Globalization and ubiquitous computerization (which, according to paranoid people, allows Big Brother to follow us) helps everyone who has an Internet connection to truly feel like a citizen of the world. And this means not only watching photos on the social networks of residents of different countries, but also getting the opportunity to visit them yourself or even go there to study. Seems accessible only to children of wealthy parents? And here it is: if you are smart, hardworking and not afraid of difficulties, you have a chance to get an education abroad. For example, in the homeland of ABBA. Let's find out about the features of the education system in Sweden and how a foreigner can enter her university.
Carlson and Peppy Long Stocking Homeland
This country is today one of the richest and most prosperous. Moreover, to modern man she is better known not by ABBoy or books by Astrid Lindgren, but as the birthplace of IKEA.
We are talking about Sweden, which still has a monarchy (constitutional), which does not prevent it from being very progressive in all respects.
This kingdom is quite large in size for Europe - 447,435 km². However, a high standard of living here (GDP per capita is $ 40,418 per year) is ensured not only through the competent use of a favorable geographical location and natural resources, but also thanks to a well-thought-out educational system.
4.9% of GDP is allocated annually to this sector, which is a very high indicator. What exactly does this money go to? Let's find out more.
Swedish preschool education system
Unlike the Netherlands, where babies are trying to wrest from their mother’s arms at the age of 3 months, Sweden has more democratic laws, and children are taken to kindergartens from 1 year old.
The main goal of such institutions is to help the child adapt in society, teaching him to get along with his peers.
Preschools in this country are divided into 3 categories.
- Inskolning is the so-called adaptive kindergarten, in which the baby is helped to get used to the habit of weaning from parental care and become more independent. To make this process go as smoothly as possible, in the first month, the presence of dad or mother in the classroom is practiced on average 4-5 hours a day.
- Dagis are the usual kindergartens that children attend at the age of 1 to 5 years. The daily routine here is similar to ours, except for the absence of a mandatory quiet hour. Although if you recall childhood - then which of us actually slept then? In Sweden, if the child is tired, he can lie in a corner on a special mat and take a nap there.
- Förskoleklass - the so-called zero classes or preparatory. Six years go here. They are taught in a playful way reading, counting and writing.
All kindergartens in Sweden are paid. Moreover, their cost depends on the income level of parents and the number of children in the family. The fee for 1 month of education in a preschool institution may not exceed 130 euros. At the same time, the Swedish government welcomes large families. Therefore, the more babies in the family, the cheaper it is for her kindergarten.
The fee for one child is 3% of the monthly income of the parents but not more than 130 euros, for two you will have to pay 2% for each, for three - 1%. And if there are four children in the family, their stay in kindergartens is fully paid by the state.
At the same time, the system of preschool education in Sweden, although it welcomes large families, does not allow itself to sit on its neck. So, the child has the right to kindergarten only if both parents work. And if one of them sits at home - be kind, educate your children yourself before entering Förskoleklass. However, even in this case, indulgence is made to parents - their crumbs can attend kindergartens 3 hours a day or 15 hours a week in free order.
Features of Swedish schools
The next stage of study in Sweden is Grundskola. This is the name of the nine-year school, consisting of three levels:
- Lågstadiet- primary. It consists of 3 classes.
- Mellanstadiet - Intermediate Stage - Grades 4-6.
- Hgstadiet - high school - grades 7-9.
At the initial and intermediate levels, students are not given homework and no grades are given. During this period, almost all subjects are taught by the same teacher.
Starting from the senior level, the Swedes not only have subject teachers, but also a grading system in letters from A to F.
Among the subjects that are added to high school students are a second foreign language, economics, drawing, natural science (a mixture of physics, chemistry and biology) and social science (geography, history of law, the foundations of religion).
At the end of each year of study in Sweden, students are tested in their native and English languages, as well as in mathematics. Interestingly, the result does not affect the performance of the child, it just helps to assess the level of development of the material.
After graduating from Hgstadiet, a student can go to work as a laborer or continue his studies at the gymnasium (Gymnasieskola).
All schools in Sweden are divided into 2 types: private and municipal. The vast majority of children are educated in the latter. The fact is that private ones are almost always paid, and the cost of training there is very high - 9236 euros per year.
For migrants from other countries, each municipal school has specialized classes in which the level of education is adapted to the knowledge of children, as well as their age. At the same time, teachers make every effort so that their students learn Swedish as soon as possible and catch up with the local program.
Grammar School
Grammar school in Sweden is optional. School graduates come here and study from 16 to 20 years.
Unlike schools, the programs here have a profile. They prepare students in three areas: professional, technical and academic. For this purpose, 26 programs have been developed in Sweden. A third of them are preparing for admission to the university, and the remaining 2/3 provide professional knowledge in a certain field.
After graduating from high school, immediately enrolling in a university is not necessary. Many Swedes take a “vacation” and travel. Or temporarily get low-skilled jobs to figure out what they want to do in life.
It happens that a temporary part-time job becomes a thing of a lifetime. Therefore, in many enterprises, employees who have proven themselves to be successful are offered to study remotely, without looking up from production. This is what Volvo Trucks does in Sweden. The training of auto-electricians or auto-diagnosticians is one of her areas of interest. The fact is that timely repair of trucks is no less important than from production. Therefore, handymen who have shown abilities in this area are usually sent to master the above specialties more thoroughly.
However, more often, making sure that they do not like working for pennies, after a couple of years, graduates of high schools enter universities. Therefore, the average age of Swedish freshmen is 25 years.
Considering the pros and cons of studying in Sweden, it is worth mentioning such a phenomenon as Folkhögskola. These are the so-called higher public schools, which are aimed at adult education, there are about 150 of them.
If for some reason the Swedes do not have a completed secondary education (gymnasium certificate) or if they are migrants from other countries, they can study here already in adulthood and restore the gaps in their education.
These institutions have a lot of different programs, which include both short courses and the possibility of longer and more thorough training in one of the selected profiles.
Upon completion of studies, Folkhögskola graduates are given a diploma, which is a complete analogue of the gymnasium certificate.
If an adult wants to get a higher education, he needs to undergo training for entering a university at KomVux (municipal adult schools).
Higher education in Sweden
You can get it at more than 50 educational institutions. These are not only universities, but also higher schools.
Here you can get diplomas in three levels:
- Bachelor (3 years);
- Master (2 years);
- doctor (4 years).
The vast majority of Swedish universities teach in their language. However, there are many programs in English.
Please note that bachelor's degree is taught in the British language only for selected specialties, and even then only in a third of institutions. While in a magistracy or doctoral studies studying in Sweden in English in most cases is compulsory even for citizens of another country.
The most popular specialties here are engineering and computer sciences, agriculture, business, as well as natural and human sciences.
An interesting situation is observed in the field of pedagogy. This specialization is not particularly popular in the country due to low salaries, which leads to a shortage of personnel in this area. That is why it is often invited to Swedish universities to teach foreigners from poorer countries or through some kind of social programs, thanks to which they are worth a penny to universities.
Distance Learning in Sweden
This state is rated as one of the most high-tech. Therefore, the use of computers and Internet technologies here has long been a matter of course.
Digital libraries and various test programs, as well as the ability to conduct online conferences, lectures and seminars, allows students of Swedish universities to study remotely.
Today, in some universities there is a so-called dual mode of study. Its essence is that the same courses can have full-time and distance learning. Despite the fact that students of various forms, of course, study separately, exams are common for them, although for the second category they can be conducted using online programs.
At the moment, distance (or else, as it is called, e-learning) in Sweden is very common. Moreover, not only foreigners resort to it, but the Swedes themselves. Especially if they work in parallel with their studies (as is the case with the Volvo Trucks program) or it is just convenient for them to study at home.
As for foreigners, they can engage in such a regime, even when they are outside of Sweden.
It is worth noting that foreign students do not have a student visa.
The best universities in Sweden
Although there are many educational institutions in this country, not all of them are the same. Let's look at the top ten of them, whose diplomas are quoted around the world.
- Uppsala University specializes in providing medical and legal education.
- Carolina Medical University. It is in this place that the Nobel Prizes in medicine and physiology are awarded. It is one of three universities in Sweden with a system of instruction in English. Although there are many programs here in Swedish.
- Lund University - recognized as the best university in Scandinavia. The main areas of study are politics, law, geography, biology, physics, chemistry, medicine, communication and linguistics.
- Stockholm Royal Institute of Technology. The largest of the Scandinavian of its kind.
- Stockholm University is the largest university in Sweden. It consists of 4 faculties: natural, humanitarian, legal, as well as public.
- Stockholm Academy of Liberal Arts, aims to train artists and sculptors.
- Chalmers University of Technology, located in Gothenburg. The main specializations are architecture, design, science, computer science, as well as nanotechnology.
- The University of Gothenburg prepares specialists in finance, information technology, medicine, economics, law, the visual arts and design.
- Swedish Agricultural University. Its name speaks for itself. However, in addition to livestock breeders and specialists in agricultural enterprises, he also trains genetic engineers and environmentalists.
- The University of Technology in Lulea aims to conduct practical research in various fields. Therefore, it is precisely such specialists who are trained here.
Issue price
Finally we got to the point that everyone can not but worry about who wants to study in Sweden, namely, the cost of studying at its universities.
For citizens of this state, as well as immigrants from EU countries, higher education is free here. But for people from other powers (including Russians), education in Sweden is paid. This applies to both full-time and distance learning programs.
As for the cost itself, it varies depending on the university and a specific subject. On average, one academic year costs 7500-21000 euros. And this is only a fee for university services. When deciding to study in Sweden, it is important to take into account the cost of the flight and the stay itself - this is about 10 thousand euros per year. As a rule, these expenses include payment of accommodation, meals, transportation, medical insurance, not including the office, books and personal expenses.
Please note that when applying for a student visa, among the package of documents, you will need to submit a certificate from the bank on the availability of funds in the account that you plan to use to pay for your stay in the country (850 euros per month for the entire period of study). And besides, it will be necessary to take out insurance in the amount of at least 30 thousand euros.
Grants and social programs
The high cost of studying in Sweden is probably one of its main disadvantages. However, do not despair. Indeed, in this state there are a number of scholarship programs for foreigners. In addition, since 2010 (when training for foreigners from outside the EU became paid), their number has increased significantly. So any of us has a real opportunity to get a training grant.
As a rule, the majority of scholarship programs are provided for study in a master's or doctoral program. Everything is simple here: the Swedes are aimed at “brainwashing” from other, less wealthy countries, and therefore they are interested in ready-made specialists (bachelors), who will only have to be trained a bit and can be lured to themselves. Therefore, preference is given precisely to future masters and doctors.
Free training in Sweden for Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgians and Moldovans can be obtained using the Visby program (Swedish Institute Baltic Sea Region Program). Its main advantage is the full coverage of all expenses not only for academic needs, but also for accommodation and air travel.
A similar program, The Swedish Institute Study Scholarships, has been developed for immigrants from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Kazakhstan.
In addition to them, grants for studies in Sweden can be provided directly by universities themselves, again, only for masters and doctors. However, they usually cover only academic expenses or part of them.
There is a nice feature of doctoral studies. Foreigners for their research activities monthly receive a small salary of 1.5 thousand euros.
In addition to the above Swedish programs, there are international ones - these are ERASMUS MUNDUS or TEMPUS. They provide scholarships to particularly outstanding students, and also compensate for other expenses.
Although most courses for foreigners are taught in English, which almost everyone knows in Sweden, when trying to get a scholarship or a grant, you need to keep in mind that preference is given to those applicants who know or study Swedish.
How foreigners can enter here
Having decided to get higher education in Sweden, it is necessary to take the following steps:
- Choose a university and study program. As a rule, such data is available on the official websites of each university. However, they can change, so it is better to send a letter with a question to the site administrator.
- Find free training opportunities and apply there.
- Prepare documents and apply for training. Pay attention to the periods of their submission, so as not to be late. Fortunately, this can be done several times a year.
- Wait for an answer. Whatever it is, they will certainly send it to you.
- If you are accepted, you need to start collecting a new package of documents for a student visa.
Although each university has its own requirements for applicants, usually these items are still included here.
- School certificate translated into English and notarized.
- Certificates of knowledge of foreign languages (TOEFL (90), IELTS (from 5 to 7 points) - for English and TISUS, SLTAR - for Swedish.
- A motivation letter - explaining why an applicant wants to study here and why he should nevertheless be accepted.
- Letters of recommendation from school.
- A printout of the title page of your personal account from the website of the university admissions committee.
- Copy of passport.
- A receipt on the payment of a mandatory contribution.
The above package of documents is suitable for admission to undergraduate studies. If it is a magistracy, instead of a certificate, a bachelor’s diploma with an insert is submitted, and letters of recommendation are provided from the university, and not from the school.
Doctoral studies are still simpler: the same as for a magistracy, plus a diploma and examples of scientific papers.
Exams for applicants to Swedish universities are very rare. As a rule, enrollment takes place through a competition of certificates. You can increase your chances of admission with the Högskoleprovet exam (English and Maths). However, keep in mind that it is held in Swedish.
If you have weighed all the pros and cons of studying in this country, and there were more of the first ones - go for it! May luck accompany you!