NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

I. Higher education system
The education system in Sweden was previously strongly centralised with national education policy determined by Parliament
and implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science, with the assistance, until fairly recently, of the National Board of
Education for schools and the National Board of Universities and Colleges for higher education (which were abolished in
1990 and 1992 respectively). These authorities had the responsibility for national planning of education in cooperation with
representatives of the respective systems of education, which meant that education was the same all over the country. There
were few private institutions. Education was open to all categories of people, free of charge and with favourable State study
assistance. In 1977, a far-reaching reform of the higher education system took place with the creation of an integrated and
uniform system for all types of tertiary education, broadened admission policies for higher education, widened geographic
distribution of higher education and the creation of recurrent educational opportunities. New measures to strengthen links
between higher education and research and to create closer ties between education and other areas of society were taken. In
1979, Sweden introduced a numerus clausus for higher education, which has made admission to most study programmes
highly selective. In the 1990s education at all levels became more decentralised. A new reform of both upper-secondary
school and higher education was launched in 1993, with for example, prolongation of vocational upper-secondary school to
three years instead of two, fewer prescribed programmes in both secondary school and higher education, a new degree system
in higher education, etc.
The 1977 reform introduced the högskola, the Swedish collective name for higher education, encompassing not only
traditional university studies but also those at the various professional institutes and university colleges and a number of
programmes previously taught in other parts of the higher education system. Most of the programmes included in the
broadened definition of higher education are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Science, others are under
the Ministry of Agriculture and paramedical programmes are under the county councils. Research is integrated with and
founded on close local cooperation with the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of the university or institute
concerned. This applies both to basic research at higher education institutions and to what is known as sectoral (i.e. externally
funded) research.
In the 1993 reform of higher education, higher education institutions were given increased autonomy in the organisation of
studies, admissions, use of resources and general organisation. The new degree system provides greater freedom for the
students to plan their own studies. Diversity and competition between higher education institutions were introduced together
with incentives for improved quality. First the Chancellor’s office, later the Department of Evaluation and Quality Audit
within the National Agency for Higher Education, obtained national responsibility for quality development and assessment.
The National Agency for Higher Education also has the task of deciding about accreditation of academic degrees and the right
of certain university colleges to establish professorships. Independent universities and university colleges are recognised by
the government and may obtain the right to award degrees and/or receive State subsidies and for their students to receive study
assistance. Diplomas from all kinds of higher education institutions recognised by the government have equal official value.
I.1. The institutions of higher education
There are at present six multi-faculty universities and one agricultural university in Sweden. These universities, together with
the universities/institutes of technology and medicine, have a permanent allocation for research and postgraduate education.
The more than 30 university colleges have research links with the universities through special government grants. In addition
to the State-run institutions of higher education, there are the semi-private Stockholm School of Economics, Chalmers
University of Technology and the University College of Jönköping. There are also local government-run colleges of health
sciences for paramedical professions in all the six university regions (Stockholm, Uppsala, Linköping, Lund, Göteborg,
Umeå), some of which, however, are merging with State-run institutions.