Admissions rounds and spring semester availability

International students have two admissions rounds - or periods - to apply to each semester. Find out more about what is offered and when, and when you should apply.

The First admissions round

The first admissions round is specifically for international students and has many advantages:

• all courses and programmes taught in English are offered
• the deadlines and admissions decisions are much earlier
• applicants requiring a residence permit have the time they need to apply for and receive it
• the extra time allows you to better plan for your move to Sweden 

The Second admissions round

The second admissions round is actually the regular admissions round for students living in Sweden - the Swedish round. All courses and programmes taught in Swedish are available in this round. 

Some universities offer courses and programmes taught in English in the second round - often when there are still places available after the first round.

International students are welcome to apply to this round, but there are a few things to consider:

• many courses and programmes taught in English are no longer available for application
• the admissions decision comes in July, providing less time to prepare to move to Sweden
• non-EU/EEA applicants who require a residence permit won't have time to apply for and receive one

What does University Admissions recommend?

Here's what we recommend to applicants:

• We encourage ALL international students to apply to the first round
• EU/EEA citizens are welcome to apply to the second round
• Non-EU/EEA citizens should not apply to the second round as there will not be enough time to apply for and receive the required residence permit

Are you applying for bachelor's and in your last year of upper secondary studies?

In order to be eligible for and compete for places in bachelor's level courses and programmes, you must have completed your upper secondary education and received your final school grades.

If you're in your final year of studies, we suggest that you don't apply for admission to the first round for autumn semester. Selection is in April and, as you won't have finished your studies, you won't have final grades and a grade point average to use to compete for places. 

What you can do is one of the following:

• If you're a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you can apply for courses and programmes in the second round. Selection is in July and you should have your final school grades available to compete for places.
• All students can wait and apply for the first round for the following spring semester admission. Please note that there are fewer courses and programmes offered with a spring semester start.
• You can apply to the first round in next year's autumn semester admissions round.

Spring semester programme offerings

Few programmes start in the spring semester. Most bachelor's and master's programmes in Sweden begin in the autumn semester.