Sweden

To which Dutch diplomas can you compare certain Swedish diplomas? Use the overview or download the PDF with more detailed information.

PDF with detailed information

Download the PDF with detailed information about the Swedish education system:

Education system Sweden (352.15 kB)

Overview of Swedish diplomas

In the overview below you can find the level of Swedish diplomas. You cannot derive any rights from it.

Working in the Netherlands

Do you want to know if you can work in the Netherlands with a certain Swedish diploma? Go to Working in the Netherlands with a foreign diploma.

Studying in the Netherlands

Do you want to know if you can study in the Netherlands with your Swedish diploma? Go to Studying in the Netherlands with a foreign diploma.

Högskoleförberedande Examen från Gymnasieskolan with vocational courses

  • Comparable to: a HAVO diploma for the general education component (NLQF 4/EQF 4).
  • Duration of schooling: 3 years.
  • Type of education: general secondary education with vocational components.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to higher education, if programme-specific requirements are met.

Högskoleförberedande Examen från Gymnasieskolan

  • Comparable to: a HAVO diploma (NLQF 4/EQF 4) or a VWO diploma (NLQF 4+/EQF 4).
  • Duration of schooling: 3 years.
  • Type of education: general secondary education.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to higher education, if programme-specific requirements are met.

Högskoleexamen/University Diploma

  • Comparable to: in most cases several years HBO or an associate degree (NLQF 5/EQF 5).
  • Duration of schooling: 2 years.
  • Type of education: professional or research-oriented.

Kandidatexamen/Bachelor’s degree

  • Comparable to: an HBO or a WO bachelor’s degree (NLQF 6/EQF 6).
  • Duration of schooling: 3 years.
  • Type of education: professional or research-oriented.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to university masters (Master/Magister).

Yrkesexamen/Professional degree

  • Comparable to: an HBO bachelor’s degree (NLQF 6/EQF 6) or a WO master’s degree (NLQF 7/EQF 7).
  • Duration of schooling: 3 to 5.5 years.
  • Type of education: professional or research-oriented.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to doctorate programmes.

Magisterexamen/Master’s degree

  • Comparable to: an HBO or a WO master’s degree (NLQF 7/EQF 7).
  • Duration of schooling: 1 year.
  • Type of education: professional or research-oriented.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to doctorate programmes.

Masterexamen/Master’s degree

  • Comparable to: an HBO or a WO master’s degree (NLQF 7/EQF 7).
  • Duration of schooling: 2 years.
  • Type of education: professional or research-oriented.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to doctorate programmes.

Licenciatexamen

  • Comparable to: 2 years of a doctorate programme (NLQF 8/EQF 8).
  • Duration of schooling: 2 years.
  • Type of education: research based.
  • Purpose of diploma: access to the final 2 years of doctorate programmes.