The universities in Sweden are at par with the best of the prestigious universities in Europe. Eight of the universities of Sweden are ranked among the top universities by QS universities. Not only that, all of them are in the top 350 universities. The country’s economy is driven by science and technology, and higher education in Sweden is apt reflection of that. Student cities like Stockholm, Lund, Gothenburg, Uppsala, and Umea are hubs for International students, with some of the large chunks of population made of domestic and international students.
Swedish and Finnish are the largely spoken languages in Sweden, but there is a large number of courses offered in English. In fact, around 900 English taught programs in the universities of Sweden for the international students. Everyone can understand and communicate in English, therefore, there are no communication barriers for the international students coming to Sweden.
Student life in Sweden varies with the city you are in. There are student clubs in every university, and they are the focal point of the activities. They organize various events for the students, be it theatre or sports. Mostly big cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg are full of opportunities for students looking for a happening nightlife. The students in the Swedish universities are very active, and the sports scene is very happening in Sweden, both on campus and out in nature.
For international students, Sweden is not a free country to study abroad. However, for domestic students, students from European Union and Switzerland, the universities in Sweden are absolutely free. Before 2011, the universities used to be free for the international students, too, however that is not the case now. The universities in Sweden has partner universities all over the world, If international students are enrolled in one of the partner universities’ programs, under the student exchange, the students can come and study in Sweden for free.
There are some basic requirements one needs to fulfil in order to study in Sweden. For bachelor's programs, one needs to have completed their higher secondary school. The other basic requirement is for the English language proficiency. Since international students will go for the English taught courses, the universities will ask for the English Language proficiency level of some level. For bachelor's courses, it is English 6/B level of Swedish secondary level.
Basic requirements for the Master's level, the basic requirement is a bachelor's degree, and just like bachelor's, there are some Basic English language requirements to be fulfilled. For both bachelors and Master's in Sweden, the other requirements will vary largely on the course and the university student will opt for.
The tuition fees for international students in Sweden will be different, for the different courses and universities. The average tuition fees can be anywhere between 7530 euros to 12240 euros a year. The other expenses like books will cost 80 euros for a semester.
There is also a student union fees one needs to pay as the membership fees, which are around 10-30 euros per semester. The living expenses will differ from city to city, and the kind of locality one lives in, as the large metropolitan cities will cost more than smaller cities. The monthly expenses excluding the semester fees will be around 755 euros including the average monthly rent for Sweden. For non-EU students, there is an additional cost of health insurance in Sweden.
For the Non-EU students, who are required to pay tuition fees, there are a number of waivers and scholarships to study in Sweden by the government, universities and other providers. Swedish Scholarship Programs are great opportunities to study in Sweden for international students without burning a hole in their pocket. Most of these scholarships are from the government, and the universities in Sweden. They make the cost of studying in Sweden bearable for the international students, helping them financially.
Most of the universities in Sweden ask for the English Language proficiency for international students whose first language is not English, or they come from a non-English Speaking country. The best way to prove it is international language tests like TOEFL and IELTS. If you are someone who does not want to appear for a language test, the universities sometimes accept the applications without the test scores if the student can prove the medium of instruction of previous education as English. However, they are individually evaluated applications, and does not happen frequently.
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