Mid Sweden University (''Mittuniversitetet'') is a Swedish state university located in the region around the geographical center of Sweden, with two campuses in the cities of

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön ...

and Sundsvall. The university closed a third campus in

Härnösand Härnösand () is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 17,556 inhabitants in 2010. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just a few miles north o ...

in the summer of 2016.

History

Created on 1 July 1993, the institution was originally called Mid Sweden University College (Mitthögskolan) and was the result of a merger between the University College of Sundsvall/

(''Högskolan i Sundsvall/Härnösand'') and the University College of

(''Högskolan i Östersund''). The two university colleges had been founded in 1977, with roots in the School of social work that started in 1971 in the city of Östersund, and in the

Folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule ...

teachers' seminary and the nautical training/naval school that were launched in 1842 in the city of Härnösand. On 1 July 1995, the Sundsvall/

Örnsköldsvik Örnsköldsvik (, ) is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017. Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the Hig ...

and

Colleges of Health Sciences (''Vårdhögskolor'') were also incorporated. In 2001 Mid Sweden University was awarded university status in the natural sciences area of research including IT, and was thus entitled to issue doctoral degrees. Employees that were carrying out

doctoral studies A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

before then were enrolled at other universities, where they had their main supervisor, but also locally supervised at Mid Sweden University College. Effective 1 January 2005, the government of Sweden granted the institution the right to call itself a university and the school's name changed to Mid Sweden University (Mittuniversitetet).

Organization

Mid Sweden University has two authorised areas of research (''vetenskapsområden''), organized under the

Faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

of Science, Technology and Media (since 2001), and the Faculty of Human Sciences (since 2005) respectively. Education and research is also organized under the Faculty of Educational Sciences (''lärarutbildningsnämnden''). The university was organized into eight departments, of which four are multi-campus departments: *Faculty of Human Sciences: **Department of Humanities **Department of Social Sciences **Department of Social Work **Department of Health Sciences **Department of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism *Faculty of Science, Technology and Media: **Department of Information Technology and Media **Department of Natural Sciences **Department of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics *Faculty of Educational Sciences: **Department of Education

Education

The university has offered

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

(''kandidatexamen'') and Swedish master's degree (''magisterexamen'', one year) in a wide range of subjects since 1994,

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

(''doktorsexamen'' and ''licentiatexamen'') since 2001, and International master's degree (''masterexamen'', two years) according to the Bologna model since 2005. Mid Sweden University also offers professional degrees within

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

and Engineering (''civilingenjörsexamen'', similar to German Diploma engineer) since 2003, and as engineer, teacher, nurse, specialist nurse,

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

/welfare officer (''socionom''), journalist and, from 2008,

Psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how ...

. The university's two main campuses have different focuses but with some overlap. The Sundsvall campus has a school of education and offers various courses in the humanities and arts. It also has a wide range of courses and degrees in the technical and natural sciences and journalism. The Östersund campus focuses on graduate degrees in tourism, health care, social work and public administration. Campus Östersund also has Sweden's only

ecotechnology Ecotechnology is an applied science that seeks to fulfill human needs while causing minimal ecological disruption, by harnessing and manipulating natural forces to leverage their beneficial effects. Ecotechnology integrates two fields of study: ...

programme. Besides the above, education and research within digital printing technology is located to the city of Örnsköldsvik. The institution is also well known for a wide range of web-based

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

Number of students and employees

In school year 2009/2010, the university had 21,476 undergraduate students (including master students) with 4,000 of them based in Östersund, 4,000 in Sundsvall, 2,000 in Härnösand and the rest are learning on distance. The university has 235 doctoral students, about 800 teachers, of which 80 were employed professors, and totally more than 1000 employees.

Past
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
s ( Sundsvall)

*1993–1994 Alf Gunnmo *1994–1999 Kari Marklund *1999 (acting) Alf Gunnmo *1999–2003

Gunnar Svedberg Professor Gunnar Svedberg (born 12 August 1947 in Annefors, Bollnäs Municipality) was the Rector of the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden. Svedberg studied at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm and received a PhD in chemical ...

*2003 (acting) Pia Sandvik Wiklund *2003–2008 Thomas Lindstein *2008 (acting) Håkan Wiklund *2008-2016

Anders Söderholm Anders Söderholm (born 26 October 1961) is the current rector of the Mid Sweden University and was a professor in Business administration at Umeå School of Business. Söderholm obtained his PhD from Umeå University in 1991, with his thesis on ...

Past
prorector Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic ran ...
s (
Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön ...
) :sv:Mittuniversitetet

*1993–1999 Alf Gunnmo *1999 (acting) Sture Pettersson *1999–2002 Mats Ericson *2002–2005 Pia Sandvik Wiklund *2003 (acting) Sture Pettersson *2005–2006 (acting) Sture Pettersson *2006— Håkan Wiklund *2008 (acting) Sture Pettersson

Honorary doctorates at Mid Sweden University

*2001 –

Thorbjörn Fälldin Nils Olof Thorbjörn Fälldin (24 April 1926 – 23 July 2016) was a Swedish politician. He was Prime Minister of Sweden in three non-consecutive cabinets from 1976 to 1982, and leader of the Swedish Centre Party from 1971 to 1985. On his ...

*2002 – Kenway Smith *2004 – Sverker Martin-Löf *2006 –

Bodil Malmsten Bodil Malmsten (19 August 1944 – 5 February 2016) was a Swedish poet and novelist. Malmsten was born in Bjärme, Östersund Municipality. Due to her parents' early separation, she grew up at her maternal grandparents and at foster care in Vä ...

and Bengt Saltin *2008 –

Magdalena Forsberg Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg (née Wallin; born 25 July 1967) is a Swedish former cross-country skier and biathlete. She was the dominating female biathlete from 1997 to 2002, when she retired, winning the Biathlon World Cup for six years straight. S ...

and Lars Näsman *2010 – Kenneth Eriksson, Erik Fichtelius, Björn Fjæstad and Jan Stenberg

Famous alumni

Here is a list of people who have received attention from national media, and have studied either at Mid Sweden University, or one of the colleges that later formed Mid Sweden University. *Jerry Ahrlin, cross-country skier * Abir Al-Sahlani, Member of Parliament *

Berit Andnor Berit Andnor (born 20 November 1954) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. She was Minister for Social Affairs of Sweden 2004–2006. Biography Berit Andnor grew up in a working-class family in Gothenburg, and she and her sister was the fir ...

, former Minister for Social Affairs and member of parliament *

Helena Jonsson Helena Ekholm (née Helena Jonsson) (born September 6, 1984 in Helgum) is a former Swedish biathlete. She was born in Helgum, Sollefteå Municipality. She is the 2009 world champion in pursuit and the 2011 world champion in individual. She al ...

biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

* Mari Jungstedt, journalist and author *

Jan Helin Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Swedish national public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national parliament). Prior to 2019, ...

, journalist and the editor-in-chief of

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan Hi ...

since 2008 * Anna-Karin Kammerling, swimmer * Mikaela Laurén, swimmer and boxer * Melodie MC (Kent Lövgren),

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. Thi ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

* Ylva Nowén,

Alpine ski ''Alpine Ski'' (アルパイン・スキ一) is an Alpine skiing arcade game, released by Taito in 1981. The player controls a skier, who can move left, right, or increase forward speed. The aim is to maneuver a skier through a downhill ski cour ...

er and expert commentator * Linda Olofsson, TV journalist *

Anna Ottosson Anna Helene Ottosson (born 18 May 1976 in Östersund, Sweden; married name Ottosson Blixth) is a Swedish former alpine skier who won an Olympic bronze medal in the giant slalom race at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She stands 1.66 meters ...

er * Roger Haddad, Member of Parliament * Fadime Sahindal *

Anders Sodergren Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

, cross-country skier * Åsa Torstensson, Member of Parliament and former Minister for Transport 2006–2010 * Fredrik Wikingsson, journalist and TV host *

Gina Dirawi Gina Dirawi ( ar, غنا ديراوي; born 11 December 1990) is a Swedish television presenter, singer-songwriter, radio personality, blogger, comedian and actress. While she is best known as the first woman ever to host Melodifestivalen on th ...

, comedian and TV host

References

External links

Mid Sweden University
– Official site
Courses for exchange students
– Courses taught in English
Study programmes taught in English
– International programmes
Mid Sweden University Students' Union (Östersund)
– Official site
Mid Sweden University Students' Union (Sundsvall)
– Official site {{authority control Härnösand Östersund Educational institutions established in 1993 Buildings and structures in Jämtland County 1993 establishments in Sweden Buildings and structures in Sundsvall Municipality Higher education in Sundsvall