Fact Sheet for Partner Universities

Welcome to the University of Skövde!

Contact Information

Erasmus Code

S SKOVDE01

Incoming Students (Admission)

Erika Eriksson Hjelm, Admissions Officer
Anna-Karin Metz, Admissions Officer
Kristin Berglund, Admissions Officer (on leave)
exchangestudent@his.se
Tel: +46 500 448000

International Office

University of Skövde International Office Academic Affairs and Student Support
P.O. Box 408, 541 28 Skövde, Sweden

Tel: +46 500 448000
Fax: +46 500 448099
Email: international@his.se

Head of International Office

• Elizabeth Persson
  international@his.se

International Coordinators

• Andrea Diao Jonsson
  International student recruitment, scholarship programmes for tuition-fee paying students
  study@his.se
  Tel: +46 500 448027
• Karin Jonegård
  International student recruitment, Study Abroad programme 
  Tel: +46 500 448224
  international@his.se
• Sanna Larsson
  Erasmus+ Agreements and Staff Exchange, Nordplus
  international@his.se
  Tel: +46 500 448065
• Frida Lindgren
  Coordinator for outgoing exchange students and for the International Introduction
  utlandsstudier@his.se
  Tel: +46 500 448183

Academic Calendar

• Autumn semester 2024: 2 September – 19 January, 2025
• Spring semester 2025: 20 January – 8 June, 2025

See more details for the Academic Calendar.

• International Introduction: 26-30 August, 2024

Exchange Students – Course Information

Languages of Instruction

The University of Skövde offers courses taught in Swedish and English.

Available Courses for Exchange Students in English

Our University offers about 100 courses in English in different fields of study for your students.

• Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical and Product Design Engineering)
• Natural Sciences (Bioinformatics, Biomedicine, Molecular Biology, System Biology)
• Business Administration
• Computer Science (Informatics, Information Systems Development)
• Computer Game Development
• Media Arts, Aesthetics and Narration
• Nursing
• Cognitive Neuroscience and Philosophy
• English language
• Swedish language

A list of our courses that will be available for exchange students can be found at Courses for Exchange Students.

Exchange Students – Requirements for Admission

Prerequisites for courses

We advise your students to read our instructions before submitting their course applications. You and your students must carefully check the prerequisites for each course that they want to apply to. Your students should only apply to courses that they fulfil the specific academic requirements for. In some cases, we might ask your students to demonstrate that they meet the prerequisites by submitting syllabuses (course plans) from courses they have previously studied.

Courses on master´s level

Most of our master´s level courses require that the student has been awarded a bachelor’s degree (equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen). Please observe that in Sweden there are national guidelines for how to assess academic qualifications from different countries. These guidelines will be used to evaluate your student´s qualifications and eligibility to specific courses. Please make sure that the student submits a copy of the degree certificate and an official transcript of records.

Language Proficiency

The sending university is responsible for ensuring that nominated students are sufficiently fluent in English. The sending university must be able to confirm that they meet the minimum recommended level (B2) according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (external link) by signing our English Proficiency Certificate (pdf). If the English Proficiency Certificate has been signed by the student and the sending university this will mean that he/she fulfills our English language requirements for all courses (including courses on master´s level).

Students can also demonstrate their English abilities by submitting an internationally recognized English test if they do not wish to use the English Proficiency Certificate. Please note that as long as we have received a fully signed English Proficiency Certificate the student is not required to submit an English test such as IELTS or TOEFL.

Accepted English tests and minimum results required are listed below:

IELTS Academic

Minimum overall score: 6,5
Minimum score in every section: 5,5

TOEFL Paper-based

Minimum overall score: 575
Minimum score Writing section: 4,5

TOEFL Internet-based

Minimum overall score: 90
Minimum score Writing section: 20

Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

Minimum overall score: Accepted

Cambridge Proficiency (CPE)

Minimum overall score: Accepted

Cambridge First Certificate (FCE)

Minimum overall score: Does not fulfil the language requirements

Our English requirements can also be fulfilled if the student has taken university courses taught in English. More information about this can be found at UniversityAdmissions.se.

Exchange Students – Course selection

Exchange students must be admitted to at least 30 credits, which equals one semester of full-time studies. Your students are free to select these 30 credits from courses in all our subject fields, as long as they seem to fulfil the prerequisites of the course. If they want, they may add extra language courses as follows: 15 credits in English language courses + 18 credits in Swedish culture and language courses.

The maximum amount of credits (ECTS) an exchange student can be admitted to in one semester is thus: 30 credits in all our subject areas + 15 credits in English language courses + 18 credits in Swedish language/culture courses.

More information about how to choose courses will be sent to the nominated students.

Exchange Students – Application Procedure

Nomination Deadlines for Exchange Students

March 20 for the following autumn semester or the full academic year.
September 10 for the following spring semester.

The nomination of exchange students should be emailed to exchangestudent@his.se. We will only process applications from students who have been formally nominated and accepted. After we have accepted your nomination, we will contact the students and send them more detailed information about the application procedures.

Application Period for Exchange Students

• March 15 – April 15 for the following autumn semester or the full academic year.
• September 15 – October 15 for the following spring semester.

How to apply for courses

Nominated exchange students submit their course applications via the national Swedish university application system; www.universityadmissions.se.

When selecting courses, please consider the following:

• The students must choose courses from the list we send the nominated students with available courses
• They should only apply to courses where they fulfil the academic requirements
• The courses the student choose should correspond to their level of study (bachelor or master’s level). However, master level students are welcome to apply to both bachelor´s and master´s level courses
• The student should select courses representing at least 30 credits (equal to 30 ECTS), and make sure to choose courses that cover the entire semester (and not, for example, just the first half of the semester)
• The course selection should be ranked in order of preference

Required documents

The student must submit the following documents:

1. The official transcript of university records in English
2. The official transcript of university records in the original language
3. The English Proficiency Certificate
4. A copy of a valid passport or national identity card, clearly stating the citizenship. For non-EU students a copy of the passport is required.
   
   Students applying for master’s level courses must also submit:
5. A copy of the bachelor’s degree certificate (diploma) accompanied by an updated official transcript of records in English and in the original language. If the student has not received an official diploma by the time of the application, some other official document where the university confirms that the requirements for a bachelor´s degree have been met must be submitted.

Please note that the documents that the student submits must be scanned in PDF-format. We will not consider a student’s application unless the transcripts from your university have been translated to English. We will accept verifications that are signed by a university official and stamped with the university seal. All translations must be accompanied by a verified copy of the original.

Admission results

Course admissions results (“Notification of Selection Results”) will be notified online at universityadmissions.se. The first admission results will be published the middle of November/May. The student can then find the Notification of Selection Results by logging in to his or her account at the universityadmissions.se website. If the student has not received an admission result for all the selected courses by then, a complete admission result will be published no later than by the middle of December/June.

We will prioritize applications from students from outside Europe, since they need to apply for residence permits in time. Non-European students can therefore expect to receive their final course admission results by middle of November/May.

Please observe that we will not send formal admission letters via e-mail. If a printed copy of the admission result is needed for residence permit applications or other situations, the student can print out the Notification of Selection Results from this website and use it as proof of admission.

Learning agreement

The study programme stated in the Learning Agreement must conform to the courses that the student is actually admitted to at the University of Skövde. Otherwise we will not be able to sign the Learning Agreement, or we will need to make changes to the original study plan.

We therefore suggest that you send the Learning Agreement to us after the final course admission results has been published. We will only sign online learning agreements (OLA), created and submitted via the Erasmus Dashboard. If you are not using the Erasmus Dashboard you need to contact exchangestudent@his.se to find an individual solution for your students.

Study Abroad Students – Course Information

Languages of Instruction

The University of Skövde offers programmes taught in English.

Available programmes for Study Abroad Students in English

Our university offers 25 international programmes – three at Bachelor’s level and 22 at Master’s level. The Study Abroad agreements do not necessarily cover all of the programmes. Please check your university’s agreement concerning which programmes that are covered as well as the number of students that can be nominated within the Study Abroad agreement.

The University of Skövde offers programmes within the following fields:

Bachelor’s programmes

• Bioscience

Master’s programmes

• Behavioural sciences
• Bioscience
• Engineering and Technology
• Game Development
• Health Sciences
• Informatics

Available international programmes can be found at Education, under each field.

Study Abroad Students – Requirements for Admission

Prerequisites for programmes

We advise your students to read our instructions before submitting their programme applications. You and your students must carefully check the prerequisites for each programme that they want to apply to. Your students should only apply to programmes that they fulfil the specific academic requirements for. In some cases, we might ask your students to demonstrate that they meet the prerequisites by submitting syllabi (course plans) from courses that they have previously studied.

Programmes on master´s level

Programmes at a master´s level require that the student has been awarded a bachelor’s degree (equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen). Students in their last year of studies who do not yet have documentation of their soon-to-be completed degree can be accepted by universities. More information can be found at Final year of bachelor's studies (universityadmissions.se), where you also find the required form as pdf.

Please observe that in Sweden there are national guidelines regarding the evaluation of academic qualifications from different countries. These guidelines will be used to evaluate your students´ qualifications and eligibility to the specific programmes. Please make sure that you follow the instructions on UniversityAdmission.se regarding the required documentation.

• India: universityadmissions.se/en/india
• Malaysia: universityadmissions.se/en/malaysia
• Brazil: universityadmissions.se/en/brazil

Language Proficiency

For admission to Graduate/Master’s level, a proof of the equivalence of the Swedish upper secondary course English 6 must be shown. At present this can for example be shown through:

• Methods for meeting the English requirement differ based on country of previous studies. Country specific information can be found on UniversityAdmissions.se
• Alternately, the English 6 language requirement may be met regardless of previous studies with an international English test as TOEFL or IELTS according to the English  languague instructions (universityadmissions.se)

Study Abroad Students – Additional Courses

During the registration procedure upon arrival, Study Abroad students may elect to add two extra courses without incurring tuition fees if taken in their first or second semesters. These courses are Swedish Culture and Swedish Society (3 credits) and Swedish for Foreign Students: Oral Proficiency and Listening Comprehension (7.5 credits).

Study Abroad students – Application Procedure

How to apply for programmes

Study Abroad students submit their course applications via the national Swedish university application system; www.universityadmissions.se. See additional instructions below.

Application Period for Study Abroad Students

• 15 October – 15 January: Application period for programmes starting the following autumn semester
• 1 February: Deadline to submit application fee and supporting documents
• 1 June – 15 August: Application period for programmes starting the following spring semester
• 1 September: Deadline to submit application fee and supporting documents

Please also check Key dates and deadlines (universityadmissions.se) for the most updated dates and deadlines.

It is important to follow all application instructions outlined by UniversityAdmissions.se when applying to study programmes. Students who apply, submit supporting documentation, or modify their application after the above deadlines will not be guaranteed admission and will not be eligible for scholarships offered by the University of Skövde or the Swedish Institute.

Study Abroad Nomination Deadlines

In order to be offered a position under the Study Abroad agreement, students must be nominated by the International Office of the partner university prior to the following deadlines:

• 1 February for programmes starting the following autumn semester
• 1 September for programmes starting the following spring semester

The nomination of Study Abroad students should be emailed to international@his.se. Only applications from students who have been formally nominated for Study Abroad will be given priority.

Additional Application Instructions

When selecting programmes, please consider the following:

• The students must choose programmes within the Study Abroad agreement
• They should only apply to programmes where they fulfil the academic requirements
• The students must choose a programme from the University of Skövde as first priority in order for the University to prioritize their application. As we cannot guarantee that there are enough places for a specific programme we recommend that a student also chooses programmes from the University of Skövde as second and third priority.
• The programmes that the student choose should correspond to their level of study (bachelor or master’s level)
• The programme selection should be ranked in order of preference and accordingly to the programmes and number of seats that are covered in the Study Abroad agreement
• If reserve students are included in the Study Abroad agreement, any students placed on the reserve list must be ranked in order of priority. If no ranking is explicitly made, the top name will be considered as rank one, the second as rank two, etc. This ranking is not required for regular (non-reserve) Study Abroad nominations.

Prepare supporting documentation

The student must prepare the required supporting documents, such as an official transcript of records in both English and the original language, a copy of a valid passport, a signed English Proficiency Certificate etc. For master level students, a copy of the bachelor degree diploma will also be required. The documents must be scanned in PDF format. For more information see Programmes on master´s level in the section above.

All programme applications from Study Abroad students must be submitted via www.universityadmissions.se. Remember to follow the deadlines for the Master’s first admission round at Key dates and deadlines (universityadmissions.se).

The required documents should be submitted no later than 1 February (autumn semester)/1 September (spring semester).

Required documents

The student must submit the following documents:

1. The official transcript of university records in English
2. The official transcript of university records in the original language
3. The English Proficiency Certificate
4. A copy of a valid passport or national identity card, clearly stating the citizenship. For non-EU students a copy of the passport is required
5. A passport photo

Additional requirement for students who have not completed their bachelor’s studies:

Official document stating that you're a currently enrolled student and participating in your last year of studies. The document must be written in English, issued through and signed by a representative of the Academic Registrar's Office, the Examinations Office or equivalent and must state the name of the degree in both the original language (if applicable) and in English.

Optionally, the prepared form Statement of enrollment status (pdf) may be used to satisfy this requirement.

Please note that the documents that the student submits must be scanned in pdf format. Student transcripts must be provided in both the original language and translated to English in order to be eligible. Both the original and translated transcript should be verified by a university official. Only documents which have been verified with signature of university official and stamped with the university seal will be considered.

Admission results

Course admissions results (“Notification of Selection Results”) will be notified online at www.universityadmissions.se. The first admission results will be published in the end of October (spring semester)/March (autumn semester). The student can then find the Notification of Selection Results by logging in to his or her account at www.universityadmissions.se.

Please observe that we will not send formal admission letters via e-mail. If a printed copy of the admission result is needed for residence permit applications or other situations, the student can print out the Notification of Selection Results from this website and use it as proof of admission.

Academic Information

Exam Sessions

Most courses end with a test in the form of a written examination in an examination room, where the students’ knowledge is tested. Other forms of examinations can be home-based tests, laboratory experiments, seminars and assignments to be submitted.

Course Registration

Course registration is normally done on campus during the Introduction Programme.

Exam Sign-Up

Students must sign up in advance if they want to take an examination or if they are retaking an exam. The students must sign up no later than one week before the day of the exam. To be able to sign up for an examination they need Internet access and a student user account at the University of Skövde. More information will be given during the Introduction Programme.

Distance Examination

Since international students are expected to attend the Introduction Programme, the University of Skövde offers exchange students the possibility to take exams at the University of Skövde instead of the home institution during the first three weeks of the semester. Please contact distanceexam@his.se for more information about this possibility.

For Partners with Double-Degree or Study Abroad collaboration with the University of Skövde

Students from partner universities that have a Double-Degree or Study Abroad collaboration with our university, and who wish to apply for a degree from the University of Skövde after they have completed their studies here (including a bachelor project) might be asked to submit syllabuses and transcripts of completed courses and grades. University records should be submitted in English and in the original language. All translations must be officially certified and accompanied by a verified copy of the original.

Transcript and Other Documents after Completed Studies

Exchange and Study Abroad students and representatives from partner universities can order a transcript from us via our student portal. We will then send the transcript along with a course certificate and a description of our grading system after the studies have been completed.

Practical Information for Incoming Students

Accommodation Information

Students who need help to find a place to stay in Skövde should fill in our online accommodation application. The students can apply for accommodation before they receive their course admission results. Please make sure that your students read through the terms of rent and payment before submitting the accommodation application no later than June 1/November 15. Due to the nature of living conditions in the student housing and limitations with our landlords it is not possible to bring family members or pets during the exchange studies. Students who want to bring their families will have to arrange the accommodation by themselves. You find more information here.

Student Housing Coordinator

Elin Tomasdottir
studenthousing@his.se
Tel: +46 500 448600

Arrival / Pick-Up Service

Exchange and Study Abroad students are expected to arrive to Skövde during certain “arrival days”, normally the week before the semester starts. A pick-up service will be provided during specific arrival dates and hours. With this service, the students will be picked up at the train station in Skövde and transported to their accommodation. If the students arrive on other days they must arrange their own transportation. The students will be asked to fill out an arrival form with arrival details, in order to prepare the student´s accommodation keys. Information will be sent to the students after they have been admitted to studies at our university.

Late arrival

If a student cannot arrive in time for the Introduction Programme, please make sure to notify us this by sending an e-mail to exchangestudent@his.se (exchange students) or study@his.se (Study Abroad students).

Introduction Programme for International Students

The Introduction Programme for international students takes place the week before the beginning of each semester. During the programme the students will get to know the University, the Student Union, the city of Skövde and its surroundings. They will receive information about the registration procedure, course schedules, computer access, security cards and much more. A special social programme will also be arranged.

Student Support and Services

We offer international students different supporting services:

• Student Affairs Office
• Student and Career Counselling
• Student Health Service
• Special support for students with disabilities
• Study Support Center
• Student Chaplain´s Office
• IT Service

Follow us!

• International website: http://www.his.se/english
• Facebook: University of Skövde
• Instagram: UniofSkovde
• Twitter: UniofSkovde