General study and career guidance

One option is to start by considering the following questions:

 • What am I interested in?

 • Which are my qualities?

 • What do I want to learn and develop within myself?

 • Which professions and educations seem interesting to me? In what ways do they seem interesting?

 • Am I eligible? What is required from me to start a specific study programme? If you are unsure about what type of education suits you best, a conversation with a study counsellor can help you make your decision. When discussing with a study counsellor, you will receive various tools to make well-informed decisions regarding your choice of studies and the job market. The conversation is based on you as an individual, and you will receive help in exploring the possibilities and options available. See the study counsellor as a support in conversation along the way, however; you are always the one who makes the decision. Contact information for study counsellors.

To start an education at a university/university college, you need to have basic entry requirements. This can be achieved in several ways; the common way being having complete grades from upper secondary school, adult education, residential college for adult education, or foreign upper secondary school grades. More information about entry requirements can be found here.

Many study programmes also have specific entry requirements, meaning that you must have completed certain upper secondary school courses to be eligible for the education. If you lack a complete upper secondary school education, you have the possibility to complete your education through studies at, for example, a residential college for adult education in your municipality. There may also be the possibility to obtain basic eligibility by applying for an assessment of prior learning.

You usually apply for courses and programmes for the autumn semester during the period 15 March – 15 April. You usually apply for programmes and courses for the spring semester during the period 15 September–15 October. You usually apply for summer courses during the period 15 Feb–15 March. You can find the exact dates for your application here.

If you are unsure whether your grades are sufficient to be admitted to the study programme you intend to apply for, the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (Swedish: högskoleprovet) may be an option. Here, you can find more information about the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test.

There may also be the possibility to undergo assessment in one or more of your previously studied upper secondary school courses where you already have grades, in order to possibly raise that grade. If you are interested in this, contact adult education in your municipality for more information on how to proceed. The admission points you need to be admitted to an education are determined by the number of applicants and the number of places available and can therefore vary. Here you can find admission statistics in Swedish.

You can build your degree in two ways in Sweden - within an educational programme or by taking single courses. Both methods can lead to the same type of degree. There are educations that you can only take through programmes, such as social work and psychology, so-called professional programmes that lead to professional degrees. A program consists of courses that together fulfill the degree requirements for the education you are taking. If, on the other hand, you build your degree through single courses, it is important that you continuously check with a study counsellor to ensure that your courses meet the degree requirements. Most undergraduate programs are 180 credits and are completed over three years, while the length of independent courses varies. There is also the possibility to take single courses for a shorter period, for example, for professional development or if you are curious to try out a subject. Read more about courses and study programmes here.

The teaching is different. At university, teaching is divided into different forms such as lectures, laboratories, seminars, and workshops. Lectures often take place in large groups where you are expected to sit and listen and concentrate for a long time, while seminars, workshops, and laboratories involve practical work in smaller groups. Some teaching is mandatory. Some programmes and courses are taught online; read more about distance studies here. 

Your schedule may seem sparse. In most courses, you do not have classes every day. Instead, you are supposed to study on your own, which means you have to be self-directed and plan your study time. So, you have to be much more independent at university and take responsibility for obtaining information, finding the schedule, literature list, the course literature, and the grading criteria, for example.

You may be asked to read and write more than you are used to. One part of a course of five weeks may involve approximately 500–1000 pages of course literature, and several written assignments. 

Therefore, you need to develop a strategy for reading quite difficult text quickly, and understanding and seeing wholes, so that you reach the course goals. You also need to practice writing, and to do so in an "academic" way, that is, with the language that the university expects from you. To achieve the course goals, the intention is not for you to just repeat what you have read, nor to describe what you think or feel. Rather, the aim is for you to be able to think further about a subject, see connections, test the information you receive, and use the knowledge in practice.

Usually, you need to make a new application via www.antagning.se or www.universityadmission.se even if your programme corresponds to one of the programmes at Mid Sweden University. Once you have been admitted and registered, you can apply for recognition of your previous studies. Read more about transfering credits. https://www.miun.se/en/student/my-studies/credit-transfer2/

Higher education credits (hp) indicate the extent of an education and are used to show how long it takes to complete an education. During a semester of 20 weeks, a full-time student studies 30 credits. One week of full-time studies corresponds to 1,5 credits. If you study at a rate of 50%, you study 15 credits per semester. With a study rate of 25%, you study 7,5 credits per semester.

Universities and colleges can offer two different types of degrees, professional degrees or general degrees. A professional degree is a form of degree for educations that lead to specific professions. To obtain a professional degree, you need to study a programme that leads to the appropriate professional degree and follow the programme's curriculum. Often, a professional degree is required to apply for licensure, primarily within the education and healthcare fields. A general degree can be achieved through both programmes and standalone courses, and it is not as detailed as a professional degree. At the undergraduate level, general degrees include bachelor's degrees, and at the advanced level, they include master's degrees.

There are several support and service functions available for you as a student at Mid Sweden University. 

Student Health Services

Studying with Disabilities

Tutoring and support

Supported Education

MiunSkills - an introductory course to university studies

Before choosing a study programme, it is a good idea to assess how easy it is to find a job after graduation. To access forecasts about job market demand for different professions, you can visit:

Arbetsförmedlingen - the Swedish Job Centre

SACO - the Swedish union for academics

Studera.nu

Once you have been admitted as a student with us, you have the opportunity to apply for recognition of your previous studies. 

It may be possible to apply for later parts of a program if you have already completed courses equivalent to previous terms of a program. 

If you need a break from your studies and want to resume them at a later time, it is important to apply for a study break. Without an approved decision on a study break, you can only continue your studies subject to availability of space. The responsible institution (which conducts the program or course) handles your application. To obtain an approved study break and guaranteed placement, you may need to specify specific reasons why you need to take a study break. 

Then you contact the program coordinator.

When does the semester start and end? You can find start and stop dates either on Miun's admissionspage or on antagning.se

You can see the exact start and end dates for each course if you search for the course schedule. 

For some programs, you can also apply for later parts.