HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT
PREFACE
Swedish higher education institutions spent including how they are governed. Then nearly SEK billion in (about EUR comes a chapter describing how dierent billion), of which per cent came from parts of higher education institutions have state funding. With over , students and developed: education at dierent levels, , employees, the sector encompasses international student mobility, the connec- a large number of people – nearly per cent tion between education and the labour of the Swedish population. market, research and teaching sta, the With Higher Education Institutions in nancial aspects, higher education research, Sweden – status report, the Swedish and nally a chapter where we place Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) wants Swedish higher education in an internatio- to provide a summary reference work for nal perspective. The report concludes with everyone looking for facts in English about a number of tables with data per higher Swedish higher education. The report is education institution on students, academic based on data reported by higher education degrees, teachers, researchers and nances. institutions to Statistics Sweden and to UKÄ when they submit their annual reports. The focus in this report is on the past year, but developments are oen described from a longer perspective. The report begins with a short intro- duction and a chapter with facts about Anders Söderholm Swedish higher education institutions, Director General Higher Education Institutions in Sweden 2019 Status Report
Published by Swedish Higher Education Authority 2019 Report 2019:12
Editor: Marie Kahlroth
Facts about higher education institutions in Sweden: Sofia Berlin Kolm, Marie Kahlroth Trends and developments: Anna Bengtsson, Amanda Bjernestedt, Sofia Berlin Kolm, Helen Dryler, Tomas Egeltoft, Julia Elenäs, Bahar Faraz, Tomas Gustavsson, Annika Haglund, Per Helldahl, Marie Kahlroth, Martin Löwing Jensen, Ingrid Pettersson, Eva Stening, Fredrik Svensson, Martin Söderhäll, Anders Viberg Swedish Higher Education in an international perspective: Tomas Gustavsson, Marie Kahlroth Key figures for higher education institutions: Marie Kahlroth, Eva-Marie Larsson
Translator: David Ordoubadian, Accent Språkservice Graphic design and graphics: Consid Communication Print: Åtta45
Swedish Higher Education Authority • Löjtnantsgatan 21 • Box 7703, SE-103 95 Stockholm phone +46 8 563 085 00 • fax +46 8 563 085 50 • e-mail [email protected] • www.uka.se CONTENTS
Introduction ......
Facts about higher education institutions in Sweden ......
Trends and developments ...... First and second cycle courses and programmes ...... Third cycle education ...... International student mobility ...... Education and the labour market ...... Research and teaching staff ...... HE finances and funding...... HE research ......
Swedish higher education in an international perspective ......
Key figures for higher education institutions ...... Higher education institutions ...... INTRODUCTION
The role of higher education for anyone who would like to study. There institutions in ensuring access to skills are also few signicant nancial obstacles In Sweden, issues of ensuring access to for residents of Sweden to attend higher skills in demand by the labour market and education. Education has no tuition fees, society at large and of retraining are high and everyone has the right to state student on the political agenda. The welfare sector nancial support to cover the cost of living. in particularly is facing major challenges – In spite of these favourable conditions, there we need more teachers and nurses. More are still many forms of imbalance in recruit- digitalisation also increases the demand ment to Swedish higher education: Men are for a well-educated labour force and for the underrepresented in many programmes opportunity for professionals to expand with no sign that this is about to change, their skillsets. and social background still plays a major To meet these challenges, in recent role in whether a young person begins years the state has expanded programmes higher education. At the same time, there that lead to degrees within the welfare are no major dierences in transitioning to sector. Another measure taken by the state higher education among students with a to improve access to skills in demand by the Swedish or foreign background. Individuals labour market and society at large while with a foreign background are on average also improving integration is to increase relatively well represented among new funding to higher education institutions entrants in higher education. At the doctoral (HEI) for bridging programmes for individu- level, imbalance in recruitment has decreased, als who have completed foreign educations. even though the percentage of the population At the same time, Swedish higher education that begins third-cycle education has fallen is well-suited for lifelong learning, making by half during the last decade. HEIs also important players for meeting this need. First- and second-cycle higher educa- Focus on research tion consists of courses that can be combi- and researchers ned into programmes, but many students Sweden is one of the countries that invests only take freestanding courses. Many the most in research and development courses and programmes are also provided (R&D) in relation to GDP. While many other as distance education. There is at least one countries have cut back on investments, HEI in each of Sweden’s counties. As such, the Swedish state has increased research higher education is relatively accessible funding to HEIs signicantly. This has
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT improved doctoral student welfare consi- leading research and innovation countries derably, and most now receive a doctoral and a leading knowledge nation. studentship when they begin their studies. The conditions for teachers and researchers Gender equality have also improved now that the proportion The Government’s overall gender equality with xed-term employment positions has policy goal is for men and women to have decreased, which is in line with the Govern- equal power to shape society and their ment’s stated ambitions. own lives. But to achieve this goal, gender equality needs to improve. Women are Increased internationalisation overrepresented in rst- and second-cycle and improved governance education and in positions that do not Another relevant question involves incre- require a doctoral degree. At higher levels, ased internationalisation of HEIs. The among professors, less than a third are Government wants mobility to increase female. But over the last decade, the percen- and it to be easier for foreign students to tage of women among professors has incre- stay and work in Sweden aer completing ased steadily and everything points to this their degrees. In autumn , tuition fees positive trend continuing. were introduced in Sweden for incoming students from countries outside of the These are some of the issues that can be European Economic Area, which led to considered when reading this report. a signicant decrease in the number of incoming students. There were few paying students initially, but this has increased signicantly each year, and for many HEIs, operations nanced by tuition fees now make up a signicant part of their operations. Governance of HEIs is also a topic of discussion. The Commission of Inquiry on Governance and Resources recently proposed how governance and resource allocation can be adapted to be more eec- tive and appropriate in supporting the goal of Sweden becoming one of the world’s
INTRODUCTION STATUS REPORT FACTS ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SWEDEN
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Universities university Most HEIs are public institutions. A list of Sweden’s HEIs can be found at the end of colleges and other this report. Independent education providers education providers that have general degree-awarding powers at the third-cycle are also listed under the Higher education institutions (HEIs) provide heading Universities. higher education and research, including collaboration with the surrounding society. The courses and programmes that HEIs Education within the framework of oer are to correspond to demand from higher vocational education providers students and the needs of society and the Higher education is not the only form of labour market. Higher education can be post-secondary education in Sweden. There entire degree programmes that lay the is also higher vocational education and groundwork for a career, shorter educational some art and culture programmes. Higher programmes and individual freestanding vocational education is to meet the needs of courses or continuing development for the labour market, and theoretical studies professionals in a particular eld. HEIs also are combined with workplaced-based provide third-cycle education and conduct training. The length of higher vocational most of the publicly funded research in programmes varies between one and three Sweden. Only a small amount of research is years and in total they are equivalent to just conducted by research institutes. This means over per cent of post-secondary education. that Swedish higher education is relatively Thus, the vast majority of Sweden’s post- heavily focused on research. Measured in secondary education consists of higher terms of monetary value, more than half of education. the activities at HEIs consists of research and Higher vocational education and higher third-cycle education. Both university colle- education are separate systems and there is no ges and universities conduct research and progression between the systems. This report provide higher education at various levels, focuses on higher education institutions. but there is variation in how much focus is given to research. The older universities have more extensive research than university Governance of higher colleges and the newer universities. The size of the HEIs also varies greatly. education institutions Measured in number of enrolled students, The mission of the HEIs is to provide educa- the largest university had , students tion based on scholarly or artistic practice for the academic year /, while the and on proven experience. HEIs are also to smallest HEIs had less than enrolled carry out scholarly and artistic research, and students. development work. HEIs are also to colla- HEIs primarily dier in that universities borate with the surrounding society, inform have been granted general degree-awarding about their activities and ensure that benet powers at the second- and third-cycle levels, is derived from their research results. while university colleges must apply for In Sweden, public-sector HEIs have permission to award degrees at the second- considerable autonomy within a system of and third-cycle levels in specic areas. Sweden management by objectives. Overall respon- has a uniform system for higher education sibility for higher education and research with the same legislation, regardless of provider. rests with the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag)
FACTS ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT and the Government. These decide on the regulations that apply to the higher educa- REGULATION OF THE HIGHER tion sector, primarily the Higher Education EDUCATION SECTOR Act and the Higher Education Ordinance Higher education in Sweden is governed by (see fact box). In addition to laying down the Higher Education Act (SFS 1992:1434) objectives and guidelines, they also allocate and the Higher Education Ordinance resources to the HEIs. (SFS1993:100). The Higher Education Act is enacted by Within the framework of this legislation, the Swedish Parliament and regulates the HEIs take most decisions themselves. These HEIs’ operations. The Act contains basic decisions cover such areas as organisation; regulations about education offered by internal allocation of resources; educational HEIs. For instance, it sets out what should oerings; educational content and design; characterise courses and programmes at how many students are admitted and what different levels and stipulates freedom of research. It provides a framework for the research they conduct. organisation and governance of the HEIs, HEIs have signicant freedom in deter- and states that every HEI must have a mining their sta¤ng. There are however board of governors and a vice-chancellor. It three forms of employment regulated also contains regulations about the duties through legislation and regulations: profes- of teachers as well as provisions about student influence. In addition, HEIs must sors, senior lectures and assistant professors. foster equality of opportunity and broaden Beyond these, there are many other forms of recruitment. employment for researching and teaching Further provisions are specified in the sta. Doctoral students are generally Higher Education Ordinance, issued by the employed and contribute both research and Government. For instance, the Ordinance teaching to the HEIs. states that students must be given the opportunity to influence their studies. The operations of independent educa- The Ordinance contains regulations on tion providers are regulated through a speci- entrance qualifications and selection for c law and in some cases through contracts courses and programmes, as well as the with the Government. For education, how- appointment of teachers and doctoral ever, primarily the same rules apply as for students. It also includes regulations on course and programme syllabuses, public-sector HEIs. grades and qualifications. Annex 2 of the Ordinance contains a Qualifications Ordinance, which lays down the qualifi- Allocation of resources cations that may be awarded in the first, second and third cycles, and the require- to higher education ments to be fulfilled for the award of each qualification (qualification descriptors). institutions HEIs also are governed by the Governme- The state has a signicant commitment nt’s annual public service agreements with each HEI. The public service agreement for nancing HEIs. Higher education is for specifies that educational offerings are to the most part free-of-charge and the state correspond to demand from students and allocates signicant resources for research the needs of the labour market, the size conducted by the HEIs. of the state funding for first- and second- The Riksdag determines the resource cycle education, for research and third- cycle education, and specific assignments allocation for each HEI, which receive given to HEIs. separate allocations for education and for research. Funding for rst- and second-cycle
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT education is fully performance-based, in term, coordinated and dialogue-based part on the number of enrolled students steering of higher education]. The commis- (converted to full-time equivalents (FTE)) sion argues, among other things, that an within the dierent disciplinary domains appropriate steering for strong and respon- and, in part, on credits earned by students sible HEIs needs to promote academic free- (converted to annual performance equiva- dom, quality and responsibility, a clearly lents (APE)). The funding per FTE and APE dened social responsibility, and the varies for dierent disciplinary domains. capacity for strategic action. Technology and engineering, for example, receive more than social science. Every year the Government sets a maximum amount Higher education for the funding of rst- and second-cycle Higher education refers to post-secondary education at each HEI, the funding cap. education which is regulated by higher The funding for research and third- education legislation. The education is cycle education that HEIs receive directly dened by, among other things, its placement from the Government are in the form of a in the education system (post-secondary) block grant that may be used freely within and by the requirement that the education dierent elds of research. Compared to be based on scholarly or artistic practice. rst- and second-cycle education, only a All courses, programmes and qualica- small part of the funding is performance- tions are placed in one of three cycles: rst, based. The performance-based part is second or third. There is progression, that is based on scholarly production and external to say, each cycle is based on the one before. funding, and in a third component was The formal requirements that distinguish added: collaboration with the surrounding these cycles are specied in the Higher society. Beyond the direct government Education Act. Swedish higher education’s funding, signicant state funds are allocated division into cycles is part of the adaption through research funding agencies, which to the Bologna Process, which aims to make are applied for in competition with other higher education more comparable to those applicants. Research and third-cycle educa- countries participating in the process. tion are also funded to a considerable extent All rst- and second-cycle education by other research funding bodies, such as consists of courses that may be combined to private foundations or the EU. form programmes. In addition to program- mes that lead to the award of qualications, Review of current steering and higher education in Sweden oers a wide resource allocation systems range of freestanding courses, many of them The current steering and resource allocation oered through distance learning. Students system is under review. In the spring , may select their own combination of these the Government appointed a commission courses. If these combinations meet stipu- to conduct a comprehensive review of lated requirements, a qualication may be steering and resource allocation to Swedish awarded. state higher education institutions. In The scope of a programme is expressed February ¦ the nal report was presented as higher education credits. One academic by Styr- och resursutredningen (Strut): En year is typically two semesters and normally långsiktig, samordnad och dialogbaserad weeks, which corresponds to higher styrning av högskolan (SOU ¦:) [A long- education credits with full-time study.
FACTS ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Higher education credits in the Swedish or second cycle. A majority of professional educational system can be compared to the qualications awarded in the second cycle do European Credit Transfer and Accumulation not require a previous rst-cycle qualication System Credits (ECTS credits), in which and the programmes leading to their award credits is the equivalent of one year of cover both cycles. Swedish higher education full-time study. diers from higher education in many other countries in this respect. A flexible higher education system Compared to the higher education systems Table 1. Structure of Swedish higher education of many other countries, the Swedish higher qualifications. education system is relatively ¨exible, in First-cycle qualifications part because the educational oerings are General qualifications largely course-based. Freestanding courses Higher Education Diploma (120 HE credits) and programmes are also oen oered as distance courses, some of which can be Degree of Bachelor (180 HE credits) completely online. All this oers excellent Qualifications in the fine, applied and performing arts opportunities for lifelong learning. Tradi- Higher Education Diploma (120 HE credits) tionally, Swedish higher education does not Degree of Bachelor in Fine Arts (180 HE credits) just involve educating youth aer secondary Professional qualifications
education. It also includes possibilities for There are 32 different first-cycle professional quali- continuing development for professionals. fications, for example Bachelor of Science in Nursing Many students take courses without (180 HE credits), Bachelor of Science in Engineering (180 HE credits) and Higher Education Diploma in planning to graduate, and it is common to Dental Hygiene (120 HE credits). return to higher education aer previous Second-cycle qualifications studies. This results in a higher average age General qualifications of students than in some other countries. Degree of Master (60 HE credits) Degree of Master (120 HE credits) Qualifications Qualifications in the fine, applied and performing arts There are three categories of qualications Degree of Master in Fine Arts (60 HE credits) which all have the same academic status: Degree of Master in Fine Arts (120 HE credits) . general qualications; Professional qualifications . qualications in the ne, applied and performing arts; There are 22 different second-cycle professional qualifications, for example Master of Architecture ©. professional qualications. (300 HE credits), Postgraduate Diploma in Midwifery (90 HE credits) and Master of Science in Medicine Both general qualications and qualications (330 HE credits). in the ne, applied and performing arts are Third-cycle qualifications awarded within the rst, second or third General qualifications cycles. Professional qualications are awarded Degree of Licentiate (120 HE credits) within the rst and second cycles and mainly Degree of Doctor (240 HE credits) in the regulated professions. There are about Qualifications in the fine, applied and performing arts dierent programmes leading to a profes- Degree of Licentiate in Fine Arts (120 HE credits) sional qualication, of which two-thirds Degree of Doctor in Fine Arts (240 HE credits) lead to a qualication at the master’s level
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Research at HEIs award either all or some third-cycle quali- cations. There are also nine independent Research is much less regulated than higher education providers entitled to award education. The Swedish Higher Education rst-cycle and, in some cases, second-cycle Act species that general principles for qualications, as well as four independent research include that research problems education providers entitled to award quali- may be freely chosen, research methods cations in psychotherapy. may be freely developed and research results may be freely published. Additio- nally, academic credibility and good Degreeawarding powers research practice are to be promoted. In Sweden, accreditation of higher education The Association of Swedish Higher takes the form of granting degree-awarding Education Institutions (SUHF), the organi- powers. The regulations that apply vary sation for HEI cooperation, has recently depending on what types of HEI and quali- developed a common framework for HEI cations they refer to: public-sector HEIs quality assurance and quality development that lack full university status have less of research. The framework is to provide extensive powers but are not as restricted a smallest common denominator that as the independent higher education provi- all HEIs can agree on concerning what is ders, which have to apply separately for each central to quality assurance and quality qualication they wish to award. However, development of research. all public-sector HEIs and independent higher education providers have to apply or entitlement to award professional quali- Accreditation and cations and qualications in the ne, quality assurance applied and performing arts. With the exception of independent Higher education is oered by public-sector higher education providers, who apply HEIs and (to a much smaller extent) by to the Government, applications for independent education providers. There degree-awarding powers are assessed by are © public-sector HEIs and they account UKÄ. These powers are granted indenitely, for approximately ¦ per cent of the total unless there are grounds for revoking them. number of FTEs. The Swedish Parliament decides on the establishment of public- sector HEIs while the Government decides Quality assurance whether an HEI has full university status. The Higher Education Act species that Those that lack full university status have HEIs are obliged to ensure that high only limited powers to award third-cycle standards are attained in education as well qualications and somewhat limited powers as research. Thus, the HEIs are responsible to award second-cycle qualications. There for the quality of their education and their is no dierence, however, in the status of the quality assurance procedures are the shared qualications awarded. concern of the HEI’s sta and students. Independent education providers UKÄ is responsible for quality assurance are permitted to oer higher education of HEIs, both education and research, courses and programmes if they are granted through such measures as assessment of the degree-awarding powers. In Sweden there HEI’s quality assurance processes and evalu- are three independent HEIs entitled to ation of education and research. The assess-
FACTS ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT ments are conducted according to a system Many roads into higher education for quality assurance that has been develo- Detailed national regulations apply mainly ped in dialogue with the HEIs and others. to the admission of HE entrants to rst- The objectives of UKÄ’s reviews are partly cycle education. There are also regulations to assess the performance of the academic on admission to second- and third-cycle programmes and partly to contribute to the education, but these are less comprehensive. HEIs’ work with quality improvements in General entry requirements for rst- cycle higher education and research. studies normally include a degree from a The national system for quality assurance university preparatory upper-secondary of higher education and research consists programme. But there are several other of four components: appraisal of degree roads into higher education in Sweden. awarding powers, assessments of HEIs’ Upper-secondary vocational degrees quality assurance processes, programme can also provide qualication in some evaluations and thematic evaluations. circumstances, and there are good options Both public-sector HEIs and indepen- for meeting entry requirements through dent education providers are required to studies in adult education at upper-secon- participate in the national evaluations of dary level. Prior learning can also meet basic higher education. Failure to meet quality entry requirements if the person is judged standards may result in the revoking of to be able to benet from the education. degree-awarding powers. Selection rules and procedures Fullment of the entry requirements does Admission to higher not guarantee admission. The HEI’s govern- education ment funding sets a limit to how many students can be accepted, and selection Sweden has a more uniform system of criteria are used if there are more applicants admission to higher education than many than can be admitted. All rst-cycle courses other countries. National admission regula- and programmes, apart from those that tions are dened in the Higher Education lead to the award of qualications in the Act and the Higher Education Ordinance ne, applied and performing arts, use more and in regulations issued by the Swedish or less the same criteria. These are based Council for Higher Education. The vast mainly on nal school grades or results majority of admissions are pooled. The from the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test Swedish Council for Higher Education is (högskoleprovet). The Higher Education responsible for pooled admissions on behalf Ordinance lists what selection criteria may of the HEIs, but the individual HEIs make be invoked. It also contains regulations on the o¤cial decision to admit students. the evaluation of nal school grades. There is a single joint o¤cial website for applications to higher education institutions in Sweden, www.universityadmissions.se. Admission to thirdcycle education Information is also available on the website Applying for third-cycle education leading www.studera.nu to the award of a licentiate degree or doctoral degree is more similar to applying for a job. Admission is only possible if the student has been appointed to a doctoral
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT studentship or awarded a research grant, expenses. All domestic students are entitled unless the student has some other form of to nancial support, but there are minimum guaranteed funding for the entire period performance requirements in terms of the of study. Normally, funding can only be number of credits achieved for continued provided for the o¤cial period of study. This nancial support. Student nance consists means that doctoral programmes have to of a combination of study grants and study be completed in four full years, licentiate loans. In , the grant portion of student programmes in two. nance for an academic year of weeks amounted to SEK ©, and the loan ceiling to SEK ,. The maximum total available Cost of studying government-sponsored student nancing for an individual student pursuing full-time studies thus amounted to SEK , in Tuition fees . Students may receive this nancial For a long time, Sweden was one of the support for a maximum of twelve semesters few countries in Europe in which higher or six academic years. Repayment of the education was completely free of charge. In loan element is based on an annuity system , the Higher Education Act was changed and in normal cases the total debt should to the eect that while higher education be repaid in years or less, or before the is free for Swedish citizens and for citizens borrower reaches the age of . of the EU/EEA countries and Switzerland, It is possible to qualify for nancial citizens of other countries have to pay an support for studies abroad. application fee and tuition fees for rst- and Residents who are not Swedish citizens second-cycle studies, unless they are taking are normally only entitled to nancial part in an exchange programme. In calcula- support for studies if they have moved to ting tuition fees, the HEIs must ensure that Sweden for some other reason than to study they cover the full cost of the instruction here. Otherwise they are considered to be provided as well as counselling, health servi- international students and have to nance ces and other types of student service. their studies themselves. Students required to pay tuition may Financial support apply for scholarships for full or partial nan- The majority of students in Sweden nance cing of their tuition fees. In some cases, they their studies with the help of nancial can even apply for grants to cover cost of living. support from the state to cover their living
FACTS ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT FIRST AND SECONDCYCLE EDUCATION
IN THIS SECTION, we examine higher Continued decline in education at the rst and second cycles. In number of applicants autumn semester , there were © ¦,© One way to capture the degree of interest students enrolled at rst cycle (undergradu- in higher education is to study how many ate) or second cycle (master’s). This was the people without prior higher education second autumn semester that the number apply. The number of applicants without of students increased. The length of studies previous higher education was , in varies for students with many attending autumn semester (see Figure ), which is a programme and receiving a degree aer somewhat fewer than the previous autumn a few years, while others only studying a semester. Among applicants, ¦ per cent short time in higher education. This chapter were women and per cent men. This is the describes the in¨ow to, attendance in same distribution between men and women and out¨ow from rst- and second-cycle as autumn semester , and this pattern education. Higher education is a complex has been fairly stable for the last decade. process that comprises a number of die- The number of applicants has fallen rent populations: applicants and admitted each autumn semester since , when students, new entrants, registered students there were ©,© applicants, which is and graduates. This chapter concludes with the highest level since statistics have been a section on widening participation. collected. Interest in higher education in , however, continued to be at a histo- rically high level, even though Sweden Applicants and continues to experience a strong economy. During the last strong economy, interest for admitted students higher education was considerably lower. For admission to higher education, the In autumn semester , the number of individual must meet the entry requirements applicants with no previous higher educa- for the specic education, i.e. the course or tion was ¦ ,. In ¦, there was a signi- programme. But many more apply for higher cant increase that corresponded with the education than meet the entry requirements, larger number of ¦-year-olds in the popula- and even among those who do meet the tion while the labour market was weak. entry requirements, not all are admitted. Funding for higher education institutions The vast majority of applications (HEIs) sets the framework for how many for rst- and second-cycle education are applicants can be admitted. In , , submitted through a central admission were admitted, an increase of per cent system. The majority of admitted students compared to autumn semester . Over enter in autumn semesters, and this is our time, the number of admitted applicants primary focus, but some admission also slowly decreased from autumn semester ©, occurs in spring semesters. a trend that has now been broken.
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT If we look at both groups of applicants and who have previously had experience from admitted applicants in relation to each higher education and those who have not. other, we see that the number of applicants In autumn semester , the number per admitted applicant autumn semester of eligible rst-choice applicants for was . (see Figure ). This refers to programmes totalled ,. Of these, applicants and admitted students without , applied to a programme that leads previous higher education experience. The to a professional qualication, while , number of applicants per admitted student applied to a programme that leads to a fell compared to autumn semester , general degree or, to a much lesser extent, when there were .© applicants for every to a qualication in the ne, applied and admitted student, and even more so compa- performing arts. Compared to autumn red to autumn semester , when this semester , the number of applicants to number was . . all types of degree programmes fell by per cent in autumn semester . Figure 1. Applicants and admitted students As always, there were signicant without previous higher education, autumn dierences in acceptance ratios between semesters 2008–2018. Number of applicants per programmes, that is to say the number of admitted student is found in the scale to the right. eligible rst-choice applicants per admitted Number Applicants per admitted student students, see Figure . The highest accep- 160,000 4.0 tance ratio autumn semester among 140,000 3.5 the larger professional degree programmes 120,000 3.0 (with at least , eligible rst-choice 100,000 2.5 applicants) was the Master of Science
80,000 2.0 Programme in Psychology, with ¦. eligible rst-choice applicants per admitted student. 60,000 1.5 This was followed by medical (.), law and 40,000 1.0 architecture (both .) degree programmes. 20,000 0.5 But there are also many programmes with
0 0.0 low acceptance ratios, where nearly all eligible rst-choice applicants are admitted, 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 such as bachelor of science in engineering Applicants (without previous higher education) Accepted applicants programmes and some subject teacher (without previous higher education) programmes. Applicants per admitted student (without previous higher education)
Varied acceptance ratio New entrants in Swedish to programmes higher education There is signicant variation in the amount Of autumn applicants who lacked of interest for dierent programmes. Now previous higher education experience in let’s look at the number of applicants to Sweden, less than half were admitted. At the dierent degree programmes. For this, we same time, not everyone who is accepted use data on the total number of eligible rst- begins their studies and many are accepted choice applicants, i.e. all applicants who are through other routes. eligible for their rst choice of educational programmes. This includes both applicants
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 2. No. of eligible first-choice applicants and admitted students and acceptance ratio of program- mes leading to a professional qualification with more than 1,000 eligible first-choice applicants autumn semester 2018, divided by gender.
Number Acceptance ratio 14,000 14
12,000 12
10,000 10
8,000 8
6,000 6
4,000 4
2,000 2
0 0
MSc in Laws BSc in Nursing Msc in Medicine MSc in Engineering BSc in SocialMSc Work in Psychology BSc in Engineering MSc in Architecture BSc in Physiotherapy
BA/MA in Primary EducationBSc in Pre-School Education MSc in Business and Economics BA in Study and Career Guidance
Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Nursing
MA/MSc in Secondary/Upper-Secondary Education Postgraduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs Applicant, women Applicant, men Accepted, women Accepted, men Acceptance ratio (both genders)
The number of Swedish higher year in a row. Among Swedish new entrants, education new entrants is increasing per cent were women and per cent In the / academic year, , new men. Even if the number of Swedish new rst-cycle and second-cycle students (HE entrants increased compared with previous new entrants) began studying at Swedish academic years, the long-term trend is HEIs (see Figure ©). That is ¦ more new downward for both men and women. From entrants than the previous academic the record year ¦/, the numbers of year and the second year in a row that women and men have decreased by per the number increased. It is, however, the cent and per cent, respectively. rst time in eight academic years that the The number of incoming students, number of Swedish HE new entrants has however, has increased annually since increased, while the number of incoming academic year /, and they now make (foreign) HE new entrants increased for up an increasing percentage of the total the fourth consecutive year. The number entrants. In academic year /, not of Swedish HE new entrants increased by quite per cent were incoming students. students while the number of incoming Incoming students, however, constitute a entrants increased by students. substantially smaller share of total students The entire increase of Swedish new in higher education, since they on average entrants came from women while the study for shorter periods than Swedish number of men decreased for the eighth students.
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT From the academic year / until (komvux). An additional per cent had ¦/, the number of HE entrants rose only studied at komvux. It is somewhat more markedly because of increased demand for common for women to study at komvux. studies caused by the economic downturn A student with an upper-secondary combined with temporary expansions of degree from a preparatory programme higher education in Sweden. Since the top for higher education automatically meets mark from academic year ¦/, when general entry requirements for higher there were , HE entrants, the number education while a student that attends a has declined by nearly per cent as the HEIs vocational programme may meet general have gradually adapted the number of places entry requirements to higher education oered to the changing economic situation. through additional studies. A majority of Read more about this in the section “Higher new entrants have attended a preparatory Education Finance and Funding”. programme in upper-secondary school. Fiy-ve per cent did so in academic year Figure 3. Number of HE new entrants during the /. Only per cent of entrants had period 2007/08–2017/18, divided by Swedish and attended a vocational programme in acade- incoming HE new entrants and by women and men. mic year /. Number 120,000 Few ¦yearolds 100,000 begin higher education
80,000 An increasingly lower percentage of youth begin higher education immediately aer 60,000 upper-secondary school. Of individuals born ¦¦, © per cent had begun higher 40,000 education by the age of ¦. Of those born
20,000 in the early ¦¦s, it was more common for ¦-year-olds to begin higher education: 0 nearly per cent between the years ¦¦
2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18 and ¦¦ . Among those born aer ¦¦ , the 2007/082008/092009/10 Swedish women Swedish men trend has been downward, and the levels Incoming women Incoming men are beginning to approach those from the Total late ¦s when fewer youth began higher education immediately aer upper-secon- Most HE new entrants have completed dary school. uppersecondary school If, however, the transition to higher There are many ways into higher education, education includes young people who have but most people who begin higher education turned , the initial participation rate and who are part of the Swedish population increases signicantly. The follow-up have completed an upper-secondary school was for the cohort born in ¦¦© and, of programme. Of the , Swedish HE new these, nearly per cent had begun higher entrants in academic year /, two-thirds education. The proportion of those begin- ( per cent) had only studied at upper- ning higher education by the age of has secondary school, while per cent had been relatively constant in recent years and completed an upper-secondary education has ranged from © to per cent for those and had attended municipal adult education born in the s and ¦s.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT More women than men Continuing decline in Swedish new begin higher education entrants in freestanding courses There are major dierences between men All rst- and second-cycle education is and women in terms of the percentage that oered in the form of courses that can either begin higher education either in Sweden be freestanding or combined to form a or that receive student nancing from the degree programme. Degree programmes can National Board of Student Aid (CSN) to lead to the award of professional qualica- study abroad (Figure ). tions, general qualications or qualications Among ¦-year-olds born in ¦¦, per in the ne, applied and performing arts. cent of women had begun higher education, Over many years, the number of compared with per cent of men, which is Swedish new entrants in freestanding just a dierence of percentage points. The courses has decreased while entrants on most recent cohort to be followed through programmes leading to a professional age are those born in ¦¦. Of these, © qualication have increased. This trend per cent of women and per cent of men continued in academic year / when had begun higher education, which is a the number of Swedish entrants in freestan- dierence of percentage points. ding courses fell by students, while the The most recent cohort to be followed number of entrants on programmes leading through age are those born in ¦¦©. to a professional qualication increased Among women, per cent had begun by students. Since the record acade- higher education by age , compared with mic year ¦/, the number of Swedish © per cent of men, which is a dierence of entrants in freestanding courses has fallen just over percentage points. This die- by half, from © , students to , rence has been stable at between and students in academic year /. percentage points for the last few years. It is In / academic year, there were clear that the older a cohort is, the larger the ,© entrants on programmes leading to dierence between men and women. a professional qualication, and they made
Figure 4. The percentage of women and men of the cohorts born 1985–1998 beginning higher education in Sweden or that receive student financing from CSN for study abroad by the ages of 19, 21 and 24, respectively.
Per cent 60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Women Men –19 year 20–21 years 22–24 years
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Figure 5. All HE new entrants divided by type of ( and credits) have to have studied study (freestanding courses, programme leading previously since the entry requirements to a general qualification or programme leading to professional qualifications) 2007/08–2017/18. include completion of a rst-cycle programme. Most new entrants are found in general Number 35,000 rst-cycle programmes leading to a Bachel- or’s degree, but this number has decreased 30,000 in recent academic years. In academic year 25,000 /, there were ,¦, which was a decrease by entrants compared to the 20,000 previous academic year (see Table ). 15,000 Among general programmes, program-
10,000 mes for a two-year Higher Education Diploma have the fewest new entrants and 5,000 the number has been falling steadily for 0 many years. Compared with the previous academic year, the number of entrants fell 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18 2007/082008/092009/10 by nearly © to , students. Freestanding courses, Freestanding courses, women men At the second-cycle level, programmes General programmes, General programmes, leading to a -credit Master’s Degree had women men Programme leading Programme leading the most new entrants with ,¦ in acade- to a professional to a professional mic year /, which was an increase of qualification, women qualification, men compared to academic year / . The number of entrants on programmes up just over per cent of Swedish entrants. leading to a -credit Master’s Degree was The number of Swedish entrants on program- ,, which was largely unchanged from mes that lead to a general qualication has the previous academic year. been stable for the last three academic years Compared to the rst cycle, the percen- and for academic year / was at ,¦. tage of entrants among incoming students at the second cycle was high at about More programme new per cent in academic year /. See also entrants at second cycle section “International student mobility”. To this point, we have described the number of HE new entrants, i.e. the students who have Increasing number of new never previously attended higher education. entrants on programmes leading Our next focus is on describing develop- to a professional qualification ments of the total number of new entrants For several academic years, the number of new on programmes, known as programme new entrants on programmes leading to a professi- entrants. These are students who enrolled onal qualication has increased, which can be for the rst time to a specic programme explained by the state providing more funding leading to a professional qualication or to HEIs for expanding certain professional a programme leading to a general quali- programmes. In the most recent academic cation. There are also many students who year, they increased by almost students to begin a programme having had previous ¦, © (see Table ). It is common for entrants experience from higher education. New on professional qualication programmes to entrants on general Master’s programmes have previously studied at a Swedish higher
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT education institution. Forty-two per cent had were on one of the largest programmes. done so in academic year /. Compared to the previous academic year, it There are around programmes was the Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist leading to a professional qualication and Nursing programme and the Master of Laws their size varies greatly. The single largest programme that grew among the larger such programme is the Master of Science in programmes. These programmes had per Engineering programme. In academic year cent more entrants than the previous year. /, it had , entrants. The dierent For other programmes, the changes were programmes leading to a teaching degree relatively small compared to the previous (Pre-School Education, Primary Education, academic year. Vocational Education, and Secondary/ Since , the state has provided Upper-Secondary Education) when combi- extra funding to the HEIs to expand certain ned, however, are the largest with almost programmes, particularly within health care ©, entrants. and teacher education. The HEIs, however, Note that several of the professional have di¤culty expanding some of these qualication programmes are very small, programmes at the rate that was intended, and in academic year /, over per and in academic year / the number of cent of the entrants on such programmes entrants fell on programmes for secondary/
Table 2. New entrants on general degree programmes and on the professional degree programmes with more than 1,000 new entrants academic year 2017/18. Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Number of new entrants Gender distribution (%) Changes Percentage Programmes 2016/17 2017/18 (%) Women Men (%) Higher Education Diploma 1,570 1,280 -18 37 63 3 Degree of Bachelor 25,150 24,930 -1 56 44 4 Degree of Master (60 credits) 4,060 4,110 1 60 40 41 Degree of Master (120 credits) 14,110 14,960 6 50 50 43 Professional qualification 49,020 49,730 1 64 36 1 of which MSc in Business and 1,470 1,430 -3 46 54 1 Economics MSc in Engineering 7,220 7,040 -2 31 69 3 BSc in Pre-School Education 3,940 3,980 1 94 6 0 BA/MA in Primary Education 4,060 4,170 3 77 23 1 BSc in Engineering 4,350 4,260 -2 25 75 1 MSc in Laws 1,690 1,860 10 63 37 2 Msc in Medicine 1,680 1,750 4 59 41 3 BSc in Nursing 5,920 6,190 5 85 15 0 BSc in Social Work 2,640 2,810 6 81 19 0 Postgraduate Diploma in 2,220 2,450 10 87 13 0 Specialist Nursing MA/MSc in Secondary/ 4,550 4,500 -1 54 46 2 Upper-Secondary Education
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT upper-secondary teachers, special educational over ,. As a result of the ¦ higher needs teachers and midwives. This is explained education reform, which meant nearly all in part by few applicants and in part by post-secondary education was incorpora- education and health care being high-stress ted into higher education, the number of professions and that it is di¤cult to nd enough students increased and in the early ¦s, workplace-based training opportunities, nearly , students were enrolled. which are a part of these programmes. The Expansion of higher education continued programmes leading to a Postgraduate during the ¦¦s and early s, and the Diploma in Specialist Nursing, BA in Pre-school number of students increased from ©, Education, BA or MA in Primary Education, to © ,. During the next upturn in the Postgraduate Diploma in Special Needs economy, the number of students decreased Training and BS in Nursing saw an increase for a few years but in the wake of the nan- in the number of entrants in academic year cial crisis, demand for education increased / compared with the previous acade- again. Between the autumns and , mic year. From , the Government has the number of students increased drama- also provided extra funds to expand engine- tically to ©, students. A temporary ering and medical programmes. expansion of higher education – allowed HEIs to admit more students than ever for a few years. During coming years, The total student HEIs adapted to the changed nancial conditions and the number of students fell. population in Swedish See section “Finance and funding”. In , higher education a permanent expansion of higher education began and, as such, in the autumn HE new entrants form only part of the there were © ¦,© enrolled students. total student population. In addition to the entrants, the student population as a whole comprises those continuing from Figure 6. Number of enrolled students in first- and one year to the next and those returning to second-cycle education each autumn semester higher education aer a period of absence. 1977–2018. In total, © ¦,© enrolled students took Number rst- or second-cycle courses and program- 400,000
mes at some point during the autumn 350,000 semester (see Figure ). Of this number just 300,000 over ©, were incoming students, which corresponds to almost ¦ per cent of the 250,000 entire student population. 200,000
Aer having decreased for several 150,000 years, this is the second consecutive 100,000 autumn semester that the number of 50,000 enrolled students has increased. From a longer perspective, the number of students 0
in Swedish higher education is still high. 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2018 In the ¦s, fewer than , individuals Total number of students Swedish women attended higher education, and in the late Swedish men ¦s, the number had increased to just Incoming women and men
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT The percentage of women increased in Increasingly common with connection with the ¦ Higher Education distance education Reform when women-dominated program- The most common form of higher education mes, such as teacher education and health is courses and programmes on campus. In sciences, were incorporated into higher autumn , ©, students studied solely education. Before ¦ , there were more on campus ( per cent), which was a slight men than women in higher education, but reduction compared to the previous year. since then the student population is made The number of distance students, up of more women than men. The propor- however, increased relatively a lot. Distance tion of women has increased during the education is dened here as courses and period, but the gender ratio among Swedish programmes based on instruction where students has been around ©– per cent teachers and students are, for the most part, men and – per cent women since the separated in location and in time. Distance beginning of the st century. In autumn education has been developed to increase semester , women made up just over the availability of education and to broaden per cent of students. the recruitment base of HEIs. Most HEIs oer some form of distance education. In recent Participation in higher decades, dierent forms of distance educa- education highest at age tion have been developed and now the HEIs The proportion of the population in higher oer everything from on-campus courses education varies for dierent age groups, and programmes with some online-based but the highest participation rate is in the lectures to entirely online education without –©-year-old cohort. As in previous years, any required physical meetings. During the participation in higher education was most recent autumn semesters, the number highest among -year-olds, of whom of distance students has increased, and per cent of the population attended rst- or , students attended entirely distance second-cycle education in autumn semester programmes and courses in autumn semes- . In all ages and age groups, participation ter . This means that per cent of the among women was higher than among men. total student population only attended In recent years, the percentage of distance education in autumn semester younger students in higher education has and an additional per cent combined decreased. In academic year ©, per cent on-campus studies with distance studies. of students were age or younger. From that point, the percentage decreased to just Most students in the subject over per cent autumn semester . The areas of law and social science relatively high participation in the slightly Higher education students are enrolled for older population is explained by the Swedish courses in dierent subject areas which are higher education system oering good broad groupings of dierent subjects. The opportunities for continuing education and single largest subject area in the / many people return to higher education aer academic year, as in previous years, was law having completed a degree. As noted previo- and social science with , students, usly, many new entrants are over age . which was a small increase compared to the previous academic year (Table ©). The second largest subject area was the
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Table 3. Number of enrolled students per subject area in the 2017/18 academic year and the proportion registered at second cycle. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Percentage on Gender distribution (%) second cycle (%) Number Women Men Total Women Men Total 405,500 61 39 27 26 28 Law and social sciences 208,200 64 36 23 24 22 Humanities and theology 94,500 62 38 9 10 9 Engineering 82,000 34 66 32 29 33 Natural science 72,400 46 54 21 23 20 Health care 39,660 84 16 29 30 25 Medicine and dentistry 34,270 73 27 33 30 40 Other areas 22,350 60 40 19 18 20
Fine, applied and 12,600 60 40 17 18 17 performing arts
Unknown 7,740 58 42
humanities and theology with half as many degree are students who study for a shorter students (¦ ,). The ne, applied and period on freestanding courses, individuals performing arts had the fewest students who drop out of their studies early, and (,). This division of students among individuals who complete their studies but subjects has been about the same for the never request a degree certicate. most recent academic years. Women were in the majority in all areas More graduates except for within the natural sciences and The number of graduating rst- and second- engineering and technology. Engineering cycle students increased academic year and technology was the most male-domina- / in comparison to academic year ted area with per cent men, while health / by , students and totalled care and nursing continued to be the most , students ( per cent women and female-dominated subject area with per © per cent men). The increase was true for cent women. The gender distribution is both women and men. most even within the natural sciences, Even in a longer perspective, the number per cent women and per cent men. of graduates has increased (see Figure ). In academic years /–¦/, about Graduates , students graduated annually. Thereaf- ter, the number increased and in academic When a student completes their studies and years /–/ reached the highest meets the requirements in the System of number of graduates yet with about ,© Qualications for an academic programme, each of these academic years. The increase is a degree is not issued automatically. Instead, explained by the increase in the number of a student must request a degree certicate. new entrants a few years earlier. Not all students, however, receive a degree. The gender ratio has been the same Among students who do not receive a since academic year /, with just
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 7. Number of graduates for 2007/08– total of , graduates (¦, © women and 2017/18 divided by women and men. ,¦ men) in academic year /. The
Number specialisations of health and medical care 80,000 and social care were the next largest in the
70,000 same academic year, with a total of ,
60,000 graduates ( , women and , men). The smallest number of graduates were in 50,000 farming, forestry and veterinary care with 40,000 ¦ graduates. 30,000
20,000 Degree of Bachelor of Science
10,000 in Nursing is the largest among professional qualifications 0 In academic year /, there were ©©, 2010/11 2011/12 2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18 2007/082008/092009/10 graduates with professional qualications, Women Men and of these ¦ per cent were women and © per cent men. These were awarded within dierent programmes leading to profes- under two thirds of graduates being women sional qualications, but programmes and just over a third being men. accounted for per cent of professional degrees since most programmes are small. Most general qualifications The professional qualications awarded in social sciences law the most were Degree of Bachelor of Science business and administration in Nursing, followed by Degree of Master of There are three types of qualications: Science in Engineering, Degree of Bachelor general, professional, and ne, applied and of Arts in Pre-School Education, Postgradu- performing arts. These are divided into rst ate Diploma in Specialist Nursing, Degree and second cycle. of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and It is most common to receive a general Degree of Master of Arts/Science in Secon- qualication. In academic year /, dary/Upper-Secondary Education (see Table , students ( per cent women and © at back of report). The most common per cent men) received a Higher Education professional qualications among men are Diploma, a Bachelor’s Degree, a -credit Degree of Master of Science in Engineering Master’s Degree or a -credit Master’s Degree. and Degree of Bachelor of Science in Engine- The gender dierence was larger in ering, while for women the most common the rst cycle than in the second cycle. At are Degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing the rst cycle, per cent of graduates were and Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Pre-School women and © per cent were men, while at Education. the second cycle ¦ per cent were women If all the dierent teaching degrees are and per cent were men. combined, they make up a quarter of the One way to describe graduates is to look professional qualications in academic year at what areas they have graduated from. /. The dierences among men and Of the dierent specialisations for general women were signicant. The largest gender qualications, social sciences, law, business dierence was for individuals with a Degree and administration were the largest, with a of Bachelor of Arts in Pre-School Educa-
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT tion, where ¦ per cent were women and attending degree programmes. The percen- per cent were men. The smallest gender tage of students receiving a degree is measu- dierence was for graduates with a Degree red according to the nominal programme of Master of Arts/Science in Secondary/ length (normal time to complete the Upper-Secondary Education, per cent programme) plus three years. This infor- women and per cent men. mation should not be interpreted to mean that students take this long to complete their studies. Many are done much sooner. Student completion rates Instead, it shows how many students in A common way of measuring student total complete a degree, allowing for those completion rate is graduation rate, i.e. who take even longer. Graduation rate the percentage of students who graduate measures only the percentage of students within a certain period of time. Since it is that actually request a degree certicate understood that the goal of a programme and does not capture those students who is a degree, graduation rate is only a useful complete an education without requesting measure of student completion for students a degree certicate.
Figure 8. Percentage of graduates within the nominal programme length plus three years after intended degree or other degree. New entrants on programmes leading to a professional qualification with at least 200 new entrants followed up through academic year 2017/18.
BSc in Engineering BSc in Pharmacy BSc in Biomedical Laboratory Science Higher Education Diploma in Vocational Education MSc in Engineering BA/MA in Education Teaching Qualification MSc in Business and Economics BSc in Occupational Therapy BSc in Diagnostic Radiology Nursing Postgraduate Diploma in Special Needs Training Higher Education Diploma in Dental Hygiene Postgraduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs BA in Study and Career Guidance BSc in Nursing MSc in Pharmacy MSc in Architecture BSc in Physiotherapy MSc in Laws BSc in Social Work Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Nursing Postgraduate Diploma in Psychotherapy MSc in Psychology Msc in Medicine Postgraduate Diploma in Midwifery MSc in Dentistry 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Per cent Intended professional qualification Other qualification
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Low graduation rates To summarise, many students do not com- in many programmes plete their educations and in an interna- Students on programmes leading to a tional perspective, Swedish students have a professional qualication have been low completion rate. followed up through academic year / and were new entrants at some point between / and ©/ , depending Widening participation on the length of the programmes. The According to the Higher Education Act, HEIs follow-up measures both the percentage are to actively promote and widen partici- with the professional qualication that the pation in higher education. This means that new entrant programme leads to and the HEIs must work to increase diversity and percentage with other qualication. The work against recruitment imbalances, so that category “other qualication’’ includes no single group is disadvantaged in the trans- general qualication (for example Bachelor ition to high education. An important aspect, Degree and -credit Master’s Degree) however, is that recruitment imbalance is or a professional qualication on another largely already established before the trans- programme. For students who were ition to higher education, for such reasons followed up through academic year /, as people with diering social backgrounds the graduation rate was highest among study dierent upper-secondary school those studying to become midwives, ¦ programmes, and nal school grades are per cent, followed by medical students, oen linked to social background. per cent (see Figure ). Among students We have already established that men are on the architecture programme, only underrepresented in higher education. This per cent had received a Degree of Master of section shows how social background and Architecture. An additional © per cent of Swedish or foreign background, respectively, them had received another degree instead, in¨uence recruitment to higher education. which means that the total graduation rate was relatively high. The same pattern is seen Continued significant social imbalance among those who studied for a Master’s in recruitment to higher education Degree in business and economics, where per cent received a dierent degree. To study the connection between individuals’ Bachelor of science in engineering program- social background and disposition to begin mes had the lowest graduation rate, where higher education, we look at what percentage only half of students received a degree. of all individuals born in the ¦© through General programmes have a signi- ¦¦© cohorts begin higher education no later cantly lower graduation rate than program- than age . To be included in the analysis, mes leading to a professional qualication, individuals must be registered in Sweden by with under per cent for both Higher age . Education Diplomas and Degrees of The parents’ level of education is used Bachelor. At the second cycle, the gradua- as a measurement of social background. tion rate is a little higher and the highest For each cohort, the individuals are divided is the -credit Master’s Degree with just into six groups depending on whether over per cent. On all larger programmes the highest educated parent has less than followed up, women had higher graduation an upper-secondary education, at most rates than men. two years of upper-secondary education,
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT more than two years of upper-secondary will begin higher education. A comparison education, less than three years of post-se- between all cohorts born between ¦© condary education, and at least three years and ¦¦© shows that the social imbalance of post-secondary education or third-cycle in recruitment in the transition to higher education (licentiate or doctoral degree). education has largely been unchanged in Forty-ve per cent of all individuals the most recent decade. born in ¦¦© had begun higher education In general, the transition in the dierent by age , that is to say through , but categories based on the parents’ level of parental level of education is a signicant education was the same for women and factor in beginning higher education. If the men. The transition was lowest both for parents had a third-cycle education, the women and men with parents who have transition to higher education was very less than an upper-secondary education high, per cent, and if they had at least a and highest for those whose parents have a three-year post-secondary education (but third-cycle education. In general, however, no third-cycle education), the transition rate women begin higher education at a higher was per cent (see Figure ¦). If the parents rate than men. This is why the transition in had less than an upper-secondary education, all categories was higher for women than however, the transition was considerably men. Of all women born in ¦¦©, © per lower at © per cent. The other groups were cent had begun higher education by age . positioned between these two extremes. Thirty-seven per cent of men from the same This analysis shows a clear social imbalance cohort had begun higher education. The in recruitment to higher education. By this is dierences in transition for women and men meant that the longer education the parents varies, however, by parental level of educa- have, the more likely it is that their children tion. The higher the parents’ educational level, the smaller the dierence in transition Figure 9. Percentage of those born 1983–1993 who between genders. For children of parents have begun Swedish higher education by age 25, with a third-cycle education, the transition divided by parental level of education (which was per cent for women and © per cent is used as a measure of social background). for men (see Figure ). If the parents had a Per cent low educational level (less than upper-se- 100 condary education or at most two years of 90 upper-secondary education), the transition 80 for women was double as high as for men. 70 60 50 Changing social composition 40 of new entrants 30 Another way of measuring social imbalance 20 in recruitment is by studying the social 10 composition of new entrants in higher 0 education. This is determined, in part, by the 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 population’s composition among the same Third-cycle education age group as the new entrants and, in part, Post-secondary education ≥3 years Post-secondary education <3 years by the degree by which individuals from Upper-secondary education >2 years dierent social backgrounds begin higher Upper-secondary education ≤2 years Pre-secondary education education. Of new entrants in academic
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 10. Percentage of women and men born 1993 who have begun Swedish higher education by age 25, divided by parental level of education.
Third-cycle education Men Women
Post-secondary education ≥3 years
Post-secondary education <3 years
Upper-secondary education >2 years
Upper-secondary education ≤2 years
Pre-secondary education
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Per cent year /, per cent had parents with a Immigrants who arrived after start low educational level (at most two years of of school have lowest transition rate upper-secondary education), © per cent had to higher education parents with a medium educational level To study the connection between Swedish (three-year upper-secondary education or and foreign background and the transi- a post-secondary education less than three tion to higher education, we look at what years), and ©¦ per cent with parents with a percentage of all individuals born in the high level of education (at least a three-year ¦© through ¦¦ cohorts that begin post-secondary education). higher education no later than age . For Because of the social imbalance in each cohort, the individuals are divided recruitment to higher education we have into categories based on whether they have just identied, the social composition of Swedish background (born in Sweden new entrants diers from the population in with at least one Swedish-born parent) or general. For example, among new entrants foreign background. Foreign background in academic year /, there was an is shown in three categories: those born in overrepresentation of students with parents Sweden with foreign-born parents, those who had high education levels since the who are foreign born that immigrated percentage of new entrants was ©¦ per cent before age and those that are foreign born while the same percentage for the popula- that immigrated aer school start, that is tion in general among ¦–-year-olds was to say aer age . These numbers are for © per cent. individuals registered in Sweden at age , Even if the social imbalance in recruit- meaning individuals who immigrated aer ment has not changed signicantly between age are not included in the analysis. cohorts, the social composition has changed In the ¦¦ cohort, the transition rate among new entrants. Over the last decade, to higher education among foreign-born the percentage of new entrants with highly individuals was per cent, compared to educated parents has increased while the per cent among those with a Swedish percentage whose parents have lower background (see Figure ). For individuals education levels has decreased. The change with a foreign background born in Sweden, is linked with the increasing education level the transition rate was ¦ per cent, and for of the population over time. those foreign born who immigrated before
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT age , it was per cent. The transition rate extent than men, the transition rate for for foreign-born individuals who immigrated individuals from all categories was higher aer age was considerably lower, ¦ per for women than for men. The dierence in cent. The analysis shows that individuals transition rate between women and men with a foreign background that are born in in the dierent groups is relatively similar. Sweden and foreign-born individuals who However, the dierence was greatest among immigrated before age are not under- individuals with a Swedish background represented compared to individuals with ( percentage points) and lowest among a Swedish background. However, foreign- foreign born (© percentage points) for both born individuals who immigrated aer those who immigrated before and aer age are underrepresented compared to age . It is worth noting that the transition individuals in the other categories. The age rate for women who immigrated aer age of immigration thus in¨uences to a great is the same as for men with a Swedish degree whether foreign-born individuals background – © per cent in both cases. begin higher education. The general pattern is that transition Percentage with foreign background for individuals in the dierent categories increasing among new entrants with Swedish and foreign backgrounds is The composition of new entrants in higher similar for women and men. Both among education based on Swedish or foreign women and men, the transition is lowest for background is the result of, in part, the individuals who immigrated aer age and composition of the population in the highest for those with foreign backgrounds corresponding age group, and, in part, the that are born in Sweden. However, since degree to which individuals with Swedish women begin higher education to a greater or foreign backgrounds begin higher educa- Figure 11. Percentage of those born 1983–1992 tion. Of new entrants in higher education who have begun Swedish higher education by age (excluding incoming students) in academic 25, divided by Swedish and foreign background. year /, per cent had Swedish Foreign background is shown in three categories: those born in Sweden with two foreign-born parents, backgrounds and per cent had foreign foreign born that immigrated before age 7, and backgrounds. Ten years ago, in academic foreign born that immigrated after age 7. year /¦, new entrants with foreign
Per cent backgrounds were per cent of all new 60 entrants. Since the percentage with foreign backgrounds in the population has incre- 50 ased similarly, this can explain the gradual 40 increase in new entrants with foreign backgrounds. Additionally, the transition 30 to higher education has increased among
20 those with foreign backgrounds. Taken together, this shows that individuals with a 10 foreign background are not underrepresen- ted on average compared with individuals 0 with a Swedish background. But as the analy- 1991 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1992 sis above shows, there are dierences among Swedish background Foreign background foreign-born individuals where the age of Born in Sweden with Immigrated before age 7 foreign-born parents Immigrated after age 7 immigration seems to play a large role.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT THIRDCYCLE EDUCATION
AFTER COMPLETING a rst- and second- Thus, third-cycle education has been largely cycle degree, some students continue on unchanged in size during the last years. to third-cycle education (doctoral studies). However, the number of awarded doctoral Among students that completed a rst- and degrees has increased by per cent. This second-cycle degree between academic growth occurred in the beginning of the years /¦ and /, just over per period and was partly an eect of the ¦¦ cent continued on to a third-cycle educa- Postgraduate Education Reform, which tion. The transition to a third-cycle educa- required doctoral students to have guaran- tion was much higher among men than teed funding, thus leading to increased women. Of rst- and second-cycle gradua- completion rates and more degrees awarded. tes, © per cent of women and per cent of men began third cycle education. Over the last years, the number of third-cycle new entrants (doctoral new Thirdcycle new entrants entrants) has varied between ©, and In the number of doctoral new entrants ,, while the total number of doctoral was ©,, which was a decrease of from students has varied between , and the previous year. Aer a top in , when , (see Figure ). In there were there were , new entrants, this number ©, doctoral new entrants at Swedish decreased signicantly and in the last few higher education institutions (HEIs), while years the number has been stable at around there were a total , of doctoral students. ©,.
Figure 12. Number of new entrants, students and degrees awarded in third-cycle education 1998–2018. This diagram shows the total number of third-cycle students on the right axis while new entrants and degrees awarded are shown on the left axis.
Number of new entrants and qualifications Number of doctoral students 5,000 25,000
4,500 4,000 20,000
3,500
3,000 15,000 2,500
2,000 10,000 1,500
1,000 5,000
500 0 0
2011 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Doctoral student (right axis) Doctoral new entrants Doctoral degrees Licentiate degrees
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Continued high proportion cycle, but the introduction of tuition fees of foreign new entrants at lower levels resulted in a decrease in the Many incoming students (foreign doctoral number of incoming second-cycle students students) come to Sweden for doctoral from countries outside of the EU/EEA and education at Swedish HEIs. Between Switzerland. Since second cycle is a source and , the number of foreign new entrants of recruitment to third-cycle studies, the increased from © to per cent and remai- tuition fee reform may have led to this ned at this level for many years, see Figure ©. decrease in doctoral new entrants from Between and , however, the number these countries. of Swedish new entrants decreased, while The gender ratio was even among all the number of foreign new entrants was doctoral new entrants in . Among the largely unchanged, increasing the propor- foreign third-cycle new entrants, however, tion of foreign doctoral new entrants. In men outnumbered women: per cent men there were ,© foreign new entrants, and per cent women. Men have been which corresponds to per cent of the total the majority among foreign doctoral new number. entrants since statistics began being collected in ¦¦ , but the percentage of women has increased in the last two years and was at Figure 13. Total number of third-cycle new entrants 2008–2018, divided by foreign and its highest in . Among Swedish doctoral Swedish new entrants. new entrants, women have always had a higher percentage than among foreign new Number 4,500 entrants, and in it reached per cent,
4,000 which was the highest percentage yet.
3,500
3,000 Medical and health sciences
2,500 had the most new entrants
2,000 Third-cycle education is reported based on
1,500 the six elds of research and development:
1,000 medical and health sciences; natural sciences;
500 engineering and technology; social sciences; humanities and ne arts; and agricultural 0 sciences and veterinary medicine. 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 The number of new entrants varies Total number of new entrants considerably between these dierent elds. Swedish new entrants. Foreign new entrants As in previous years, medical and health sciences had the most new entrants in . These made up a third of all new entrants, The vast majority of foreign third-cycle totalling , students. There were new new entrants come from countries outside entrants within natural sciences and of the EU/EEA and Switzerland. From ©, within engineering and technology. Within however, the number of new entrants social sciences and within humanities and from these countries decreased, which ne arts, there were ¦ and doctoral likely was connected to the introduction new entrants, respectively. Agricultural of tuition fees at the rst- and second-cycle sciences had the lowest number with levels in . There are no fees at third- new entrants.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Most doctoral students with doctoral grants has fallen from © per have a doctoral studentship cent to almost eliminating the category. Regulations stipulate that doctoral students Previously, doctoral grants were common at Swedish HEIs must have guaranteed form among new entrants since it was the initial of funding throughout their education. funding type that was meant to be replaced Funding types vary and the large majority with a doctoral studentship aer one year. have a doctoral studentship. Doctoral students can also have another form of employment at the HEI, a position external Fewer and fewer students to the HEI in which the students are able from Sweden’s population to pursue doctoral studies, doctoral grants, begin thirdcycle education scholarships or “other source of funding”. The volume of third-cycle education can “Other source of funding” includes the also be measured through the percentage student’s nancial resources, state-based of Sweden’s population that has begun a student nancial support or unspecied third-cycle education by a specic age. We forms of student funding. have studied the proportion of cohorts born The Government’s latest research bill ¦–¦ that begin third-cycle education (Bill / :) focused on improving at Swedish HEIs by age ©. In the ¦ the welfare of doctoral students with cohort, the percentage was .¦ per cent and scholarships and doctoral grants. This gradually increased thereaer to reach its ambition led to a marked increase in new peak with the ¦ through ¦ cohorts entrants with doctoral student positions at . per cent, see Figure . For those born within all subject areas. from ¦ ¦, however, the percentage that The percentage of new entrants with began third-cycle education has gradually doctoral studentships thus has increased fallen. Of individuals born ¦, . per cent signicantly over the last decade, from ©¦ had begun third-cycle education by age ©. per cent to per cent (see Table ). At the This means that the current percentage is same time, the percentage of new entrants largely the same as it was © years ago.
Table 4. Types of funding for third-cycle new entrants, divided by women and men 2008–2018, FTE.
New New entrants Gender distribution entrants Gender distribution funding (%) funding (%) types types Funding types 2008, FTE Women Men 2018, FTE Women Men
Doctoral studentships 39 36 41 71 70 72 Employment within the HEI 4 5 3 3 3 2 Doctoral grants 23 28 19 0 0 0 Externally employed doctoral student 4 3 5 6 4 7 Medical post 4 4 4 6 6 6 Employment outside of the HEI 8 10 6 5 7 4 Scholarships 12 9 15 7 8 6 Other source of funding 6 6 6 2 2 2 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT If the percentage of the Swedish popula- The transition to third-cycle education for tion that begin third-cycle education is to the dierent social groups is closer to each increase again while third-cycle education other among those born at the end of the continues to attract and recruit many foreign ¦s than it is for those born at the begin- doctoral students, it is clear that the volume ning of that decade, a development that of third-cycle education needs to increase. holds for both women and men. For the cohorts born between ¦ and ¦ , the Figure 14. Percentage of population that began percentage that began third-cycle education third-cycle education by age 30 for cohorts born decreased from . to . per cent in the 1956–1988, divided by women and men. Per cent group with parents who had tertiary educa- Per cent tion (at least three years, but not third-cycle 1.8 education). The equivalent decrease among 1.6 those with parents who had third-cycle 1.4 education went from . to . per cent. In 1.2 terms of percentage points, the transition 1.0 to third-cycle education fell most among 0.8 these two groups with highly educated 0.6 parents. One pattern, however, remains for
0.4 all cohorts born between ¦ and ¦ :
0.2 The longer education the parents have, the larger percentage that continue on to third- 0.0 cycle education. 1956 1958196019621964196619681970 1972 1974 1976 197819801982 198419861988
Total Men Women
Figure 15. Percentage of population that has begun third-cycle education by age 30 among those born 1980–1987, divided by social back- Widening participation ground (parents’ educational level). in thirdcycle education Per cent 10 9 The social imbalance in recruitment 8 is decreasing even with fewer 7 thirdcycle new entrants 6 5 The falling percentage of the population 4 that has begun third-cycle education by 3 age © is seen in all groups from widely 2 varying social backgrounds, measured by 1 the parents’ educational level. This develop- 0 ment has been followed for a number of 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 cohorts born in the ¦s, see Figure . Third-cycle education Even though in general it has become Tertiary education >= 3 years less common to attend third-cycle educa- Tertiary education < 3 years Upper-secondary education 3 years tion, the social imbalance in recruitment Upper-secondary education <= 2 years has not increased. Instead, it has decreased. Pre-secondary education
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Decreased imbalance in decreased. Of those born in ¦, those with recruitment based on Swedish a Swedish background began third-cycle or foreign background education by . percentage points more. Possible imbalances in recruitment based This dierence then decreased to . percen- on national background in the Swedish tage point among those born in ¦ : in population can be measured by following the group with a Swedish background, . individuals born the same year and seeing per cent had begun third-cycle education to what degree they have begun third-cycle compared to . per cent of those with a education by a certain age. This type of analy- foreign background. This observed decrease sis has been conducted for individuals born in dierence is connected with the fact that between ¦ and ¦ and who were part of the percentage that have begun third-cycle the Swedish population by age . Individu- education has fallen more among those als who immigrated at a later age are thereby with a Swedish background than those with not included in this follow-up. Third-cycle a foreign background. This improvement education is to have begun by age ©. over time has occurred for both women In the oldest cohort, those born in and men (see Figure ) and has occurred ¦, a larger proportion of those with a in parallel with increasingly fewer students Swedish background had begun third-cycle moving on to third-cycle education. education compared to those with a foreign background: .© per cent compared to . per cent. Even when divided by women and Thirdcycle qualifications men, the group with a Swedish background were more likely to begin third-cycle In Sweden, there are two third-cycle degrees education. Over time these dierences have with dierent lengths of study. A Degree of Doctor involves four years of full-time study while a Degree of Licentiate involves two Figure 16. Percentage of population that has begun third-cycle education by age 30 among years of full-time study. Sweden was one of individuals born 1980–1987, divided by Swedish the rst countries to introduce third-cycle or foreign background for women and men. degrees in the ne, applied and performing
Per cent arts. Since its introduction in , a total of 1.6 such doctoral degrees and such licenti-
1.4 ate degrees have been awarded. Since there are so few, we do not report them separately 1.2 in this section. 1.0 In , about ©,© third-cycle quali- 0.8 cations were awarded, of which , ¦ were
0.6 doctoral degrees and licentiate degrees.
0.4 Compared with , this is a slight decrease in the total number: fewer doctoral 0.2 degrees but the same number of licentiate 0.0 degrees (see Figure ). 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 There were almost as many women as Women, Swedish background men who received doctoral degrees in , Men, Swedish background Women, foreign background and the gender distribution has been relati- Men, foreign background vely even over the last decade. However,
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Figure 17. Number of doctoral degrees and licentiate degrees 2008–2018, divided by women and men.
Number 3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Doctoral degrees, total Doctoral degrees, women Doctoral degrees, men Licentiate degrees, total Licentiate degree, women Licentiate degree, men
the percentage of women among licentiate within engineering and technology and degree recipients was lower, © per almost one third within natural sciences. cent women and per cent men. This can Licentiate degrees are awarded only to a be explained in that half of these degrees limited extent within other subject areas. were completed within engineering and technology, where men are in the majority. Most foreign doctoral students leave The gender balance for licentiate degrees Sweden after receiving degrees has been unchanged for the last decade. Medical and health sciences was the A recent study by UKÄ shows that of , eld of research and development with the foreign doctoral students who completed most doctoral degrees awarded : ¦ a doctoral degree in Sweden between degrees, or about one third of all doctoral ¦¦ and , per cent had le Sweden degrees. The gender balance was relatively three years aer graduation, per cent of even: ¦ per cent women and per cent women and per cent of men. Aer eight men. This is followed by natural sciences, year, the percentage of women who had le engineering and technology, and social Sweden had increased to per cent and to sciences with , and © doctoral per cent for men. degrees, respectively. In humanities and ne The percentage who had le Sweden arts, doctoral degrees were awarded, aer graduating diered between dierent and doctoral degrees were awarded elds of research. Within engineering and in agricultural sciences and veterinary technology, it was lowest at per cent. medicine. The natural sciences and engine- Then came humanities and ne arts (¦ ering and technology have a higher percen- per cent), medical and health sciences tage of men than women who receive ( per cent) and natural sciences ( per degrees, while women outnumber men in cent). Of those who graduated within the the other elds of research. social sciences, per cent had le the Even the number of licentiate degrees country. Those with degrees in agricultural varies between the dierent subject areas. sciences and veterinary medicine were the Over half of licentiate degrees were awarded most likely to have le Sweden three years
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 18. Graduation rate: percentage of third-cycle new entrants among women and men who comple- ted a doctoral degree five, six and eight years after their first year (1980–2010).
Per cent 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 5 years 6 years 8 years aer graduation ( per cent). This is in women and ¦ per cent of men had comple- part because many of the foreign doctoral ted their doctoral degree within ve years, a students within this eld study at Swedish dierence of percentage points. HEIs as part of Sweden’s foreign aid eorts. The graduation rate increases, however, The intention is that they are to return and over time and then the gender balance develop the research capacity in their home evens out. Women seem to take longer than countries. men to complete their doctoral degree. Among new entrants in , per cent of women and per cent of men had comple- ted their doctoral degree within ve years, a Student completion rates dierence of percentage points. This die- Graduation rate is a measurement of rence is still percentage points aer six student completion that indicates what years, but aer eight years there is no longer percentage of third-cycle new entrants that any dierence. At that point, per cent of complete a doctoral degree aer a certain both men and women had completed their number of years. An initial follow-up is doctoral degree. done aer ve years, which can be seen as a In total, per cent of new entrants reasonable follow-up time, since a doctoral in completed their doctoral degree degree is intended to be the equivalent of an within ve years, © per cent within six eective study period of four years. years and per cent within eight years. In The most recent cohort that can be the same cohorts, per cent had completed studied within ve years are those that a licentiate degree as their highest degree. began their third-cycle education in ©. In total, ¦ per cent had not completed any Of these, per cent received their doctoral degree aer eight years. degree by the end of . Women had a In recent years, the dierence in gradu- lower graduation rate than men for all years. ation rates between women and men has Among new entrants in ©, per cent of decreased considerably, see Figure .
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY Fewer new incoming is an important part of the internationali- sation of higher education. The ambition exchange students in Sweden is to increase mobility, both for For academic year /, there were incoming and outgoing students. A part , new incoming students at Swedish of mobility at the rst and second cycles higher education institutions (HEIs). Of is in organised form, through exchange these, ©, were exchange students and programmes between Swedish and foreign ,¦ were freemovers. By incoming higher education institutions. Exchange freemover students is meant individuals students oen study freestanding courses who have been granted residence permits within the framework of an exchange for study, who were born outside Sweden programme as part of their education in and arrived less than six months before their home countries. There is also another their studies began, and other individuals form of mobility, where students arrange who do not have Swedish civic registration their studies abroad themselves, known as numbers in the HEIs’ student administra- freemover students or freemovers. tion system. Incoming freemover students This chapter looks at student mobility from countries outside the EU/EEA and at the rst and second cycles. Switzerland pay application and tuition fees to study in Sweden. Thirty-eight per cent of Figure 19. Different groups of international mobile freemovers had to pay tuition fees in acade- students at the first and second cycles from a mic year /. Swedish perspective. Over a -year perspective, the number of incoming freemovers has increased. But when tuition fees were introduced for International student mobility incoming students from countries outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland in the autumn , the number decreased substantially. Incoming Outgoing students students Tuition fees do not apply to exchange students, but the number of incoming freemovers decreased signicantly acade- Exchange Freemover Exchange Freemover students students students students mic year / (see Figure ). From this point, the number has gradually increased. But only the number of freemovers is incre- Non-fee- Fee-paying asing, particularly the paying ones, while paying the number of incoming exchange students has decreased for several years. This trend continued academic year /. Compared with academic year
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 20. Total number of new incoming students academic years 1998/99–2017/18 and divided into exchange students and freemovers.
Number 35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 1998/99 1999/002000/01 2001/022002/032003/042004/052005/062006/072007/082008/092009/10
New incoming students total New incoming exchange students New incoming free-movers
/ , the number of incoming exchange Like recent academic years, in academic students decreased while freemovers, parti- year / most new incoming students cularly paying students, increased. In total, came from Germany, France and China. the number of incoming students increased This was true both for the total number by © per cent. of students and for exchange students, see Of the , new incoming students Figure . Many new exchange students academic year /, © per cent were also came from Spain and the United States. women and per cent were men, which For incoming freemovers, the majority was the same as the previous academic came from India, China and Germany. year. Like previous academic years, the The number of new incoming freemovers division by gender diered among exchange from both India and China has increased students and freemovers. Among exchange signicantly since academic year ©/ . students, per cent were women and Something that dierentiates these two were men, while among freemovers the countries is that the number of exchange numbers were equal. students from India has been relatively low, and it fell even more in academic year /. Most new incoming students Exchange students almost always take from Germany and France freestanding courses during a relatively Of the , new incoming students in short period in Sweden, while freemovers academic year /, ,© came from usually attend a degree programme. For countries in the EU/EEA and ,¦ came academic year /, a total of ,¦ new from outside the EU/EEA. The majority of incoming freemovers came and almost incoming students from EEA countries are per cent attended a degree programme. The exchange students, while exchange students most common was a -credit Master’s make up half of those coming from non-EEA programme ( per cent), followed by a countries. -credit Master’s programme ( per cent).
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Figure 21. The number of incoming students from the six countries from which most new incoming students came from academic year 2017/18, in total and divided by exchange students and freemovers and by gender.
Number of students 3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0 Total Total Total Total Total Total
Exchange Exchange Exchange Exchange Exchange Exchange Freemover Freemover Freemover Freemover Freemover Freemover Germany France China Spain India USA
Men Women
Total number of incoming A study from the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis (PM :) shows students increased that about per cent of the incoming academic year ³ students who attend an entire degree programme in Sweden stay and work here. Many of the new incoming students stay The students included in the analysis were and continue their studies a longer period largely freemovers from countries outside at a Swedish HEI. The total number of the EU/EEA area. incoming students includes all incoming students studying in Sweden, regardless of whether they have done so for one semester Number of feepaying students at or many years. Swedish HEIs continues to increase The total number of incoming students Since tuition fees are still a relatively new was © ,© academic year /, and this phenomenon in Sweden, it is interesting was per cent more than the previous acade- to study the trend among paying students. mic year. The percentage of women was The number has increased signicantly, and © per cent, the same level as the previous this continued in academic year /. academic year. There were ©, exchange At that time, there were ,© students that students and ,©© freemovers. Compared paid tuition fees, which is a per cent to the previous academic year, the number increase from academic year / . Over of exchange students decreased by ©, while half of the paying students were at a few the number of freemovers increased by ,©©. higher education institutions: Royal Insti- The percentage of women was higher among tute of Technology (KTH), Lund University, exchange students ( per cent) than among Linnaeus University, Chalmers University of freemovers ( per cent). Technology and Uppsala University.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT At the same time as tuition fees were intro- ¦ per cent were freemovers and © per cent duced, two state scholarship programmes exchange students. were established for fee-paying rst- and In spite of an ambition to increase the second-cycle students. One programme number of outgoing students, the number aims to promote internationalisation by fell academic year / for the third HEIs by helping with recruitment of parti- academic year in a row. Outgoing freemo- cularly qualied students from countries vers made up the entire decrease, falling © outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland and per cent from the previous academic year, covers all or part of the tuition fees. while outgoing exchange students increased The other programme’s scholarships per cent, see Figure . are aimed, in part, at students from countries There are more female than male with which Sweden has a long-term develop- students among outgoing students – per ment collaboration and, in part, at students cent were women and per cent men in from countries classied as low- or medium- academic year /. The gender division income countries according to the OECD’s was somewhat more even among the , Development Assistance Committee (OECD/ exchange students than among the , DAC). The Government’s intention with the freemovers. programme is to contribute to ensuring the Like previous academic years, the supply of qualied expertise in developing majority of outgoing students chose to countries. The scholarships cover all tuition study in another European country, but the fees as well as the student’s cost of living. number of outgoing students going to other Several higher education institutions Nordic countries decreased academic year have also established their own scholarships /. In terms of individual countries, for fee-paying students, either with their own English-speaking countries were most funds or in cooperation with other funding popular among outgoing students from organisations.
In autumn semester , per cent of Figure 22. Number of outgoing students, divided paying students had a Swedish scholarship by student category and gender, academic year that covered their entire tuition fees and ¦ 2007/08–2017/18. per cent had scholarships that covered parts Number of their tuition fees. 12,000
10,000
Number of outgoing 8,000 freemovers decreasing 6,000
Now let’s look at Swedish students who 4,000 travel abroad to study. Unlike the situation 2,000 in many other countries, Swedish students can receive nancial support to study 0 abroad. They also have the opportunity to 2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18 receive a supplementary loan, for example 2007/082008/092009/10 to pay tuition fees. In academic year /, Freemover students, women there were ©, Swedish students studying Freemover students, men Exchange students, women abroad with nancial support and of these, Exchange students, men
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Sweden. Over a third studied in either the abroad in academic year / included United Kingdom or the United States in Degree of Master of Science in Business and academic year / and Australia was Economics ( per cent), Degree of Master also popular. Other major host countries ( credits) in Social Sciences, Law, Trade were Poland and Denmark. and Administration ( per cent), and Degree Many outgoing freemovers choose of Master of Laws (© per cent). programmes abroad that are highly compe- Some of the biggest degree program- titive to gain admission to in Sweden. Three mes with a low percentage of graduates examples of such programmes are medicine, academic year / that had studied dentistry and veterinary sciences. The abroad were Degree of Bachelor of Science number of students on medical program- in Engineering ( per cent), Degree of mes abroad, however, has decreased the last Bachelor of Science in Nursing ( per cent) few academic years, which can in part be and Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Pre-School the result of expansion of Swedish medical Education ( per cent). programmes. A total of , Swedish students studied on medical programmes abroad academic year /, the majority in Poland. This number can be compared to the ¦,©© medical students in Sweden in the same academic year. Three hundred Swedish students studied to be dentists and studied to be veterinarians abroad in academic year /. That can be compared to dental students and veterinary students at Swedish higher education institutions in the same academic year.
Fewer graduates have studied abroad Now let’s look at studies abroad among graduates in Sweden. In , the EU Council of Ministers decided that by , per cent of all graduates at the tertiary level within the EU should have studied abroad for some of their education. For rst- and second-cycle graduates in Sweden in acade- mic year /, per cent had studied abroad (excluding incoming students) for part of the last semesters, which is a decrease by per cent compared to the previous academic year. There are major dierences on the number of students who study abroad based on what degree the student receives. Degrees with the highest number of graduates who studied
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT EDUCATION AND THE LABOUR MARKET
THE SWEDISH ECONOMY has been growing for several years, and there are WHO IS CONSIDERED shortages in educated personnel in a ESTABLISHED? number of elds, including many profes- To be considered established on the sions within health care and education. labour market, a person needs to meet the At the same time as there is a shortage of following criteria: • The person is employed in the month of personnel, there is a high level of unemploy- November in the relevant follow-up year ment. Supply and demand for labour is according to the employment register. not in balance in all areas. Gaining access • The total annual income during the year to needed expertise is an increasingly exceeds SEK 230,200 (2016). pressing issue and is an important question • There should not be any events that for the future. Universities and university indicate periods of unemployment (part-time or full-time) or that the colleges have an important role to play in person has been the subject of labour this regard. The higher education institu- market policy measures. tions (HEIs) are to adjust their educational The definition of establishment used here oerings based on demand from students is relatively narrow. There are a number of and the labour market’s needs. As such, the conditions that must be met during the HEIs largely determine their own educatio- follow-up year for a person to be conside- nal oerings. red established, and the definition is inten- An important question is to what ded for persons who are solidly positioned on the labour market. Individuals belonging degree the HEIs’ educational oerings to the established group, in other words, actually meet the labour market’s needs? have had a relatively easy transition from education to working life. The cohort is divided into four catego- Establishment after ries based on how secure their position is on the labour market: first and secondcycle degrees Good position on the Established labour market One way to examine the connection Relatively low earnings or between education and the labour market experiencing some is to look at how individuals with dierent Insecure unemployment degrees from higher education become Relatively low earnings or established on the labour market. The experiencing full-time un- Weak employment much of the year following shows establishment –. years aer graduation with a rst- and second- No earnings cycle degree in academic year /. Outside
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT A majority were established Differences between Of those receiving a rst-or second-cycle degree graduation years in establishment in the academic year /, per cent of The point at which a graduate enters both women and men were established aer the labour market can be signicant for –. years. In other words, they had a good the ability to become established. The position on the labour market, see Figure ©. current economic situation naturally has a Seven per cent of women and men had an major impact on how easily graduates can insecure position on the labour market, which establish themselves on the labour market. means relatively low wage earnings or the Fluctuations in the economy and cut backs occurrence of unemployment during the year. or expansion of the public sector can make Another per cent of both women and men establishment easier or harder in the short had a weak position on the labour market, term. There are also dierences in establish- which means they had very low wage earnings ment based on what specialisation and and the occurrence of unemployment during a subject area individuals graduate within. large part of the year. Finally, per cent were Labour shortages within specic areas can absent from the labour market, that is to say, naturally lead to a higher establishment they had no wage earnings during the year. level for graduates in these areas. The di¤culty to become established A comparison between graduation on the labour market for dierent degree years, that is to say the year in which a degree groups can be expressed in the percentage of was obtained, shows a relatively large varia- graduates in the groups with a weak position tion in establishment over a -year period. or who are outside of the labour market of The highest establishment rate –. years the total number of the cohort. If these two aer graduation ( per cent) was for gradua- group are combined, we see that ¦ per cent of tes during academic year /. The lowest women and per cent of men that graduated establishment ( per cent) was for graduates in academic year / have had di¤culty from academic year ¦¦ /¦, see Figure . in establishing themselves on the labour For most years, women had lower establish- market –. years aer graduation. ment rates than men. For example, the
Figure 23. Labour market position 1–1.5 years after Figure 24. Establishment (per cent) 1–1.5 years graduation for individuals completing first- and after graduation for women and men graduating second-cycle education in academic year 2014/15. in academic years 1994/95–2014/15.
Per cent Per cent 100 100 90 90 80 80 70 70 60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 0 Total Women Men
2010/11 2012/132014/15 Established Insecure 1994/951996/971998/992000/012002/032004/052006/072008/09 Weak Outside Men Women Total
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT dierence was percentage points for graduates academic year /. The main graduates in academic year ¦¦ /¦, while dierence in establishment rate between they had equal establishment rates as men in women and men within farming and academic years /©– /. This shows forestry and within veterinary care ( per that the dierence in establishment rates cent for women and per cent for men) between the sexes has decreased over time. may result from the two groups largely graduating from dierent programmes Highest establishment rate for within these elds. graduates with professional degrees The establishment rate was somewhat Individuals with professional qualications higher for individuals with second-cycle generally have higher establishment rates, general qualications (Masters, and on average ¦ per cent for graduates in credits) compared with rst-cycle degrees academic year /. For both women (Higher Education Diploma and Bachelors). and men, the highest establishment rates For individuals completing a second-cycle were in health and medical care and in general qualications in academic year social care. /, the establishment rate was per For individuals with general qualica- cent, which was percentage points higher tions (Higher Education Diploma, Degree of than for rst-cycle graduates. Bachelor and Degree of Master ( and An earlier study shows that the credits), the establishment rate for women dierence in establishment rate is small and men was per cent for graduates between rst- or second-cycle graduates and academic year /. When dividing third-cycle graduates. This study looked at general qualications into dierent speciali- academic years / –/ and the sations, the degree of establishment varied. results show that © per cent of third-cycle Women had the highest establishment rates graduates were established three years aer within health and medical care and in social graduation, compared with per cent of care while men had the highest rates within rst-cycle and second-cycle graduates. Read education and teacher training, see Table . more in Higher Education in Sweden – Most general qualications were within Status Report, UKÄ Report :. social sciences, law, trade and administration. Fine arts graduates had the lowest establish- The establishment rate for women and ment rate. In academic year /, the men within this area was ¦ per cent for average establishment rate was per cent
Table 5. Establishment (per cent) 1–1.5 years after graduation for individuals receiving a general qualification per specialisation, academic year 2014/15.
Specialisation Establishment (%) Women Men Total Education and teacher training 83 85 83 Humanities and fine arts 60 55 58 Social sciences, law, trade, administration 79 79 79 Natural sciences, mathematics and computer sciences 69 75 72 Engineering, technology and manufacturing 77 82 80 Farming, forestry and veterinary care 84 54 74 Health and medical care and social care 85 82 85 Services 73 79 75
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT (©¦ per cent for women and per cent for Establishment after men). However, this was higher compared to the establishment rate for graduates in bridging programmes the previous years. µ individuals with
Higher establishment rate foreign education for graduates with One way of improving access to trained Swedish background workers within areas experiencing shorta- In general, individuals with a Swedish ges is to better use the expertise of indivi- background have higher establishment rates duals with foreign educations. The state has than those with foreign backgrounds, but allocated additional resources to a number the dierence has decreased in recent years. of HEIs for bridging programmes for indivi- For graduates in academic year /, duals with completed foreign educations. the dierence was percentage points This is intended to expand opportunities for higher rate for individuals with a Swedish individuals with foreign educations to more background. The establishment rate for quickly establish themselves on the Swedish individuals with foreign backgrounds was labour market. per cent and for individuals with Swedish UKÄ has followed up labour market background per cent. establishment for individuals with foreign The establishment rate diers also educations that have completed bridging for individuals with foreign background programmes in Sweden. The educations depending on if they are born abroad or if included in the follow up are teachers, they are born in Sweden with two foreign- lawyers, nurses, doctors and dentists. born parents, see Table . For Sweden- The purpose is for students to be able to born graduates with foreign parents, the supplement the education they have, not for establishment rate was per cent for them to complete an entire higher education graduates in academic year /, which programme in Sweden. Bridging program- was percentage points higher than for mes are only arranged for certain specic foreign-born graduates. The dierence was professional categories. In recent years, the larger for men than women, percentage state has allocated additional resources points compared with © percentage points. and the range of bridging programmes has increased. For example, there are now even bridging programmes for architects,
Table 6. Number of graduates and percentage established 1–1.5 years after graduating academic year 2014/15 with foreign background and Swedish background, respectively.
Women Men Total
Percentage Percentage Percentage Number of established Number of established Number of established Background graduates (%) graduates (%) graduates (%) Foreign background 4,890 79 2,590 76 7,480 78 Foreign born 3,460 78 1,840 74 5,300 76
Born in Sweden with two 1,430 81 750 81 2,180 81 foreign-born parents
Swedish background 25,040 85 12,960 85 38,000 85
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT midwives and civil engineers. These initia- than for men ( per cent), see Figure . The tives, however, have not been ongoing long percentage that were established increased enough to be able to follow them up yet. signicantly over time aer education, and the largest increase was among men. The A majority were women establishment rate increased from per cent to per cent aer two years and to The number of students that completed per cent aer three years. The increase a bridging programme between autumn was signicantly larger for men than for semester and spring semester is women. Three years aer graduation, ¦ per minor compared to the number of graduates cent of men and per cent of women were from regular programmes in Sweden during established. this time. The largest number are among dentists, equalling per cent of all graduating Figure 25. Percentage established one, two and three dentists. Only per cent of total graduates years after completion of bridging programmes attended law and nursing bridging program- autumn semester 2012–spring semester 2015. mes. So relatively few people attend bridging Per cent programmes but the number is growing. 100 Between autumn semester and 90 spring semester , about , enrolled 80 students completed a bridging programme 70 in the relevant subject programmes. Of those 60 who completed the programmes, about 50 either continued their studies or moved 40 abroad. The remaining studied cohort had 30 approximately , individuals. A majority 20 were women, about per cent compared 10 to about per cent men. Teacher students 0 Total Women Men dominated, making up about two-thirds of 1 year 2 years 3 years the students.
Increased establishment Longer establishment time over time µ most among men compared to all graduates Of those who completed a bridging UKÄ and the former National Agency for programme between autumn semester Higher Education have long followed up all and spring semester in the relevant graduates in Sweden, both at the rst and programmes, per cent were established second cycles. A comparison between those one year later. In other words, they had who have attended bridging programmes a good position on the labour market. and all graduates from the reviewed educa- Another per cent were insecure on the tions shows that there was a large dierence labour market. An equal percentage ( per in establishment one year aer graduation. cent) had a weak position on the labour In total per cent of all graduates in Sweden market. Two per cent were absent from the were established from these educations labour market, meaning they had no wage compared with per cent of those who earnings during the year. attended a bridging programme. Aer three One year aer graduation, the establish- years this dierence in establishment had ment rate was higher for women ( per cent evened out.
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT RESEARCH AND TEACHING STAFF
THE HIGHER EDUCATION sector is position as an assistant professor are regula- the largest single state sector in terms of ted by the state. Beyond these, HEIs can number of employees – per cent of all decide what teacher categories there should state employees in Sweden work at higher be and determine the career structure for education institutions (HEIs). In , there teachers and researchers at the HEI. were , employees at HEIs. Converted Compared with the previous year, to full-time equivalents (FTE), this number research and teaching sta increased by was , ©. If we exclude employed doctoral FTEs, totalling ©, FTEs in . Since students, there were , FTEs. Doctoral , research and teaching sta have incre- students conduct a considerable amount of ased by per cent, or ,© FTEs. At the the research and teaching at Swedish HEIs same time, research and teaching sta have but here they are considered primarily as become increasingly more academically students and therefore not included in the well qualied. In the percentage of description of research and teaching sta. sta with a third-cycle education (doctoral For information about doctoral students, degree, licentiate degree or other, primarily readers are referred to the section “Third- a foreign third-cycle education) was per cycle education”. cent measured in FTEs, while the equivalent HEI sta primarily consist of two sta percentage in was per cent. categories: ) research and teaching sta and ) sta that have other duties, such as The number of senior lecturers library sta and employees with adminis- continues to increase trative and technical duties. Here our focus is on research and teaching sta, which Senior lecturers, who normally have a totalled ©, FTEs in . The number of doctoral degree, have long been the largest employees with other assignments totalled employee category among research and , FTEs. Measured in FTEs, research and teaching sta. This continued in , when teaching sta made up about per cent they totalled ¦, FTEs or ¦ per cent of of all HEI employees (excluding doctoral research and teaching sta. Senior lecturers students). Ten years ago, they made up increased by FTEs or just under per per cent. cent compared to the previous year, but Research and teaching at HEIs is prima- between and the number has rily conducted by sta in the employment increased by , FTEs, or per cent (see categories professors, senior lecturers, Figure ). The increase has primarily been individuals with career-development seen in the number of women – from ,¦ positions, lecturers and other research and to , FTEs, or per cent. During the teaching sta with or without a doctoral same period the number of men increased degree. The positions of professors and from ©, to , FTEs, or per cent. senior lecturers and a career-development
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 26. Number of research and teaching staff at In the employee category “Other research HEIs 2008–2018, by employment category, FTEs. and teaching sta”, a large proportion FTEs of sta have research-related duties. The 10,000 category is divided into employees with a 9,000 doctoral degree and those without. Other 8,000 research and teaching sta with and those 7,000 without doctoral degrees accounted for 6,000 per cent and per cent, respectively, of 5,000 research and teaching sta. In , there 4,000 were ©, other research and teaching sta 3,000 2,000 with a doctoral degree, an increase by 1,000 FTEs compared with . There were , 0 other research and teaching sta without doctoral degrees, an increase by FTEs 2011 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 compared to the previous year. This was the Senior lecturers Professors largest increase of all sta categories. Lecturers In the last decade, the number of other Other research and teaching staff without doctoral degrees research and teaching sta increased. Those Career-development positions with doctoral degrees increased by FTS Other research and teaching staff with doctoral degrees and those without increased by , FTEs. As a share of all research and teaching sta, however, the number of other research and There are also many lecturers at Swedish teaching sta has been relatively constant HEIs. In , there were ,¦ FTEs. Lectu- in the last decade. The percentage of other rers normally have no doctoral degree and research and teaching sta with doctoral their numbers have fallen for many years. degrees has varied between and per But, in the number of lecturers incre- cent, while those without doctoral degrees ased by ¦ FTEs compared to the previous has increased somewhat over time, from © to year, which means that the long-term per cent of all research and teaching sta. declining trend has been broken. Over the last decade, the share of lecturers among research and teaching sta has decreased by The number of postdoctoral percentage points, from per cent researchers is increasing to per cent . There are two forms of four-year career- A professorship is the highest position development positions: assistant professors, a teacher or researcher can achieve. In who can apply for promotion to employ- , there were , professors (FTEs) ment for an indenite period as a senior at Swedish HEIs. Like senior lecturers, the lecturer assuming that the person is number of professors has increased since eligible, and dierent local variations of (by ¦ FTEs). This increase, however, postdoctoral fellows. In addition, there is a has levelled o in recent years and between two-year centrally agreed upon career- and the number of professors development position as a postdoctoral increased by FTEs. The share of profes- researcher. sors among research and teaching sta has The number of career-development been relatively stable in the last decade and positions, particularly postdoctoral re- has varied between and per cent. searchers, has increased in the last decade.
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Compared with , the number of post- within academia. Each year, nearly ©, doctoral researchers increased by ¦ FTEs, doctoral students graduate, and HEIs also the number of assistant professors increased recruit internationally for career-develop- by FTEs and the number of postdoctoral ment positions. There were , newly research fellows decreased by FTEs. employed postdoctoral researchers in Since , the number of career- , which is equivalent to just over development positions has increased signi- per cent of a cohort of doctoral graduates. cantly, from , to ©, ©, an increase of There were about newly lled longer , FTEs or per cent. This is largely career-development positions. If we assume because the number of postdoctoral that a career path consists of doctoral researchers has nearly quadrupled, see degree – postdoctoral researcher – longer Figure . The number of postdoctoral career-development position, then we can researchers has increased from FTEs see that competition for longer career- in to ,© FTEs in , an increase development positions is even stier. of ,¦¦ FTEs. There are signicantly fewer assistant professors but they have also The share of women among increased considerably, from to FTEs professors is increasing steadily between and . This is an increase The percentage of women among research of FTEs, but during the same period, and teaching sta has been at just over postdoctoral research fellows have decreased per cent over the last decade, but the distri- by ¦ FTEs. bution of men and women has become Even though the number of career- increasingly balanced. In , per cent development positions has increased over were women, an increase from the previous time, there is still signicant competition year of percentage point and the largest for these positions among doctoral gradu- increase of the last decade. ates who plan to continue their careers Women made up the largest percentage
Figure 27. Number of career-development positions of lecturers at ¦ per cent and other research divided by postdoctoral researchers and employ- and teaching sta without doctoral degrees ment as a postdoctoral research fellow and at per cent, see Figure . Common for assistant professor 2008–2018, FTEs. both of these employment categories is that FTEs they do not require a doctoral degree. As 3,000 such, women are overrepresented within
2,500 these categories among research and teaching sta that can be considered to be 2,000 the least academically well qualied. The lowest percentage of women is 1,500 found among professors at ¦ per cent in
1,000 , a percentage point increase from the previous year. The increase can seem 500 small but this is the employment category that has seen the largest increase in the 0 share of women over the last decade, from 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2008 2009 ¦ per cent in . The number of women Postdoctoral researchers among professors has increased by FTEs Assistant professors Postdoctoral research fellows since , from ¦ to , FTEs, which
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT is equivalent to a ¦ per cent increase. The the last decade. If we divide the employ- number of men among professors during ment category into its dierent subcatego- the same period has increased from ©, ries of career-development positions, we to ©,© FTEs, which is equivalent to a per can see, however, that there have been more cent increase. Since , the number of variations over time. Among postdoctoral male professors has even decreased. researchers, the percentage of women has Employment as a professor is normally decreased compared to , from per preceded by a position as a senior lectu- cent to per cent in . Among assistant rer, making it interesting to compare the professors, the percentage of women has increase in female professors with the varied, but in it reached the same level percentage of female senior lecturers. Since as , © per cent, which is the highest the number of senior lecturers has percentage of the last decade. Aer an initial increased signicantly and women have decline, the percentage of women among made up the bulk of this increase. This has postdoctoral research fellows increased resulted in an increase in the percentage of between and , from per cent to women among senior lecturers from to ¦ per cent. per cent since . This is a very promi- sing development that can help lead to an Lower percentage of women improved gender balance among professors than men are employed as in the future. professors within years of The percentage of women among receiving a doctoral degree career-development positions has been Another way to follow up gender equality stable at between and per cent over is to study the degree to which women and men, respectively, are employed as profes- Figure 28. Percentage of women in different sors within years of receiving a doctoral employment categories among research and degree. The follow-up period of years has teaching staff 2008–2018, FTEs. been chosen because it is a reasonable time Per cent based on the requirements for acquisition 70 of qualications to become a professor. The 60 percentage of doctoral graduates employed
50 as professors within years has decreased from per cent of all doctoral graduates 40 in ¦¦ to per cent in , which can 30 point to increased competition for these positions. 20 Male doctoral graduates become profes- 10 sors to a greater extent than female doctoral
0 graduates within years aer completing
2011 their doctoral degree (see Figure ¦). Of 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 male doctoral graduates in ¦¦, per cent Lecturers Other research and teaching staff without doctoral degrees became professors within years, while Postdoctoral research fellows per cent of female doctoral graduates Senior lecturers Other research and teaching staff with doctoral degrees became professors within the same time Postdoctoral researchers frame. Over time, however, gender dieren- Assistant professors Professors ces have decreased to some extent.
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Figure 29. The percentage of women and men, The lowest percentage of women was found respectively, hired as professors within 12 years of among vice-chancellors at per cent. This completing their doctoral degree. Degree years 1996–2006, per cent of individuals. was followed by acting vice-chancellors at per cent women and deputy vice-chan- Per cent 9 cellors at ¦ per cent. Women made up
8 per cent of deans and deans of faculties and per cent of chief administrative o¤cers. 7
6 Percentage with fixedterm 5 employment¶·¦ per cent 4
3 Fixed-term employment is relatively common at HEIs. This is in part because 2 some positions are supposed to be xed- 1 term as stipulated by the higher education 0 ordinances and collective agreements. This 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 includes employment as visiting professors, Men Total Women adjunct sta and positions as teachers within the ne arts, and career-develop- Of doctoral graduates from –©, about ment positions. the same percentage of women and men Of research and teaching sta, ¦ per had been employed as a professor years cent had xed-term employment in . later. Of doctoral graduates in , per This was the same percentage as . In cent of men were hired as a professor within the last decade, xed-term employment years, while © per cent of women became has become less common in general, having professors within the same timeframe. In decreased by percentage points compared summary, the percentage of men hired as with . professors within years of completing This trend, however, diers between their doctoral degree has been larger than employment categories, see Figure ©. In the the percentage of women every year. last decade, the percentage of employees with xed-term employment has decreased considerably among employees within the Women are wellrepresented in category other research and teaching sta. leadership positions at HEIs Among those with doctoral degrees, the We have seen that women are underrepre- percentage has decreased from to per sented among professors, but they are relati- cent between and . Among sta vely well represented in other leadership in the category other research and teaching positions at Swedish HEIs. The gender sta without doctoral degrees, the percen- distribution among vice-chancellors, acting tage has also decreased, but not by as much: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, from ¦ per cent to per cent . chief administrative o¤cers and deans or On the other hand, the changes are less deans of faculty is relatively balanced. The dramatic in categories where the percentage percentage of women varied between of xed-term employees is relatively low, and per cent. Among directors of libra- that is to say among professors, senior lectu- ries, however, the percentage of women was rers and lecturers. These categories include higher at per cent. visiting professors and adjunct employees,
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 30. Percentage of research and teaching ding internationalisation and global recru- staff with fixed-term appointments during the itment. By foreign background is meant period 2008–2018, divided by employment category, FTEs. individuals that are either born abroad or
Per cent born in Sweden with two foreign-born 100 parents. Sta with foreign backgrounds 90 thus also includes foreign visiting research 80 fellows, i.e. individuals who have come to 70 Sweden to work at a Swedish HEI. 60 The percentage of research and 50 teaching sta with foreign backgrounds 40 was © per cent in . The majority of 30 these were also born abroad, and in total ©© 20 per cent of research and teaching sta are 10 foreign born. 0 The percentage of employees with 2011 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 foreign backgrounds is largest among those Career-development positions with career-development positions. Among Other research and teaching staff without doctoral degrees postdoctoral researchers, per cent had a Total foreign background, which is an increase of Other research and teaching staff with doctoral degrees percentage points since . Employment Lecturers as postdoctoral researchers is sometimes Senior lecturers Professors reserved for foreign applicants, which can explain the high percentage in this category. which have xed-term positions in accor- Among postdoctoral research fellows, dance with higher education ordinances. per cent had foreign backgrounds and Fixed-term employment oers ¨exibi- among assistant professors, © per cent lity for HEIs in organising their operations had foreign backgrounds. In the categories and can result in creativity, innovation other research and teaching sta with and knowledge transfer between dierent and those without doctoral degrees, © sectors. One argument for xed-term per cent and per cent, respectively, had employment is also that HEIs’ career paths foreign backgrounds. Among professors, the are based on continually improving quali- percentage was relatively low at per cent, cations and assessing of sta. Fixed-term as was the case for senior lecturers at per employment can also have negative eects, cent. The category with the fewest employ- particularly at the individual level. General ees with foreign backgrounds was lecturers temporary employment and substitute at per cent. positions that lack connection to a clear career structure at HEIs can lead to dead ends for individuals.
Largest percentage with foreign background found among postdoctoral researchers Like society at large, the higher education sector is increasingly in¨uenced by expan-
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT HE FINANCES AND FUNDING
THE TOTAL COST of operations for on the ne arts, health care and theology, Swedish higher education institutions (HEIs) which varied from SEK million to just over in was SEK ©. billion. This corresponds SEK © million. Naturally, the dierences in to . per cent of Sweden’s gross domestic economic size has great impact on the HEIs’ product (GDP). Just under per cent of ability to conduct its operations. operations were nanced by the state, in part through direct government funding and in part through research funding agencies. Finances of the HEIs Together with the state’s costs for the student Swedish HEIs receive separate funding for nancial support system (SEK ¦. billion) and rst- and second-cycle education and for the agencies working with issues concerning research and third-cycle education, respec- higher education (SEK billion), the total tively. All operations should be divided into costs for the sector reached SEK . billion these areas of operation, which means that in . See Figure ©. all revenues and costs are to be reported either as rst- or second-cycle education or Figure 31. Division of costs for the higher education sector 2018, in per cent. as research and third-cycle education. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Central government agencies, Financial support system, 1 per cent is the only exception, which instead receives 12 per cent a collective grant for all its operations. Financing diers between these two areas of operation, see Figure ©. Direct govern- ment funding provides most revenue for rst- and second-cycle education ( per cent), while it provides signicantly less for research and third-cycle education ( per cent). The state also channels signicant
Universities and university research funding through research councils colleges, 87 per cent and other research funding agencies, and in total government funding accounted for The HEIs vary signicantly in size, not least per cent of revenues for research and third- in terms of their economies. See Table cycle education during . at the back of this report. The four largest Revenues for the HEIs have increased (Lund University, Karolinska Institutet, signicantly in real terms since the end of Uppsala University, and the University of the ¦¦s, particularly in the last decade Gothenburg) made up just over per cent see Figure ©©). This is largely the result of of the total costs. Their costs varied between the state’s extensive investment in HEI SEK . and . billion. The lowest costs research during the last decade. Between were for the university colleges focused and , research funding at the HEIs
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 32. Funding for first- and second-cycle edu- Figure 33. HEI revenues, total and by area of cation and for research and third-cycle education operation, 1998–2018, SEK billions at 2018 prices. in 2008 and 2018, SEK billions at 2018 prices.
SEK billions SEK billions 50 80 45 70 40 60 35 30 50
25 40 20 30 15 20 10 5 10
0 0 2008 2018 2008 2018 2010 2012 Research and First- and 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2014 2016 2018 third-cycle education second-cycle education Total Foreign funding organisations (excluding EU) Research and third-cycle education EU First- and second-cycle education Private funding organisations in Sweden Other and financial revenues Other public funding organisations have educational operations and still others Government agencies have very limited revenues for research Direct government funding operations. has increased by ¦ per cent. Funding for rst- and second-cycle education has increased Positive results by per cent during the same period. For , total revenues for HEIs reached Within Swedish higher education, SEK ©.¦ billion. Compared to , funding for research and third-cycle educa- revenues have risen by just over SEK tion (below referred to as research opera- million or per cent in real terms. The state tions) has long been higher than funding for covered per cent of nancing while an rst- and second-cycle education (educatio- additional per cent came from municipa- nal operations). This is because there are few lities, county councils and public research government research institutes in Sweden foundations. This means that public funds and the majority of publicly nanced nanced © per cent of the HEIs’ operations research is conducted by HEIs. With the in . The remaining nancing came from signicant increase in research funding private sources of funding in Sweden ( per during the last decade, the percentage of cent), the EU and other foreign sources ( total funding for research operations has per cent) and tuition fees, nancial income increased, from per cent in to and other sources (total per cent). per cent in . The increase occurred The HEIs’ total costs for were SEK primarily through and has levelled o ©. billion, which is also an increase by just somewhat over the last two years. under per cent from the previous year. The proportion of research and educa- Personnel costs are the largest expense item tional operations, respectively, varies consid- for the HEIs, and in made up © per erably between HEIs, see Table at the back cent of all costs. Swedish HEIs do not own of the report. A number of smaller HEIs only their own facilities but instead pay rent
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT for them. This means that facility costs, in and research. The HEIs, however, had di¤- addition to other operating costs, also make culty in expanding operations as fast as the up a relatively high proportion of the HEIs’ funding increased, which led to signicant total costs ( per cent). surpluses, see Figure © . Since revenues were higher than costs, Figure 34. Changes in capital, divided by areas of the HEIs as a whole reported a small surplus. operation, 2008–2018, SEK billions at 2018 prices. This surplus primarily came from research SEK billions operations, while educational operations 1,8 basically broke even. 1,6 Swedish HEIs do not need to pay back 1,4 unused government funding and can save it 1,2 1,0 for the coming year. The positive or negative 0,8 results from operations lead to a change 0,6 in capital for the year in the HEIs’ balance 0,4 sheet. This forms a reserve that the HEIs can 0,2 use to cover future decits in operations or 0,0 to nance special initiatives within educa- - 0,2 tion or research. - 0,4
2011 The collective nancial result of the 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 HEIs has varied considerably over the Annual change in capital – research and third-cycle education years. During ¦ and , state funding Annual change in capital increased signicantly for both education – first- and second-cycle education
ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR FIRST- AND SECOND-CYCLE EDUCATION Government funding for first- and second- these frameworks, each HEI decides which cycle education is based on the number of disciplinary domain or domains each course is enrolled students (converted to full-time classified as belonging to. The HEIs’ allocation of equivalents or FTEs) and the higher educa- funding is then based on these classifications. tion credits they attain (converted to annual The reimbursement amount in Table 7 applies performance equivalents) in the different for 2019 for FTEs and APEs within the different disciplinary domains. All HEIs covered by the disciplinary domains. system receive the same reimbursement, but With the exception of the Swedish University the amount varies between different discipli- of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish nary domains. The funding cap defines the Defence University, the funding system with maximum total amount each HEI may receive. funding cap applies to all public-sector HEIs and This funding cap, together with the way in which also to Chalmers University of Technology and the education is divided among the different Jönköping University. These HEIs provide 97 per disciplinary domains, sets the limits for the cent of the total number of places offered, in number of students at each HEI. terms of FTEs. HEIs can also have other assign- All education consists of courses, which ments that are financed by government grants, are classified as belonging to one or several such as offering education in certain languages disciplinary domains. The Government decides and bridging programmes for individuals who within which disciplinary domains each HEI may have completed foreign educations. Indepen- count FTEs and annual performance equiva- dent education providers receive, with a few lents (APEs). For education in the fine, applied exceptions, indirect government funding for and performing arts, the number of FTEs and higher education programmes (shown here as APEs that may be counted is limited. Within grants).
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Funding of first and accounted for per cent of total revenues for rst- and second-cycle education. secondcycle education Even if government funding varies HEIs’ revenues for rst- and second-cycle between disciplinary domains, the HEIs education totalled SEK ©.© billion in , can decide how they want to distribute the which was an increase of SEK million funding between the dierent domains. (. per cent) in real terms since , see This is why it is di¤cult to say what Figure ©. First- and second-cycle education is dierent education programmes cost, but nanced primarily by government funding an estimate can be made of the average allocated directly to the HEIs by Riksdagen, reimbursement per FTE using the data the Swedish Parliament. For students from found in the HEIs’ annual nancial reports. Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland, there In , the average reimbursement per are no tuition fees, while other students have student was SEK ,. had to pay tuition fees since . First- and second-cycle education consists primarily of education conducted in accordance with Revenues from tuition the assignment dened in a public service fees continue to rise agreement. Most HEIs also conduct some In , application fees and tuition fees contract education (primarily continuing were introduced for students from outside professional development), and in this the EU/EEA and Switzerland not participa-
Table 7. Reimbursement amount 2019 (SEK) per full-time equivalent student (FTE) and students’ annual performance equivalents (APE), and proportion of funding cap-financed FTEs per disciplinary domain 2018.
Reimbursement per Reimbursement per annual Percentage full-time FTE performance equivalent equivalents Disciplinary domain 2019, SEK 2019, SEK 2018, per cent.
Humanities, theology, law, 32,273 21,030 40.58 social sciences
Natural sciences, engineering and 55,030 46,408 32.38 technology, pharmacology
Health care 58,505 50,672 8.11 Medicine 65,377 79,522 6.80 Instruction 39,254 41,122 5.16 Miscellaneous 44,195 35,901 2.29 On-site training 55,630 53,973 1.70 Design 155,942 95,010 0.77 Music 134,535 85,063 0.70 Odontology 48,381 56,358 0.57 Sports 113,619 52,578 0.42 Art 221,385 95,045 0.27 Media 316,379 253,432 0.10 Theatre 310,023 154,419 0.07 Dance 218,039 120,479 0.05 Opera 320,610 191,792 0.02
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT ting in an exchange programme. In , distributed in competitive processes, and an HEI revenues from application and tuition additional SEK © billion comes from other fees totalled SEK million, which was state agencies. This means that a total of an increase of more than SEK million in SEK ©. billion of the nancing is govern- xed prices from the previous year. Tuition ment funding, which is per cent of the fees are determined by the HEIs and are to total revenues for research and third-cycle be calculated so that the student’s education education. is fully nanced. This means that the fees There are also other public sources of can vary signicantly between dierent funding for research and third-cycle educa- HEIs and disciplinary domains. tion, public research foundations, municipa- The tuition fees varied primarily from lities and county councils. These contributed SEK , to SEK ,, with an average SEK .¦ billion to the HEIs’ research revenues of about SEK ©, for academic year in , which means that per cent of /. As a rule, the tuition fees are higher funding came from dierent public sources. than the reimbursement for students from In Sweden, there is also a large number direct government funding (compare with of private foundations that nance research SEK , for ). The dierence is expla- and third-cycle education. These organi- ined, in part, by the fact that the tuition sations are important sources of funding, fee-nanced operations are to fully cover and in private foundations and other their own costs. The fees are to be set so non-prot organisations accounted for that the extra costs from such expenses as per cent of the total funding, which is a high administration of studies, student support percentage in an international perspective. and marketing are covered. Another expla- Together with nancing from companies, nation is that the paying students are less private funding sources contributed just likely to study the humanities and social over per cent of all funding for research sciences, which are the subjects with the and third-cycle education. EU and other lowest reimbursement amounts. sources of funding from abroad accounted for per cent of total funding for research. The Government’s share of the total Funding of research and revenue decreased by . percentage points thirdcycle education between and . This means that government investments in HEI research and The HEIs’ revenues for research and third- third-cycle education have been matched by cycle education totalled SEK ©. billion increased revenue from other sources of in . Compared to , these revenues funding, particularly from private foundations. have risen by SEK ©¦ million or per cent in real terms. Funding comes from many Share of direct government funding dierent sources. The direct government for research and thirdcycle education funding was SEK .¦ billion in , which unchanged corresponds to per cent of total funding. Most of this is not linked to a specic Direct government funding for research subject and the HEIs are relatively free to and third-cycle education totalled SEK determine how it is used. Additionally, the .¦ billion in , and HEI revenues from state channelled SEK . billion through external sources of funding totalled SEK . research funding agencies, primarily billion , see Figure ©. Combined, this means research councils, where the funds are that direct government funding made up
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT ©. per cent of total revenues in , There are, however, large variations in how which was a marginal decrease from . much direct government funding contribu- The Government’s method of allocating tes to the HEI’s total funding for research funding changed during the last decade as and third-cycle education. the ratio of direct government funding, on the one hand, and funding through research funding agencies, on the other, has shied. ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR Between and , the share of govern- RESEARCH AND THIRD-CYCLE EDUCATION ment funding distributed through research In 2009, the basis for the current funding councils and other research funding agencies system for research and third-cycle has increased. This occurred even though education was introduced. The system there is an explicit ambition by the Govern- has been revised and adapted on several ment to increase the proportion of direct occasions since then, most recently in connection with the latest research policy government funding. bill (2016/17:50). In , direct government funding The model was designed so that new made up . per cent of total revenues for funding and 20 per cent of existing direct research and third-cycle education. Since government funding is to be distributed based on two indicators: external funding , direct government funding has incre- and scholarly production. In connection ased by per cent in real terms, while HEI with the funding allocation in 2016, the revenues from external sources of funding Government modified the model so that have increased by © per cent. As a result, the the above principles were applied after the percentage of direct government funding HEIs were divided into three groups. The latest research bill proposed adding of total nancing has decreased and in an additional assessment criterion: colla- totalled ©. per cent. boration with the surrounding community. In 2017, funding only marginally increased, and the model was not used for allocation purposes. This means that 2018 was the Figure 35. Revenues for research and third-cycle first year that collaboration was used as education, based on funding type, 2008–2018, an allocation criterion. The indicators are SEK billions at 2018 prices. weighted equally when allocating funding, a third each. SEK billions No revised distribution of existing direct 50 government funding occurred in the 45 2018 either. In the 2018 Budget Bill (Bill 40 2017/18:1), the Government justifies this 35 by pointing to the principles approved for strengthening the connection between 30 research and education. 25 The HEIs with medical and dental 20 programmes also receive funding to cover 15 the costs for the county councils for clini- cal research and third-cycle education. 10 In addition to its direct government 5 funding, the Government channels funding 0 for research through the research councils and other state agencies that fund 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 research. Although this funding is deter- Total revenues for research and third-cycle education mined by political decisions, it is allocated External funding competitively. Direct government funding Financial revenues
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT HE RESEARCH
SWEDEN IS ONE of the countries that education sector and per cent within the invests the most in research and develop- government sector. The R&D conducted by ment (R&D) in relation to GDP. According to companies primarily consists of develop- data from the OECD, Sweden’s investments ment work while the HEIs primarily in R&D were ©.©© per cent of GDP in conduct research. References in this chapter (see Table ). That was higher than other to R&D can therefore be seen as synony- Nordic countries and signicantly higher mous with research. than the OECD average, which was .© per cent. Like in most research-intensive Most research funding within countries, the business enterprise sector medical and health sciences accounts for the bulk of Sweden’s total R&D. and natural sciences In , companies contributed per cent of Sweden’s R&D, which is the same as the The research conducted at Swedish HEIs OECD average. Sweden diers, however, encompasses a broad spectrum of elds and from many other countries in that there is commonly divided into six dierent elds are few public research institutes and the of research and development: natural scien- majority of its publicly funded research ces; engineering and technology; medical is conducted within the higher education and health sciences; agricultural sciences sector. In , higher education institutions and veterinary medicine; social sciences; (HEIs) conducted per cent of Sweden’s and humanities and ne arts. At Swedish R&D, while the public sector conducted HEIs, the medical and health sciences and per cent. In many other countries, the natural sciences dominate the research government research institutes conduct a landscape. Together, these elds account for signicant share of research, and the OECD over half of all funding and full-time equiva- average was per cent within the higher lents (FTEs) related to R&D and for the
Table 8. Investments in R&D 2017 as share of GDP in the Nordic countries and average for OECD-countries, as well as the proportion of the investments per sector. The countries have been sorted by highest percentage of R&D as percentage of GDP in decreasing order. Source: OECD.
R&D as a share Higher educa- Government Business enter- Private non- of GDP (%) tion sector (%) sector (%) prise sector (%) profit sector (%) Sweden 3.33 26 4 71 0 Denmark 3.06 33 2 64 0 Finland 2.76 25 9 65 1 Iceland 2.13 31 4 65 - Norway 2.11 33 14 53 0 OECD average 2.37 17 10 71 2
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 36. HEIs’ funding for research and third-cycle education in 2017, divided by direct government funding and external funding (including financial income), per field of research and development, SEK billions. Source: SCB.
Total
Medical and health sciences
Natural sciences
Engineering and technology
Social sciences
Humanities and fine arts
Agricultural sciences and veterinary medicine
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 SEK billions Direct government funding External funding
majority of all research output. In , the instruments and other equipment, and time HEIs’ funding for third-cycle research and used for applying for research funding. education totalled SEK .© billion, of which more than half went to the elds of medical Less than half of total work and health sciences and of natural sciences (see Figure ©). time devoted to research According to an extensive survey condu- Working time of research cted by SCB every other year, in HEI employees who conducted some form of and teaching staff research worked a total of , FTEs. Of Just as funding for research and third-cycle the total FTEs, ¦, were on research, education varies between dierent elds of which means that on average per cent research, there are also dierences in what of total work time at HEIs was devoted to share of work time is devoted to R&D. For research. example, the varying access to research There are, however, major dierences funding in¨uences how much time an between dierent elds of research, see Figure employee within dierent elds can focus © . The natural sciences, agricultural sciences on research. and veterinary medicine, and medical and Here, we examine how much work health sciences devoted the most time to time is devoted to research, in part between research, between and per cent. The dierent elds of research and in part corresponding share within engineering and between dierent employee categories. technology was per cent while research Here, research includes both the work done made up a signicantly lower share of work by doctoral students and the supervision time within the social sciences and the of the doctoral work. It also includes direct humanities and ne arts, © and © per cent, support for research, such as planning, respectively. management and administration of R&D In total, men devoted an average of operations, development, the servicing of per cent of work time to research, while
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT Figure 37. Share (per cent) of full-time equivalents committed to R&D in 2017, divided by fields of research. Source: SCB.
Not classified by subject
Humanities and fine arts
Social sciences
Agricultural sciences and veterinary medicine
Medical and health sciences
Engineering and technology
Natural sciences
All research fields
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Per cent R&D Apply for R&D funding First- and second-cycle education Third-cycle education Work that does not include R&D or teaching
women devoted per cent. There are many Doctoral students conduct employees who do not belong to a specic one third of HE research eld of research but who still conduct Employees at universities and university research or provide direct support to research. colleges conducted a total of ¦, research Of the , research FTEs not categorised FTEs in . Of these, the largest share – © as a specic eld of research in , more per cent – was done by doctoral students than half were by research engineers and (, FTEs), followed by researchers – per laboratory assistants, and just over per cent ( ,© work year equivalent), see Figure cent by administrative and other technical ©. Senior lecturers conducted © per cent of personnel. It can therefore be assumed that the research, while professors conducted these FTEs primarily consist of direct support per cent. Research engineers and laboratory to research. assistants conducted similar amounts of In addition to the share of working time research. Lecturers, who oen lack a third- devoted to research varying between elds cycle degree and primarily focus on teaching of research, there are dierences between on the rst and second cycles, conducted employees within dierent employment per cent of total research FTEs. In total, this categories in how much of their work means that the academically most-qualied time they devote to research. Employees employees – professors, senior lecturers, within the category researchers devoted the researchers and postdoctoral research fellows largest share of their work time to research – conducted less than half ( ¦ per cent) of the – © per cent in . This is followed by total number of research FTEs in . postdoctoral research fellows and doctoral In , per cent of all research FTEs students, each with ¦ per cent, and were conducted by men and per cent by research assistants with per cent. Profes- women. sors and senior lecturers devoted and © per cent, respectively, to research.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Figure 38. Percentage of the total R&D operations Figure 39. The HEI’s scholarly production conducted by employees within different 2015–2017, share of publications divided by field employment categories 2017 (per cent). of research (per cent). Source: UKÄ’s analysis of Source: SCB. Swepub data.
2017
2016
2015
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Professors, 11 per cent Per cent Postdoctoral research fellows, 2 per cent Senior lecturers, 13 per cent Natural sciences Researchers, 22 per cent Engineering and technology Research assistants, 3 per cent Medical and health sciences Doctoral students, 32 per cent Agricultural sciences and veterinary medicine Lecturers, 2 per cent Social sciences Administrative and other technical personnel, 5 per cent Humanities and fine arts Research engineers and laboratory assistants, 10 per cent Not subject-classified in Swepub
Scholarly production Largest publication volumes within medical and health sciences In this section, we have used data from the Swedish National Library’s (KB) publica- and natural sciences tion database Swepub, which is a national During the period – , the largest database with information on scholarly share of all peer-reviewed output in Swepub production, particularly scientic publica- was within the research elds of medical tions. The information is built on data deliv- and health sciences and of natural sciences eries from local publication databases at the (see Figure ©¦). For example, per cent HEIs. In the database, scholarly production of all output was classied as medical and is classied based on such criteria as publi- health sciences in . That same year, cation type, HEI and research eld. Swepub per cent was classied as natural sciences, is currently still being developed and the per cent as engineering and technology, data used here is based on statistics from per cent as social sciences, © per cent as November . Most HEIs contribute data, humanities and ne arts and per cent as and the database can be used to gain an agricultural sciences and veterinary medicine. overall picture of the scholarly production The percentage of output classied as at Swedish universities and university colle- medical and health sciences is presumably ges. One advantage with Swepub is that it underestimated since a large share of the provides good coverage of all subject elds, research at medical HEIs is not subject which is not the case with many other classied, but likely belongs to this eld of publication databases. research.
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS STATUS REPORT SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT IN THIS CHAPTER, we use data from a Glance (EAG) concerning tertiary educa- international sources to place the Swedish tion, which looks at a broader spectrum of higher education system in an international education than just higher education. perspective. We compare the conditions for tertiary education, the population’s educa- Tuition fees vary in OECD countries tional attainment level, and investments in education and research, and we take a quick In Sweden, higher education is free of look at EU’s goal attainment within the © charge for resident students. This is also Agenda for Sustainable Development. true for a third of the OECD countries for which data is available for academic year /. Another third of countries have The conditions for relatively low fees, between USD and ©, adjusted for purchasing power. The tertiary education remaining countries have considerably Over the most recent decades, many higher tuition fees, with England having the countries have expanded their tertiary highest. education systems and Sweden is no Many countries have the same fees for exception. Access to tertiary education foreign students as for resident students, has also increased through the creation of see Figure . But some countries have new higher education institutions, and in higher fees for foreign students and in some Sweden there is at least one higher educa- cases signicantly higher. Sweden is one tion institution in each county. Access to of the countries where the dierences in higher education for potential students is fees are greatest. International students in also in¨uenced by the conditions under Sweden pay on average USD , per year which studies are conducted. Here we use in tuition fee, while higher education for data from OECD’s publication Education at resident students is free of charge.
Figure 40. Average tuition fees charged by public tertiary educational institutions to resident and foreign students for education at the first cycle, academic year 2015/16.
USD adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0
USA Italy Chile Japan Israel Spain Canada Austria Poland FinlandNorwaySlovakia Australia Portugal Hungary Sweden Denmark Slovenia South Korea Switzerland New Zealand Luxembourg
Flanders (Belgium) Resident students Foreign students
SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STATUS REPORT Financial support for students available in many countries ISCED – INTERNATIONAL Sweden does not just oer tuition-free CLASSIFICATION OF higher education for resident students; EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT it also provides nancial support in the The structure of the educational systems form of grants and loans. Even in countries in the different OECD countries differs, so with high tuition fees, the majority of to enable international comparisons, the students can apply for nancial support. International Standard Classification of All European countries oer students some Education (ISCED) is used to categorise educational programmes. The United form of nancial support. Student nancing Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultu- is oen a combination of grants and loans, ral Organization (UNESCO) is responsible but it is also relatively common with only for ISCED. After a comprehensive revision grants. It is most common for the countries of the classifications, ISCED 2011 with levels 0–8 is now used. to just give nancial aid to students with ISCED 2011 places higher education more challenging socio-economic situations. and other tertiary education of at least two years duration in one of the levels 5–8. Level 5 corresponds to shorter periods of study (of at least two years however) New entrants in that are considerably more complex than programmes at upper-secondary level. tertiary education Level 6 (Bachelor’s degree) comprises longer (3–4 years) periods of study that OECD’s educational statistics provide often focus more on theory than those at several data describing entrants to tertiary level 5. Level 7 (Master’s degree) program- education, including gender and age. mes are considerably more complex than Like in Sweden, the general pattern in those at level 6 and often more speciali- sed. The cumulative length of an educa- OECD countries is that more women than tion at ISCED 7 is 5–8 years. Education at men attend tertiary education. In the OECD level 8 is focused on advanced studies and countries in , per cent of entrants individual research, including a disserta- were women and per cent were men (see tion. The cumulative length for ISCED 8 is at least 7 years (Doctoral degree). Table ¦). Women were the majority among In this chapter levels 5–8 are referred to entrants in almost all OECD countries with collectively as tertiary education. Note that available data. In Sweden, women made up this does not include any post-secondary per cent of entrants and men made up education that is shorter than two years. In Sweden first-cycle programmes, such © per cent. Thus, the percentage of women as Bachelor’s programmes, are placed was © percentage points higher than the in level 6. Second-cycle programmes, for OECD average. instance 60-credit and 120-credit Master’s The average age of new entrants in terti- degrees, are in level 7. Doctoral degrees and licentiate degrees are placed in level 8. ary education in OECD countries for Higher Education Diplomas, some shorter was years and more than per cent of higher education programmes and those entrants were younger than . In Sweden, offered within the framework of higher the average age was higher ( ), while the vocational education that are longer than two years are classified as level 5. There percentage of new entrants younger than are also a few three-year higher vocational was percentage points lower than education programmes that lead to an the OECD average. The relatively high new advanced higher vocational education entrant age in Sweden can in part be expla- diploma that are classified as level 6. ined by the relatively few students who
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Table 9. Distribution by gender and age among new entrants for a number of selected countries and OECD average 2016. Source: OECD.Stat.
Gender distribution (%) Percentage Average age younger Women Men than 25 (%) Total Women Men OECD average 54 46 80 22,0 ** Sweden 57 43 70 24,2 24,4 23,9 Denmark 55 45 73 24,8 24,8 24,7 Finland 53 47 79 22,8 23,1 22,4 Iceland 60 40 72 24,4 24,6 24,0 Norway 55 45 81 22,5 22,3 22,8 Germany 51 49 83 21,8 21,7 22,0 Netherlands 52 48 92 20,3 20,3 20,2 * No data available in OECD.stat
continue to tertiary education directly aer (at most upper secondary) while the completing secondary education. Another percentage of lower educated parents in the explanation is that Swedish higher educa- general population was per cent. Even tion is ¨exible and oers many opportuni- in Sweden, on average per cent of new ties for life-long learning. entrants had parents with lower education In Sweden and most other OECD while the percentage of lower educated countries, there was no signicant dierence parents in the general population was between women and men in terms of the per cent. Sweden is thus one of the countries average age of new entrants. with the highest social imbalance together with Finland, Austria, Latvia and Lithuania. Another factor that can in¨uence Broadened recruitment whether youth begin higher education to higher education is whether the person has a foreign Recruitment imbalance to tertiary education background or comes from the country. exists in nearly all OECD countries. We By foreign background is meant individuals have already established that men are that are themselves or both parents are underrepresented among new entrants. born abroad. In some countries, such as in Another form of recruitment imbalance Sweden, individuals born abroad are relati- is social background, which is measured vely well represented among new entrants. by the educational attainment level of the In Sweden, the transition to higher educa- parents. Parent education level has a signi- tion in was about the same among cant impact of whether a young person youth with Swedish and with foreign begins higher education or not, both in backgrounds. In other countries, youth Sweden and other OECD countries. In all with foreign backgrounds are much more OECD countries that provide data, youth underrepresented among new entrants in (– years) with parents that lack tertiary higher education in the same ages (– education were underrepresented in higher years), even in countries with relatively low education. On average, per cent of new percentage of foreign-born people in the entrants had parents with lower education population. See indicator B in EAG .
SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STATUS REPORT Educational attainment nal attainment. However, both immigration and emigration impact a country’s educatio- in OECD countries nal attainment. Between and , the Now we will examine educational attain- percentage of – -year-olds with at least ment in OECD countries and for this, we two years of tertiary education in OECD will also use data from the OECD. The countries rose on average by ¦ percentage structure of the educational systems in points, from to © per cent. In Sweden, the dierent OECD countries diers, so like the other Nordic countries, educational to enable international comparisons, attainment is higher and the percentage of UNESCO’s International Standard Classi- the population with tertiary education has cation of Education (ISCED) is used to increased percentage points during the compare educational data, see fact box. same period, from © to per cent. Tertiary education of at least two years is In most OECD countries, there are placed at one of the ISCED – levels. relatively large dierences in educational In Sweden, tertiary education largely attainment between men and women, with consists of higher education at dierent women being more highly educated. As levels and to a lesser extent of vocational early as , women had a higher educa- higher education and other tertiary educa- tional attainment than men in just under a tion within the framework of vocational third of OECD countries and the number of higher education. countries where this is the case is growing, see Figure . Women are raising their Educational attainment among educational attainment more quickly than the population is increasing men in all countries, even in the countries µ most for women where men are more well-educated than Over the last several decades, expansion of women. This points to women in general tertiary education in many OECD countries becoming more highly educated than men has led to a signicant increase in educatio- in all OECD countries.
Figure 41. Proportion of women and men in the adult population (25–64) with at least tertiary education in 2007 and 2017 (OECD countries). The countries have been ranked according to the highest educational attainment level (both women and men) in 2017. Source OECD-stat.
Per cent 70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
USA Italy Spain JapanIsrael France LatviaAustria Turkey Canada Ireland FinlandNorway IcelandSweden BelgiumEstonia Slovenia GreecePoland Slovakia Australia Lithuania Denmark GermanyHungaryPortugal South Korea Switzerland Netherlands Luxembourg New Zealand United Kingdom OECD Average Czech Republic Women 2017 Men 2017 Women 2007 Men 2007
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Between and , the percentage national statistics in part as total expenditure of tertiary educated women in the adult on educational institutions in relation to population in OECD countries increased the country’s GDP and in part in relation to from ¦ to per cent, while the same the number of students – two measures that percentage for men increased from to complement one another. Expenditure in © per cent. On average, there was a relati- relation to GDP also provides information vely small dierence between educational about where nancing comes from, while attainment among men and women in expenditure per student also provides a OECD countries in , but since then picture for what activities the investments the dierence increased to six percentage are directed towards. points. In Sweden, © per cent of women and per cent of men had a tertiary educa- tion in . In , these percentages were One third of funding ¦ per cent women and © per cent men. from private sources Thus, there were already large dierences Total expenditure by educational institu- in educational attainment between women tions for tertiary education and research and men in and by this dierence equals on average . per cent of GDP in had increased from ¦ percentage points to OECD countries (see Figure ). The © percentage points. expenses were highest in the United States, Chile and Canada, around . per cent of GDP. Sweden was just over the average at . Funding of tertiary per cent. In most countries, these expenditures education institutions are nanced primarily through public The amount of funding for tertiary education funding. In those countries with the highest in¨uences the extent and thereby access to expenditure in relation to GDP, however, education. The funding is measured in inter- private funding dominated. Overall, private
Figure 42. Educational institutions’ total expenditure on tertiary education and research as a share of GDP 2015, by source of funding. Source: Table C2.2 EAG 2018. Data is missing for Denmark and Switzerland.
Percentage of GDP 3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
USA Italy Chile Spain Austria Turkey Latvia IsraelFranceMexicoJapan Canada Estonia NorwayFinland SwedenSlovakia Belgium Poland Iceland Greece Ireland Australia Portugal Germany Slovenia Hungary South Korea Netherlands New Zealand Luxembourg United Kingdom OECD-average Czech Republic Public funds Private funds International funding
SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STATUS REPORT nancing of the educational institutions’ has a somewhat lower percentage of public tertiary education and research in OECD funding than other Nordic countries because countries is signicant, at about a third in of the way research at Swedish high educa- . The private funding comes primarily tion institutions is nanced, with a relatively from households through tuition fees and high percentage of private funding. other fees linked to the education paid for by students. In Sweden, funding from Education providers’ households primarily comes for tuition fees expenditures per student introduced in for incoming students To supplement data on the expenditures of from countries outside of the European educational institutions for tertiary educa- Economic Area (EEA). There were initi- tion and research in relation to GDP, we also ally few paying students and, though the look at total expenditure per student. High number quickly grew each year, the funding expenditures in relation to GDP do not need from households remains a marginal part of to mean high expenditure per student and the nancing for Swedish higher education vice versa. institutions. Data is now available for most countries The business sector and the private non- on expenditure per student divided by core prot sector provide signicant funding in educational services (including associated many countries, such as through workplace- costs for the programmes), ancillary servi- based education. In some cases, however, ces, and the research conducted by higher such as in Sweden, this primarily takes the education institutions. Ancillary services form of funding for research. include the educational institutions’ expen- As such, public funding covers the diture for student housing, dining halls, large majority of expenditures for higher student health services and similar, and in education institutions in most countries. most countries account for only a marginal The highest percentage of public funding is part of the total expenditure per student. in the Nordic countries and Austria. Sweden In , the average for OECD countries
Figure 43. Total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student for core educational services, ancillary services and R&D, adjusted for purchasing power in US dollars. Source Table C1.2, Education at a Glance 2018.
USD adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) 60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
USA Italy Spain Chile Japan Israel Latvia Turkey CanadaNorway FinlandAustriaBelgium FranceSlovakia IrelandEstoniaIceland Poland MexicoGreece Sweden Australia GermanyDenmark Portugal Slovenia Hungary Switzerland South Korea Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand United Kingdom OECD-average Czech Republic Education Ancillary services Research Total undistributed
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT was per cent. The research conducted by Agenda for Sustainable Development. educational institutions (primarily univer- The © Agenda covers all areas of policy sities and university colleges) makes up a and contains global goals for the period signicantly larger part, on average per –©. The agenda sets goals for elimi- cent of the total expenditure per student. In nating poverty and achieving sustainable total, a signicant share of the educational development in three dimensions: social, institutions’ total expenditure consists of environmental and economic. other expenditures than for education. Goal in the © Agenda is to ensure Research is conducted to varying inclusive and equitable quality education degrees by higher education institutions and promote lifelong learning opportuni- within nearly all OECD countries. Sweden ties for all. Like the other goals in the © is one of the countries that invests the most Agenda, Goal has a number of targets that in research, and publicly funded research express in more concrete terms what is to is primarily conducted at universities be achieved by ©. Two of the targets have and university colleges. This means that particular relevance for higher education. the percentage of research within higher Target .© is to, by ©, ensure equal access education institutions is high, which in turn for all women and men to aordable and means that Sweden belongs to the countries quality technical, vocational and tertiary where educational institutions’ expenditure education, including university. Target . per student is the highest (see Figure ©). The is to substantially increase the number of highest expenditure per student is found in youth and adults who have relevant skills, Luxembourg, followed by the United States, including technical and vocational skills, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Sweden. for employment, decent jobs and entrepre- But for Sweden, like Switzerland, more neurship. than per cent of this high expenditure is the result of high expenditure on research. EU’s indicators for following Looking at expenditures for only education up Agenda of the total expenditure per student, Sweden is not among the countries that invest the The EU has taken an active role in most in tertiary education. measuring and reporting how well member There are also other factors that countries achieve the goals for the © in¨uence the expenditures of education Agenda for Sustainable Development by providers, but which are not visible in the developing a number of regional indica- international statistics, such as whether the tors. The indicators largely correspond to educational institutions rent their facilities the EU’s educational goals established in or own them. Swedish higher education connection with the Europe -year institutions rent their facilities and the cost strategy. Two of the indicators linked to of premises are a signicant part of their tertiary education are presented below, as total expenditures. In , these were well as one linked to research under Goal ¦ per cent of total expenditure. of the © Agenda.
Tertiary education attainment UN educational goals One of the EU’s indicators measures the In , the United Nations (UN) adopted share of the population ages ©–© that has the resolution Transforming our world: the completed tertiary or equivalent education.
SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STATUS REPORT The EU has long had the goal that per employment rate for men was ¦ per cent cent of its younger population is to have and for women per cent. The dierence is achieved this educational goal by , and somewhat larger at the EU level. While the preliminary data shows that the EU has employment rate in total in the EU was just achieved this goal. In , over per cent over per cent, men had an per cent of the EU’s population ages ©–© had at employment rate and women just over least two years of tertiary education. per cent. Sweden has a national goal of between and per cent of ©–© -year-olds to Figure 44. The employment rate of recent have at least two years of tertiary education graduates among women and men ages 20–34 for by . The above interval was achieved Sweden and the EU average and total for Sweden and the EU. Source Eurostat in , and in the percentage of ©–© -year-olds in Sweden with terti- Per cent 100 ary education was just over per cent. 95 Sweden’s educational attainment is thus 90 signicantly higher than the EU average. 85 In , Sweden had already reached per cent of the younger population (©–© ) 80 having at least two years of tertiary educa- 75 tion, and, as noted, in this percentage 70 had increased to per cent. 65 60 EU employment rate increasing
2011 Another indicator the EU uses to follow up 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2015 2016 2017 member countries’ work toward achieving EU average men Swedish men EU average women Swedish women the © Agenda goals is the share of the EU average total Sweden total population –© that is employed aer completing their education. The EU’s goal for is that at least per cent are Sweden invests significantly in R&D employed three years aer completion of Goal ¦ in the © Agenda is to develop a their education in upper-secondary educa- durable infrastructure, work for an inclusive tion and/or higher education. and sustainable industrialisation and In , the EU average was per cent, promote innovation. This includes invest- or just per cent less than the goal, see ments in research and development (R&D). Figure . The employment rate, however, For many years, the EU has had the goal has been steadily increasing since © and of © per cent of the EU’s collective GDP is if this trend continues at the same rate, the to be invested in R&D by . This is also EU will achieve its goal by . In Sweden, an indicator used by the EU to follow up the employment rate is higher. Just over member countries’ work toward achieving per cent of Sweden’s population ages –© the © Agenda. was employed three years aer completing According to preliminary data from education, meaning Sweden meets the EU Eurostat, the EU has a long way to go in goal by a good margin. achieving this goal, see Figure . In , In Sweden, there is no signicant . per cent of EU member countries’ dierence between men and women. The collective GDP was invested in R&D,
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT and even if the percentage has increased Figure 45. Investments in research and develop- somewhat in recent years, this increase is ment (R&D) as a share of GDP for the EU countries with the highest investments 2007–2017 and the not enough to reach the goal of © per cent EU average. Source: Eurostat. by . This slow increase is not surprising Share of GDP (per cent) 4.0 since only nine of the EU’s members states have set national goals at the same 3.5 level as or higher than the EU’s goal. The 3.0 goal for other countries varies from . to 2.5 . per cent. Sweden and Finland have set 2.0 the most ambitious goals, with per cent of GDP invested in R&D. 1.5 In the beginning of the period, Finland 1.0 was the EU country that invested most in 0.5
R&D as a percentage of GDP, but in recent 0.0 years Sweden has invested most. In , 2007 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2015 2016 2017 Sweden invested ©. per cent of GDP, which 2008 2009 EU (28 countries) Sweden was a small increase from . During the Austria Denmark period to , Sweden’s investments Germany Finland in R&D have been stable, varying between © and ©. per cent of GDP.
SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE STATUS REPORT KEY FIGURES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT SWEDISH HIGHER EDUCATION institu- Thirdcycle education tions (HEIs) vary in both size and speci- Number of new entrants. Number of third- alisation. The tables show a selection of cycle new entrants in , per HEI. quantitative data that describes in various ways the activities of the universities and Number of doctoral students. Total number university colleges. Data from the smallest of doctoral students in the autumn , independent education providers have not per HEI. been included in the tables in this report but are included in the total amounts and Degrees of Doctor. Number of awarded are available in Excel les on the website. doctoral degrees in , per HEI. Infor- mation on number of awarded licentiate First and secondcycle education degrees are available in Excel les on the Number of new entrants to higher education. website. The data per HEI indicates the number of individuals that have begun studies at the Research and teaching staff rst or second cycles at the relevant HEI in Research and teaching staff. The total academic year / and who have not number of research and teaching sta (in previously studied at another Swedish HEI. FTEs) , per HEI. The gures include professors, senior lecturers, lecturers, career Number of enrolled students. The data per development positions, and other research HEI indicates the total number of individu- and teaching sta. als who were enrolled for rst- or second- cycle studies at the relevant HEI in academic Number of professors. Number of employed year /. Students can be enrolled at professors (in FTEs) , per HEI. more than one HEI in the same year. Funding Number of graduates. Total number of rst- Total funding. Total funding (SEK millions) or second-cycle graduates , per HEI. , per HEI
Number of graduates per programme. Proportion of total funding for research and Number of graduates on the largest third-cycle education. Proportion of total programmes leading to a professional funding in for research and third-cycle qualication, total number of graduates on education, per HEI. programmes leading to professional quali- cations, number of graduates on dierent Funding for research and third-cycle general programmes, and total number of education. Funding for research and third- graduates. cycle education (SEK millions) , per HEI.
Proportion direct government funding. Proportion direct government funding of the HEI’s total funding for research and third-cycle education (excluding nancial income).
KEY FIGURES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS STATUS REPORT First and secondcycle education Table 1. Number of new entrants, total number of enrolled students and graduates at first- or second- cycle education academic year 2017/2018, per HEI.
Propor- Propor- Propor- tion of Number tion of tion of Number women of women Number women of new and men enrolled and men of gradu- and men University/university college entrants (%) students (%) ates (%) Uppsala University 7,508 60/40 39,407 60/40 5,082 61/39 Lund University 8,065 57/43 34,831 56/44 6,171 57/43 University of Gothenburg 6,918 66/34 39,334 67/33 5,576 71/29 Stockholm University 7,778 65/35 44,758 63/37 6,258 68/32 Umeå University 4,309 60/40 27,216 63/37 3,987 65/35 Linköping University 4,937 53/47 22,931 56/44 3,816 58/42 Karolinska Institutet 1,301 69/31 9,303 74/26 2,248 79/21 KTH Royal Institute of Technology 4,058 33/67 16,343 34/66 2,598 36/64 Chalmers University of Technology 2,543 30/70 10,382 32/68 1,903 32/68 Luleå University of Technology 2,314 42/58 11,975 51/49 1,493 56/44 Stockholm School of Economics 617 45/55 1,886 45/55 600 42/58 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 967 62/38 5,194 68/32 787 72/28 Karlstad University 2,401 59/41 12,522 63/37 1,792 70/30 Linnaeus University 4,705 59/41 27,720 64/36 2,828 67/33 Örebro University 2,489 60/40 12,764 62/38 1,990 66/34 Mid Sweden University 1,947 61/39 13,096 66/34 1,363 69/31 Malmö University 3,355 65/35 17,284 68/32 2,739 72/28 Blekinge Institute of Technology 980 34/66 4,474 35/65 658 46/54 Swedish Defence University 133 34/66 790 35/65 177 33/67 Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences 170 45/55 1,097 46/54 146 58/42 University of Borås 1,785 71/29 8,654 77/23 1,434 77/23 Dalarna University 2,152 61/39 11,925 63/37 1,060 72/28 University of Gävle 1,730 61/39 10,664 64/36 1,162 70/30 Halmstad University 2,163 56/44 9,095 63/37 1,074 66/34 Kristianstad University 1,585 68/32 11,426 71/29 1,122 78/22 University of Skövde 1,251 49/51 6,103 54/46 797 62/38 University West 1,891 63/37 11,050 69/31 858 75/25 Mälardalen University 2,236 61/39 13,312 65/35 1,680 72/28 Jönköping University 3,096 57/43 10,927 64/36 1,769 66/34 Södertörn University 1,875 69/31 9,380 68/32 1,127 75/25 Beckmans College of Design 21 62/38 128 67/33 41 78/22 University of Art, Craft and Design 136 71/29 848 73/27 165 79/21 Royal Institute of Art 65 54/46 265 61/39 28 68/32 Royal College of Music in Stockholm 294 58/42 1,023 52/48 200 47/53 Stockholm University of the Arts 129 60/40 668 70/30 152 65/35 Total 86,653 58/42 405,539 61/39 65,607 64/36
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT First and secondcycle education Table 2. Number of graduates at first- or second-cycle education academic year 2017/2018, per category of qualification and qualification. Of professional degrees, only programmes with more than 500 graduates are included i the table.
Number of graduates per programme Proportion of academic year women and Category of qualification and qualification 2017/18 men (%) General qualifications (net) 40,543 62/38 Higher Education Diploma 1,004 51/49 Degree of Bachelor 25,394 64/36 Degree of Master (60 HE credits) 5,823 69/31 Old Degree of Master (60 HE credits) 137 50/50 Degree of Master (120 HE credits) 10,096 49/51 Qualifications in the fine, applied and performing arts (net) 1,139 60/40 Higher Education Diploma 26 46/54 Degree of Bachelor in Fine Arts 739 59/41 Degree of Master in Fine Arts (60 HE credits) 17 65/35 Degree of Master in Fine Arts (120 HE credits) 374 62/38 Professional qualifications (total number, net) 33,559 69/31 Degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing 4,294 86/14 Degree of Master of Science in engineering 4,082 33/67 Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Pre-School Education 2,658 94/6 Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Nursing 2,395 85/15 Degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering 2,357 31/69 Degree of Master of Arts/Science in Secondary/Upper Secondary Education 2,070 58/42 Degree of Bachelor of Arts/Degree of Master of Arts in Primary Education 2,028 80/20 Degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work 1,897 86/14 Degree of Master of Laws 1,534 62/38 Degree of Master of Science in Medicine 1,347 56/44 Degree of Bachelor of Arts/Degree of Master of Arts in Education 1,056 72/28 Degree of Master of Science in Business and Economics 944 57/43 Postgraduate Diploma in Special Needs Training 588 95/5 Higer Education Diploma in Vocational Education 547 59/41 Degree of Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy 543 67/33 Degree of Master of Science in Psychology 528 70/30 Total number of graduates 65,607 64/36
KEY FIGURES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS STATUS REPORT Thirdcycle education Table 3. Number of new entrants in third-cycle education and doctoral degrees 2018, and total number of doctoral students in autumn 2018, per HEI.
Propor- Total tion number Propor- Number Propor- Number women/ of tion of tion of new men doctoral women/ Doctoral women/ University/university college entrants (%) students men (%) degrees men (%) Uppsala University 354 53/47 2,077 47/53 360 46/54 Lund University 427 52/48 2,156 48/52 400 46/54 University of Gothenburg 249 59/41 1,430 59/41 223 52/48 Stockholm University 226 53/47 1,307 50/50 277 52/48 Umeå University 147 54/46 737 50/50 136 49/51 Linköping University 189 50/50 1,072 47/53 139 44/56 Karolinska Institutet 364 60/40 2,147 57/43 381 62/38 KTH Royal Institute of Technology 308 31/69 1 711 30/70 275 30/70 Chalmers University of Technology 190 36/64 1,040 30/70 169 36/64 Luleå University of Technology 75 35/65 474 37/63 59 36/64 Stockholm School of Economics 28 54/46 135 41/59 21 33/67 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 112 49/51 483 54/46 73 52/48 Karlstad University 30 60/40 200 53/47 25 64/36 Linnaeus University 57 54/46 261 54/46 38 50/50 Örebro University 60 57/43 406 56/44 46 74/26 Mid Sweden University 26 54/46 161 53/47 22 68/32 Malmö University 50 62/38 204 60/40 25 48/52 Blekinge Institute of Technology 22 23/77 103 37/66 12 33/67 Swedish Defence University - - - Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences 4 75/25 20 50/50 1 0/100 University of Borås 14 71/29 75 65/35 11 64/36 Dalarna University 21 71/29 48 69/31 1 100/0 University of Gävle 7 14/86 30 43/57 4 50/50 Halmstad University 9 33/67 49 45/55 11 27/73 Kristianstad University - - - University of Skövde 10 10/90 45 22/78 8 13/87 University West 9 67/33 47 45/55 7 71/29 Mälardalen University 36 44/56 185 44/56 30 50/50 Jönköping University 29 55/45 167 59/41 27 56/44 Södertörn University 14 71/29 69 55/45 12 83/17 Beckmans College of Design - - - University of Art, Craft and Design - - - Royal Institute of Art - - - Royal College of Music in Stockholm - - - Stockholm University of the Arts 1 100/0 19 68/32 1 0/100 Total 3,077 50/50 16,861 48/52 2,793 48/52
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT Research and teaching staff ¹FTEsº· Table 4. Number of professors and total number of research and teaching staff (FTEs) 2018, per HEI.
Total research and teaching staff Professors Proportion Proportion women/men women/men University/university college FTEs (%) FTEs (%) Uppsala University 3,286 46/54 611 30/70 Lund University 3,139 40/60 660 28/72 University of Gothenburg 2,814 52/48 543 34/66 Stockholm University 2,501 48/52 471 33/67 Umeå University 1,911 47/53 299 32/68 Linköping University 1,549 41/59 308 24/76 Karolinska Institutet 2,105 54/46 360 32/68 KTH Royal Institute of Technology 1,597 27/73 317 18/82 Chalmers University of Technology 1,292 26/74 214 17/83 Luleå University of Technology 585 37/63 150 25/75 Stockholm School of Economics 101 25/75 36 15/85 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 1,643 51/49 205 31/69 Karlstad University 629 48/52 80 31/69 Linnaeus University 1,009 47/53 130 28/72 Örebro University 586 49/51 102 32/68 Mid Sweden University 500 47/53 63 29/71 Malmö University 841 57/43 77 30/70 Blekinge Institute of Technology 200 37/63 32 19/81 Swedish Defence University 211 23/77 16 15/85 Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences 71 42/58 5 33/67 University of Borås 348 55/45 32 37/63 Dalarna University 407 58/42 29 41/59 University of Gävle 413 54/46 41 25/75 Halmstad University 298 47/53 34 24/76 Kristianstad University 325 59/41 27 39/61 University of Skövde 278 42/58 31 39/61 University West 317 58/42 31 39/61 Mälardalen University 502 49/51 49 38/62 Jönköping University 428 54/46 47 33/67 Södertörn University 409 52/48 57 32/68 Beckmans College of Design 9 39/61 University of Art, Craft and Design 76 59/41 13 59/41 Royal Institute of Art 33 58/42 11 48/52 Royal College of Music in Stockholm 74 28/72 19 19/81 Stockholm University of the Arts 86 65/35 18 59/41 Total 30,835 46/54 5,141 29/71
KEY FIGURES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS STATUS REPORT Funding Table 5. Total funding and funding for research and third-cycle education 2018 per HEI.
Proportion of Funding for total funding research and Proportion for research third-cycle direct govern- Total funding and third- education ment funding 2018 cycle educa- 2018 for research University/university college SEK millions tion (%) SEK millions (%) Uppsala University 7,061 70 4,970 45 Lund University 8,516 69 5,882 42 University of Gothenburg 6,546 62 4,042 48 Stockholm University 5,142 61 3,134 52 Umeå University 4,437 57 2,526 51 Linköping University 4,036 57 2,309 43 Karolinska Institutet 7,131 84 6,024 34 KTH Royal Institute of Technology 4,786 68 3,252 37 Chalmers University of Technology 3,802 73 2,783 32 Luleå University of Technology 1,696 56 947 40 Stockholm School of Economics 515 40 205 6 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 3,512 69 2,425 48 Karlstad University 1,165 34 394 60 Linnaeus University 1,906 28 535 63 Örebro University 1,408 37 518 60 Mid Sweden University 1,022 40 409 60 Malmö University 1,616 24 395 60 Blekinge Institute of Technology 465 35 162 59 Swedish Defence University 548 24 131 54 Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences 160 30 48 56 University of Borås 700 24 167 45 Dalarna University 695 18 128 60 University of Gävle 663 22 147 67 Halmstad University 598 26 157 44 Kristianstad University 546 15 83 76 University of Skövde 470 30 143 36 University West 566 24 134 49 Mälardalen University 990 32 312 36 Jönköping University 1,014 27 277 46 Södertörn University 897 35 314 27 Beckmans College of Design 34 University of Art, Craft and Design 199 11 22 91 Royal Institute of Art 90 20 18 64 Royal College of Music in Stockholm 200 12 23 85 Stockholm University of the Arts 280 21 58 90 Total 73,911 58 43,151 44
HIGHER EDUCATION IN SWEDEN STATUS REPORT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Universities Art Design and Music Academies Uppsala University Beckmans College of Design Lund University (independent) University of Gothenburg University of Art, Cra and Design Stockholm University Royal Institute of Art Umeå University Royal College of Music in Stockholm Linköping University Stockholm University of the Arts Karolinska Institutet KTH Royal Institute of Technology Other independent Chalmers University of Technology education providers (independent) Academia of Leadership and Theology Luleå University of Technology University College Stockholm (EHS) Stockholm School of Economics Erica Foundation (independent) Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College Swedish University of Agricultural Evidens AB Sciences Gammelkroppa School of Forestry Karlstad University Johannelund School of Theology Linnaeus University Newman Institute Örebro University Swedish Red Cross University College Mid Sweden University Sophiahemmet University College Malmö University University College of Music Education in Stockholm University colleges Swedish Institute for CBT & Blekinge Institute of Technology Schema Therapy Swedish Defence University Scandinavia’s Academy for Psychotherapy Swedish School of Sport and Health Development Sciences University of Borås Dalarna University University of Gävle Halmstad University Kristianstad University University of Skövde University West Mälardalen University Jönköping University (independent) Södertörn University
KEY FIGURES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS STATUS REPORT The Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) is a government agency that deals with questions concerning higher education. UKÄ is responsible for the official statistics on higher education and also works with the quality assurance of higher education courses and programmes, monitoring and evaluating efficiency, legal supervision and leadership development in higher education.
You can read more on our web-site www.uka.se.