Higher education

18 Nov 2010

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Short description of the higher education system

Sweden has had a unitary higher education system since 1977, when reforms integrated academic education and higher professional education into the single högskola system. Higher education is offered at universities (universitetet), university colleges (högskolan) and institutions (institutetet); almost all institutions call themselves “university” in English.

There are more than 50 higher education institutions in Sweden, of which the majority is public and state-funded and a small number is independent. These institutions all apply the same admission requirements, conduct research and, in most cases, confer the same diplomas and degrees.

PhD degrees are mostly conferred by universities, but may also be conferred by other higher education institutions in specific subject areas and after government permission has been obtained.

Though Sweden does not have a binary system of higher education, universities generally offer traditional academic programmes, while other higher education institutions provide education geared more towards practical training and specialized subjects. However, there are many exceptions, and credits awarded by one type of higher education institution may be transferred to another.

University colleges can gain full university status by applying to the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, and such former university colleges awarded university status within the past ten years include Växjö University, Karlstad University, Mid Sweden University and Örebro University.

Swedish higher education distinguishes between an undergraduate phase, an advanced phase and a post-master’s or PhD phase. A further distinction is made between general and professional (yrkesexamina) degree programmes. Professional degrees are conferred not only for programmes in higher education, but also for those in medicine, law and several other study programmes.

Higher education is free of charge in Sweden, with the exception of fees for certain student facilities.
 

Types of degrees

First-level qualifications include general qualifications (university diploma worth 120 credits and bachelor’s degree worth 180 credits), qualifications in the arts and 27 different professional degrees. Second-level qualifications include general qualifications (master’s degree worth 60 credits and two-year master’s worth 120 credits), qualifications in the field of the arts and around 20 professional degrees.

Students at the third level qualify for a licentiate (120 credits) or PhD degree (240 credits). Specific objectives (learning outcomes) have been defined for all qualifications, covering the categories of “knowledge and understanding”, “skills and abilities” and ”judgement and approach”.
 

Quality assurance and accreditation

The Högskoleverket (Swedish National Agency for Higher Education) is tasked with assessing the quality of higher education. It does this by: 

  • evaluating subject areas (main fields of study) and study programmes;
  • granting degree-awarding powers.

Recent reforms

The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education recently proposed a new quality assurance system focusing on the evaluation of programmes, converting from the six-year to a four-year cycle, graded assessments on a three-point scale, increased focus on the quality of learning outcomes and rewarding quality through the allocation of resources.

On 1 July 2007, Sweden implemented a new, three-cycle higher education structure adapted to the aims of the Bologna Process, which include boosting student mobility and facilitating comparison of higher education credentials throughout Europe. The new structure comprises a first, second and third level, with the two first levels corresponding to what was formerly undergraduate education.

All existing qualifications have been assigned to one of these three levels, to which a new qualification – the two-year master’s degree – was introduced in 2007. (Source: www.hsv.se)

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