sweden, a stipend is offered here for prospective students from outside the EU/EEA, provided a program at Lund University is chosen as the first priority. There is also an Ingvar Kamprad scholarship available for those who have been accepted into the Industrial Design master's program, which is funded by the IKEA Foundation and fully covers the cost of study and housing. In addition, the university is a partner of several Erasmus Mundus joint master's programs where financial aid is available.
Swedish Institute Scholarship
The Swedish Institute (Swedish Institute or SI) — is a government agency that promotes interest and confidence in Sweden around the world and that supports students from around the world and offers Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals for future graduate students.
This scholarship covers all expenses and is suitable for prospective students from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and several other countries. Applications for the scholarship begin February 8, 2021, for the Fall 2021 start date, and applicants must apply in advance to appropriate programs.
Step-by-step instructions for admission
To get a higher education in Sweden, it is necessary to register on the official website universityadmissions.se. It is here that the entire application procedure takes place. So, step by step instructions on how to apply:
Create your account;
Find your program of study (the program search is right on the front page of the website). Bachelors can choose up to 8 programs, Masters up to 4;
Prioritize your selected courses. It's extremely important! If the invitation came for the first priority, you won't be able to select the second one later;
Prioritize the courses.
After you have submitted your electronic application with program choices, prepare the documents:
Certificate of secondary (complete) general education (for future bachelors), bachelor's diploma (for future master's students);
IELTS score of 6.5 or higher, CAE or TOEFL score of 575 or higher (requirements may be higher depending on the program);
The passport;
other documents depending on the program (motivation letter, letters of recommendation, resume, etc.)
All documents must be submitted in the original, plus official translations must be provided (English, Swedish, French, German are accepted);
Now you need to pay the registration fee of 900 SEK (it does not depend on the number of program submissions) and make sure you receive the translation before the deadline;
Download scans of documents to the website (the traditional option “send documents by mail” also exists) before the deadline, that is, by January 15 for the start of fall 2021;
Wait for results with optimism!
Prospects after study
Sweden is recognized as one of the most innovative countries in the world, and the Swedish higher education system fosters creativity and critical thinking, which in turn lays the foundation for innovation and business. The country has a fairly large number of international companies and new startups, including world-famous IKEA, Volvo, H&M, Spotify, Skype, Ericsson, Electrolux, Oatly, which offer special internship programs for students and graduates. Also universities cooperate with a lot of different companies and research institutes, where students can get internships. Remember we mentioned that without knowledge of the Swedish language you can safely live in Sweden? Well, international companies and startups, where the working language is English, can take candidates without knowledge of Swedish. If they do, universities offer Swedish language courses for free, and employers can cover the costs of learning Swedish!
After graduation, foreign students have the right to apply for a residence permit to find work or start their own business, which is granted for one year.
Of course, in addition to the famous universities presented in this article, there are others throughout Sweden. Each university in this country undoubtedly has its own unique advantages; the choice of one will depend on your preference for the course of study and the location of the university.
Of course, there are others all over Sweden.
We wish you the best of luck with your admission! And if you need help choosing a school or getting advice, contact the professionals.
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