06 - Sweden - Admission requirements

To be admitted to a course or a study programme, the applicant must fulfil the basic conditions for eligibility as well as any specific qualifications prescribed by the university or university college. Applications to the different courses and programmes are addressed to the National Admission Office for Higher Education (Verket för Högskoleservice, VHS) or directly to the university or university college.

Each Institute of higher education determines the number of study places are to be provided in different subjects. Indirectly, the Government determines the number of study places by setting a ceiling on the total allocation of state funds based on the number of students. If the ceiling is exceeded, the institution will not receive funds for all their students. The Government also determines the goals for the number of degrees in a limited number of programmes, for the period 2005–2008 in engineering, nursing and a number of teaching degrees.

Universities and university colleges shall work actively to broaden student recruitment to include students from under-represented groups. They are urged to draw up local action plans with measurable goals for this.

Advanced courses in mathematics and languages will give extra credit when rating merits for admission to higher education. The subjects given extra credit will be introduced in the autumn of 2010. The purpose is to encourage upper secondary pupils to take advanced courses in mathematics and languages instead of avoiding those courses to obtain a better grade average for admission.

Basic Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for higher education, a pupil leaving upper secondary school from a national or specially designed programme must have passed courses covering at least 90 per cent of the 2 500 upper secondary credit points required for a complete programme. The same requirements apply for pupils from adult education, even though a complete programme from municipal adult education covers 2350 or 2115 credit points.

Eligibility for foreign students

Applicants from Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway who are eligible for higher education in their respective country are eligible for higher education in Sweden. Applicants whose native language is not Swedish, Danish, Faeroes, Icelandic or Norwegian should have an education corresponding to Swedish upper secondary education as well as adequate command of Swedish and English.

Procedure for students lacking formal qualifications

Universities and university colleges are obliged upon request to examine whether an applicant who lacks formal qualifications has the necessary proficiency to meet admission requirements. Applicants who through education in Sweden or elsewhere, practical experience or by other means are capable of profiting from the programmes they have applied for, should also be considered eligible.

Specific Eligibility requirements

Specific eligibility requirements for programmes leading to a professional degree are set out by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (Högskoleverket). Each institution sets out specific eligibility requirements for courses or programmes not leading to professional degrees. The specific eligibility criteria indicate the specific requirements needed to complete a certain programme of higher education. Specific requirements can include courses from the national programmes in upper secondary school or equivalent knowledge from one or more courses in higher education or other experience that is considered important, e.g. for vocational education. There are no specific admission arrangements for e.g. adult students in tertiary education or students in distance education.

Selection Procedure

In selecting undergraduate students, the following criteria are used

• Grades
• University aptitude test (The university aptitude test is common for all Swedish universities and university colleges. The National Agency for Higher Education has the overall responsibility for the test and most universities or university colleges organise it twice a year. The examination fee is SEK 350 and the result is valid for five years.)
• Other special examinations
• Previous education
• Work experience

Other special factors.

Admission to programmes for new entrants to higher education

One third of the places are usually distributed on the basis of grades and one third on results from the university aptitude test in combination with work experience. Of the remaining third, half the places are distributed on basis of a combination of grades and results in the university aptitude test and the other half exclusively on basis of results from the university aptitude test. If too many applicants' qualifications are equally good, the selection may be based on gender in order to obtain more even gender representation. If a selection based on gender is not possible, a selection based on specific tests may be used.

Universities and university colleges have the right to decide on criteria for selection for up to ten per cent of the places in education programmes for new students. Universities and university colleges upon approval from the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (Högskoleverket) may apply a different set of selection criteria or allocate places differently to that described above in their selection for admissions to specific programmes, which may take place in the form of special tests and interviews (for admission to the medical programme). For admissions to programmes with an arts orientation, all places may be allocated on the basis of special tests other than that of the university aptitude test. Universities and university colleges may give priority to applicants who already are students in higher education.

Institution:

 

Högskoleverket (The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education)
Box 7851 Box 7851, S-103 99 STOCKHOLM Sweden
Tel.:+46-8-563 085 00
Fax:+46-8-563 085 50
E-mail:  hvs@hvs.se
Website:  http://www.hsv.se

 

Skolverket (The Swedish National Agency for Education)
S-106 20 STOCKHOLM, Sweden
Tel.:+46-8-527 332 00
Fax:+46-8-24 44 20
E-mail:  skolverket@skolverket.se
Website:  http://www.skolverket.se

 

Verket för Högskoleservice, VHS (National Agency for Services to Universities and University Colleges)
Box 24070 S-104 50 STOCKHOLM Sweden
Tel.:+46-8-725 96 00
Fax:+46-8-725 96 01
E-mail:  info@vhs.se
Website:  http://www.vhs.se

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