What do I need to be accepted to a course or programme?
You have to meet certain entry requirements in order to study at university. Here, you can find an overview of who can apply and what is required.
You don't need to be a Swedish citizen or live in Sweden to study at a Swedish university - higher education in Sweden is open to everyone. You do, however, need to be a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, or have a residence permit in Sweden not based on studies, in order to be free from paying application and tuition fees.
Find out more about fees at Universityadmissions.se
There is no age limit for studying in Sweden; however, how much financial aid you are eligible to receive can decreases after a certain age.
Find out about financial aid eligibility at CSN's website
In order to be accepted to higher education, you must meet the entry requirements for the particular course or programme you're applying to. These requirements depend on the level at which you wish to study.
Two types of entry requirements
The first step to being offered a place on a course or programme is meeting the entry requirements. There are two types:
- General entry requirements
- Specific entry requirement
General entry requirements for bachelor's level
For bachelor's level courses and programmes, this means having completed an upper secondary education or its equivalent and meeting any Swedish, English and mathematics requirements. Others ways of meeting these requirements besides upper secondary school (high school) is through adult education or folk high school.
If you do not have what is required to meet the general entry requirements for bachelor's level studies, you can take the courses you need in order to meet the requirements. This can be accomplished at an adult education centre (komvux) or folk high school (folkhögskolan).
General entry requirements for master's level
For master's level programmes, you must have successfully completed a bachelor's programme (the equivalent of the Swedish kandidatexamen).
What about Swedish and English?
For courses and programmes taught in Swedish, proof of Swedish skills are a general entry requirement. Swedish is not a requirement for international courses and programmes taught in English. You must meet the English requirement for courses and programmes taught in either language.
Specific entry requirements
Many courses and programmes have specific entry requirements. These can be certain course requirements from upper secondary school or a specific bachelor's degree. These specific entry requirements are decided by the university offering the course or programme and are in place to ensure a student has the right preparation.