This list of

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

is based on the Higher Education Ordinance of 1993 (as amended until January 2006). With few exceptions, all higher education in Sweden is publicly funded. The Swedish higher education system differentiates between ''universitet'' and '' högskola'' (university and

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

respectively). The universities are research-oriented and may award Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctor's degrees in many academic fields, whereas the högskolor usually are more focused on applied sciences, and only have limited rights granting doctor's degrees. Note, however, that some universities still call themselves ''högskola'' in Swedish, mainly older specialised institutions in engineering and medicine (for instance KTH Royal Institute of Technology is called "Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan" and

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

is called "Chalmers Tekniska Högskola"). Also, both proper universities and högskolor are translated to "university" in English, where in the latter case, some argue that "university college" would be more correct.

Public universities

The order of precedence is based on their year of establishment as a university. Only

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

(est. 1477) and

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

(est. 1666) were actually founded as ''universities'', whereas all the other universities were raised from ''högskola'' (university college) status to the higher university status after they had been founded. Two universities founded under Swedish rule, the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

from 1632 (now in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

) and the Royal Academy of Turku from 1640 (later established as

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

, now in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

), as well as the University of Greifswald from 1456 (now in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

but a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

held by

1631–1806, Swedish 1806–1815), are excluded from the list. Växjö University (1967–2009) was a university that has now merged with Kalmar University (1977–2009), becoming the Linnaeus University in 2010.

Public university colleges

A Högskola (= ''university college'' in English) is an institution of higher education, similar to a university but typically smaller and with PhD-rights in fewer areas. The right to award doctoral degrees is in Sweden given and monitored by the Swedish Higher Education Authority in the same way for universities and university colleges. The public 'högskola' are: * Gotland University College (1998–2013) was a "högskola" that has now merged with

Uppsala university Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, becoming the Gotland campus of Uppsala university. * Kalmar University (1977–2009) was a "högskola" that has now merged with Växjö University (1967–2009), becoming the Linnaeus University in 2010.

Private universities and högskolor

There are seven private institutions of higher education with the right to give post graduate degrees, namely: *

in Gothenburg, * Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, * Johannelund School of Theology in Uppsala, * Jönköping University Foundation, * Stockholm School of Economics, * Sophiahemmet University College, * University College Stockholm (Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm).

Recognised higher education institutions

''ARWU''

Ranking list according to the ''

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

'': In relation to their population size,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(first) and Sweden (second) are the two countries with the highest number of universities among the 100 best of the

(2014–2015).Rankings: top of the class
''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', 28 March 2015 (page visited on 7 April 2015).

''QS World''

Ranked Swedish universities on ''

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

'' (with the highest ranked for that year marked in blue):

''THE World''

Ranked Swedish institutes on ''

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

'' (with the highest ranked for that year marked in blue):

''THE-QS''

Ranking list according to the '' THE–QS World University Rankings'' (with the highest ranked for that year marked in blue):

Notes and references

External links

Swedish National Agency for Higher EducationStudy in SwedenProgramme and course portal for Swedish universities & colleges
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Universities In Sweden

Universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...