Living in Sweden

Sweden is an open, multicultural society with a long tradition of welcoming students from abroad.

Currently, some 28,000 foreign students are studying in Sweden, making for a vibrant, international study environment. Swedes have some peculiar cultural traits, but they are deeply proud of having built a society that promotes equality between the sexes, tolerance and inclusiveness.

As a student in Sweden, you will have ample opportunity to make new friends. A good part of your social life will revolve around your student union. The union can often help you with finding accommodation and other practical matters. Do make sure you are covered by adequate health insurance while in Sweden.

You will probably need to get a residence permit or visa, maybe even before you arrive in Sweden. To get a residence permit, you need to show you have sufficient funds to pay for living expenses in Sweden. But there are ways in which you can mitigate the financial strain: Sweden allows students to work for the duration of their studies.

Studying in india for overseas students

In India, higher education includes the education imparted after schooling for 10 + 2 years i.e. ten years of primary and secondary schooling followed by two years of higher / senior secondary schooling which is equivalent to STPM in Malaysia. The annual academic session starts in July to August. College admissions start in May to June or even much earlier, on the basis of written examination or interview. Some universities / institutes reserve a limited number of seats for foreign / NRI students, which are given on the basis of the applicant’s academic records.

Undergraduate courses:

Courses
Duration
Subjects required

Medicine
4 ½ years + 1 year internship
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English

Dentistry
4 years + 1 year internship
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English

Pharmacy
4 years
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English

Engineering
4 years
Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English

Architecture
5 years
Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English

Agriculture
4 years
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English

Veterinary Science
5 years including 6 months internship
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English

Hotel management, Arts, Commerce, Economics, etc.
3 years
Any stream


Minimum qualification: 60% marks in STPM or any other qualification which is equivalent to India’s 10 + 2 CBSE level.

Postgraduate courses:

Courses
Duration

Arts, Humanities, Social sciences , Commerce, Economics, Management, Agriculture, Veterinary
2 years

MD / MS courses related to medicine
2 to 3years

Hotel management, Engineering, Architecture
1 ½ years


Minimum qualification: graduate degree in the appropriate field with 50% marks.

Doctorate (PhD):

Students are admitted to PhD courses if they are able to fulfil the eligibility criteria regarding their research competence and genuine interest in the subject of study. The admission is approved by the Board of Studies and in some cases on the recommendation of a Research Degree Committee of the university concerned. The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) conduct a joint selection test twice a year and a good number of fellowships are available for those who have qualified the test for higher research.

Education in india

From time immemorial, India has been a centre for learning. Thousands of years ago, great scholars used to teach through the scriptures. A variety of subjects such as philosophy, religion, medicine, literature, drama and arts, astrology, mathematics and sociology were taught and masterpieces on these subjects have been written. Under the Buddhist influence, education was available to virtually everyone who wanted it and some world famous institutions arouse out of the monasteries, such as, Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshashila (now in Pakistan). Nalanda is especially noteworthy, flourishing from 5th to 13th century AD. It had at one time about ten thousand resident students and teachers on its roll, which included Chinese, Sri Lankan, Korean and other international scholars.

Indian universities and institutes of higher education and research today have made significant contribution to transmission of knowledge and enquiry into frontiers of science and technology. In the field of traditional subjects of arts and humanities as well as in pure sciences, applied physics and chemistry, mathematics and in areas of engineering, information technology, bio-technology, agriculture, management, medicine and pharmacy, the universities and higher education institutes have been playing a leading role to transform the country into a modern industrialised, technologically advanced state. The ushering of green revolution and tremendous progress in dairy development have made India a major food-producing country on one hand; on the other hand, its development of space technology, production and launching of indigenous satellites, development of peaceful nuclear energy have brought it into the forefront of technologically advanced nations to which a large number of developing countries look for training and guidance.

The Indian universities and institutes of higher learning have been playing their role to promote the needs and aspirations of higher education and research to Indian students and scholars. These centres have been extending their cooperation and friendship towards students of other developing countries also, where facilities for higher studies and research are not adequate.

Study options in Sweden

Trying to understand Sweden's higher education system can seem daunting at first. Our primer should help - it contains some basic information about studying at Swedish universities that foreign students don't automatically know.

As a foreign student, different options are open to you depending on the degree level you would like to study at: undergraduate (as an exchange student or free mover); as a master's candidate, or at the doctoral level. Application procedures are explained for each level.

Another decision is what language you would like to study in. Most likely you will study one of the 500 English-language degree programs, but if your Swedish is fluent, Swedish courses are open to you as well, giving you even greater choice.

You will need to choose a school that teaches your area of interest. Make sure your academic credentials are recognized and start applying.

Other options
You may just have finished with your studies, in which case you may be looking for a traineeship position. Or else you may be in a position to buy contract training (commissioned education) for your company or organization.

Finally, instead of pursuing an academic degree, you may be interested in advanced vocational education (AVE), which focuses more on workplace learning. There is one such program in English: Globalverkstan.