Higher Education in Sweden: Necessary Information and Guidance

 Campus of Lund University, Sweden | Photo: collected

Higher Education in Sweden: Necessary Information and Guidance

Sweden. The largest country in Northern Europe, the third largest in the European Union and the fifth largest in Europe by area. The population is about ten million. GDP per capita is 45,000 euros. Democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law are well established in all countries of the world as welfare states; Sweden is one of them.

Sweden is one of the top five countries in the world according to the World Rule of Index 2020, Democracy Index 2019 and Corruption Perception Index 2019. It is a developed, modern and technology dependent country for living and higher education. And it's a very safe country, especially for women and children. According to a recent report by CEO World Magazine this country achieves the status of best country in the world for women, .

Now let's talk about higher education in Sweden. Government spends about 3.4% of its GDP on research and innovation; Which is the highest in the world. It has 14 government universities, 16 university colleges and several independent and autonomous institutions of higher learning. The country's oldest universities include the 543-year-old Uppsala University and the Lund University, founded 354 years ago. In addition to these two universities, there are several Swedish universities in the list of 100 best universities in the world.

The official language of Sweden is Swedish. The main foreign language is English. Sweden is second only to the Netherlands in terms of the use of English as a foreign language. Most of the subjects at the postgraduate level are taught in English. Sweden's higher education institutions have about 90 postgraduate programs in English for foreign students. As a country, Sweden is also called Truly International. One of the main reasons for this is that a foreign student can study English as well as carry on the conversations of daily life fluently. In this case, there is no need to read any kind of language problem. 

However, this picture is a bit different in the case of jobs. If one has a long-term career ambition or a specific professional goal in Sweden after graduation, knowing Swedish will be of great benefit. Linguistic skills also help a foreign student to integrate culturally and socially into Swedish society.

Swedish universities admit students mainly in the autumn and spring semesters. However, non-European students are usually admitted in the autumn semester as the application process, interview, visa (Swedish Residence Permit) and various steps related to admission take considerable time. The admission process for the first round of Autumn 2021 semester has started from 16th October 2020. The deadline for online application is 15 January 2021. Deadline for submission of application fee (900 Swedish kronor) and upload of required documents is 1 February 2021.

You do not have to apply separately for admission to a Swedish university. All the universities except a few programs have to apply through specific admission portals. Admission to Swedish universities is a web-based integrated process, so it is possible to apply accurately without any help if there is a minimum of effort and minimum qualifications. The Swedish Higher Education Council has redesigned the admissions portal this year, making the application process easier.

At the postgraduate level, an applicant can apply for a maximum of four subjects. It could be at one or more universities. Applicants have to be sorted on a priority basis, which is very important for admission. If the applicant is selected for the first item on his / her preferred list, the remaining items are automatically canceled. Details of each subject are given on the university's own website, which is updated annually.

There are a number of thematic requirements for admission (bachelor's degree and, if applicable, motivation letter / statement of purpose, reference letters, CV, etc.) as well as English language qualification, such as minimum IELTS or TOEFL score. The Swedish Admission Site mentions some separate admissions by country, each of which should be considered seriously by an applicant. In the case of Bangladesh, the applicant has to make a compulsory courier in Sweden by attesting the transcript of his / her graduation from the university. In addition to the bachelor's degree certificate, English language proficiency certificate and a scanned copy of the passport, subject to the thematic admission requirements and other necessary documents have to be uploaded in the own profile created on the admission site.

Most of the postgraduate programs in Swedish universities are usually two-year programs but some have more than one-year programs. However, it is better not to be admitted in one year post graduate program without special purpose or specific reason. Keep in mind, you have to face some difficulties after coming to Sweden after being admitted for one year post graduation. Due to time constraints, the thesis of one year program is relatively short and limited. There are some limitations in future higher research (PhD) due to limited research time and opportunities. And since there is no free health insurance in the one-year program, the student has to arrange it himself. The biggest problem is that students who come to study for one year postgraduate do not get Swedish Person Number as the validity of the residence permit is less than thirteen months. As a result, there are many problems in opening bank accounts and in many other cases including part-time job (white job).

Previously, Sweden had a free education system for all, but since the autumn semester of 2011, tuition has been imposed on non-European students. There are quantitative differences in tuition fees depending on the subject and the university. A student has to bear around eighteen to thirty lakh rupees for a two-year postgraduate program. However, there are various scholarship arrangements for higher education in Sweden. Notable in this regard is the Swedish Global Professional Scholarship, also known as SI Scholarship for short. It is a Swedish government scholarship run primarily by the Swedish Institute. The main objective of this scholarship program is to develop future leaders to contribute to the global goals of the United Nations (Agenda 2030).

This year students from forty two underdeveloped / developing countries of the world including Bangladesh will be able to apply for SI Scholarship. The application process will run from 6-17 February 2021. The results will be announced on 26 April 2021. As it is very competitive, only 4-6% of the applicants are given this scholarship. Although there is no quota in the country, usually 15-20 people get SI scholarship from Bangladesh every year.

There are many benefits for SI Scholarship recipients. In addition to the full tuition fee waiver for the postgraduate program, there are ten thousand Swedish kronor per month. There is a one-time travel grant of fifteen thousand kroner and various training opportunities including health insurance. The essential documents that need to be uploaded while applying for this scholarship are: Motivation Letter in the specified format of SI Institute, Certificate of Three Thousand Hours Work Experience and Leadership Certificate, Two Reference Letters, Scanned Copy of Passport and CV in Europas format.

In addition to SI scholarships, each Swedish university offers separate scholarships to non-European students. These scholarships of the universities basically bear 25-100% tuition fees. In addition, the Student Association and Student Nations of each university provide various scholarships and financial grants. If you get a university scholarship, you don't have to pay huge tuition fees, which is a big achievement. Since there is no pressure on tuition fees, in the beginning it is possible to carry the monthly expenses by taking a few months' money for living and eating at the beginning and then get a part-time job and continue the monthly expenses. However, the Swedish language is an important part of the work.

If one has money of one's own or family, there is no need to worry about tuition fees and monthly expenses; Then the decision to come to Sweden to study by spending money would not be wrong. Sweden is a very developed country, safe country and modern education system. And the Swedish degree has a very good reputation and international acceptance. Good luck to all those who are thinking of applying to various Swedish universities this year.

Follow the web links below to find out more about Sweden's higher education, scholarships, visas and other practical information.

1) Admission (https://www.universityadmissions.se/intl/start)

2) SI Scholarships (https://si.se/en/apply/scholarships/)

3) Visa/Residence Permit (https://www.migrationsverket.se/)

4) Bangladeshi Students Facebook Group - Bangladeshi Incoming Students in Sweden (BISS)

Translated from Prabhat Nazmi, Lund University, Sweden