Swedish university education is one of the top ranked educations in the world. The reason is for that is a lot of research\u00a0and that people are not afraid of using new technologies and methods. Swedish education is often based on the one-step-ahead idea. The Swedish governments have invested a lot into adequate educations. There has been a tendency since the early 90s that universities started looking for sectors that might develop or should\/could be succesfully developed. You plan ahead and it is for long-term. The education should be competitive on an international scale. Swedish institutions have been flexible changing their profile, research areas and developing them during the years.<\/p>\n
In Sweden education is free of charge. From this year it is also a free choice whether you want to pay for your student union a semester fee or not. I have to highlight the importance of these fees, whether it is up to you or not. I think it is essential to be in a safe position if anything unfair\u00a0happens to you at the university. Let\u00b4s say you have problem with a teacher or with the institution. The student union can always provide you any kind of help (inculding legal) and back you up. Besides, you receive a student discount card and\u00a0a bunch of\u00a0benefits. It is like belonging to a union at work. The union always keen on\u00a0your interests towards the employer. A membership can lead to equality in dialogue. There have been discussions about introducing an entrance fee for students coming outside of the EU, but to be honest I really don\u00b4t know if any decision has been made about it.<\/p>\n
If you live in Sweden you can\u00a0go to KOMVUX to learn Swedish as a second language aka. Svenska 2 that gives you secondary school competence. Before KOMVUX you have also a possibility (when you arrive to Sweden) to learn Swedish at SFI (Svenska f\u00f6r invandrare\/Swedish for immigrants). It is free of charge and gives you primary school competence. There has been lot of criticism towards SFI-system, but I have to say it really depends on your teacher and your engagement how much you will learn. You\u00b4ll be given the tools.\u00a0Besides, it is for free! How many countries do you know where language education is free of charge? Not many.<\/p>\n
Swedish universities have a wide range of Master programs given in English<\/a>, but if you want to study in Swedish you have to of course speak the language. You have two choices to be eligible for studies in Swedish. One option is a test so called TISUS (Test in Swedish for universities). An additional fee has to be paid for taking an exam. I have heard that you can write the tests also once or twice a year at the Swedish Embassy in your home country. It is a hard and very advanced test just like a Proficiency Test in English.\u00a0Both universities and Folkuniversitetet<\/a> provide preparation courses for these exams. It is strongly recommended if you ask me. You can apply for a preparation course\u00a0that is free of charge at the universities\u00a0or buy a place through\u00a0a so called Tisus course-package at Folkuniversity in case\u00a0you don\u00b4t get into the university. To be able to study at a Swedish university you have to have TOEFL or Cambridge certificate or anything similar that can be transferred by the local university or by VHS<\/a> that is the Board for Higher Education Service. They can also transfer all your credits from your native country, but even the local universities provide that service. If you are a new student take contact with\u00a0a so called student counselor\u00a0studiev\u00e4gledare<\/strong>.\u00a0They usually know everything about the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n You can also take an international Swedish language examination that is called SWEDEX if you need proof of your Swedish knowledge in a foreign country because of work or other reasons. The Swedex won\u00b4t give you any qualifications for higher education in Sweden.\u00a0The exams are\u00a0from level A2-B1, which\u00a0is the European Framework of Reference for Langauges<\/a>\u00a0and it\u00a0is valid all across the EU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Swedish university education is one of the top ranked educations in the world. The reason is for that is a lot of research\u00a0and that people are not afraid of using new technologies and methods. Swedish education is often based on the one-step-ahead idea. The Swedish governments have invested a lot into adequate educations. There has…<\/p>\n