Find information about students at Uppsala University 1595–1900
Since the 16th century, hundreds of thousands of students have studied at Uppsala University. Many of them are documented in various types of registers, archives and printed materials.
Materials at Uppsala University Library
The University Library preserves large parts of the historical material relating to students and student life:
- Student nation archives – membership registers and documents from the 17th century onwards. See Nation registers below.
- Archives of student associations, such as the Uppsala Student Union, the Uppsala kvinnliga studentförening and various political associations.
- Personal archives of academics, with letters, notes and other material.
- Printed material such as registers, catalogues, memoirs and accounts of student life.
- Theses (‘dissertations’) – almost all theses written at the university are preserved and are being digitised on an ongoing basis. See the page Theses and dissertations – old (up to and including 1855).
The materials complement each other. In the student nation archives, you will find information about all students, while personal archives and memoirs often provide a more in-depth picture of individual students. This means that the student nation archives can give you a more general picture of what student life was like in the past.
Find information about individual students
Step 1: Start with the University's register and catalogues
Here you can confirm that a person really studied in Uppsala and see which student nation the student belonged to. A few individuals – mainly nobles before 1852 – may have studied in Uppsala without being enrolled, but the vast majority of students are included in these registers and catalogues.
If you already know that the student you are looking for belonged to a particular student nation, you can go directly to step 2.
The period 1595–1817
The University's register for the period 1595–1817 has been published in print retrospectively. The printed version contains a personal register that makes it easy to use.
Uppsala universitets matrikel 1595–1817 (DiVA)
From 1818 onwards
For the years from 1818 onwards, it is easiest to search the student catalogues that were printed every term well into the 20th century.
Step 2: Proceed to the student nations' registers
Once you have confirmed that the person was a student at Uppsala University and found out which student nation they belonged to, you can proceed to that nation's register.
Contents of the student nations' registers
Unlike the University's register, which usually only contains enrolment dates, the student nations' registers often contain information about members even after they have left the University. Sometimes they even contain gossip.
Access the student nation registers
Some student nation registers have been published in print, and the University Library is digitising the unpublished registers. See the links below.
Unpublished originals can also be read in the Special Collections Reading Room.
Student nation registers
Below you will find links to each student nation's archives and available registers.
Adelsnationen
Archive information
About Adelsnationen's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1768–1780: Matrikel över adelsnationen i Upsala (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Finska nationen
Archive information
About Finska nationen's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
There is no published register, but some membership information is available in Leinberg, K. G., ”Bidrag till kännedom om finske studerande vid Uppsala universitet” i SSLF, XVIII. Helsingfors, 1891 (Google Books).
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Gotlands nation
Archive information
About Gotlands nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1646–1877: Gotlands i Upsala studerande nation (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Gästrike-Hälsinge nation
Archive information
About Gästrike-Hälsinge nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1811–1912: Matrikel öfver Gästrike-Hälsinge nation i Uppsala 1811–1912 (Libris)
1811–1961: Matrikel öfver Gästrike-Hälsinge nation i Uppsala 1811–1961 (Libris).
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Göteborgs nation
Archive information
About Göteborgs nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
There are no printed student nation registers for Göteborgs nation.
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Kalmar nation
Archive information
About Kalmars nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
1638–1919: Read Kalmars nation's register in Alvin
Norrlands nation
Archive information
About Norrlands nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1595–1889: Matrikel öfver i Upsala studerande norrlänningar 1595–1889 (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Smålands nation
Archive information
About Smålands nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
Smolandi Upsalienses Smålandsstudenter i Uppsala på 1500- och 1600-talen
1593–1625: See del 1 (Libris)
1626–1645: See del 2 (Libris)
1646–1663: See del 3 (Libris)
1664–1699: See del 4 (Libris)
1700–1744: See del 5 (Libris)
1745–1800: See del 6 (Libris)
1801–1844: See del 7 (Libris)
Smålands nation i Uppsala : biografiska och genealogiska anteckningar
1636–1844: See del 1 (Libris)
1845–1950: See del 2 (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Stockholms nation
Archive information
About Stockholms nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1649–1700: Stockholms nations studenter i Uppsala 1649–1800 : Vinculum Stockholmense. D. 1 (Libris)
1701–1750: Stockholms nations studenter i Uppsala 1649–1800 : Vinculum Stockholmense. D. 2 (Libris)
1800–1881: Stockholms i Upsala studerande nations medlemmar 1800–1881 (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Södermanlands-Nerikes nation
Archive information
About Södermanlands-Nerikes nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Uplands nation
Archive information
About Uplands nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
There are no printed student nation registers for Uplands nation.
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Värmlands nation
Archive information
About Värmlands nations archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1595–1677: Värmlands nation i Uppsala 1595–1677 (Libris)
1595–1877: Värmlands nations historia jämte förteckning öfver dess medlemmar från 1595 till 1877 (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Västgöta nation
Archive information
About Västgöta nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1595–1720: Västgöta nation i Uppsala från år 1595 : biografiska anteckningar. 1 (Libris)
1721–1780: Västgöta nation i Uppsala från år 1595 : biografiska anteckningar. 2 (Libris)
1781–1830: Västgöta nation i Uppsala från år 1595 : biografiska anteckningar. 3 (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Västmanlands-Dala nation
Archive information
About Västmanlands-Dala nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1639–1700: Lagergren, Helmer, Berthelson, Helge, Liedgren, Jan & Engström, Gösta (red.), Västmanlands-Dala nations album 1639–1700: med biografiska och genealogiska anteckningar (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Östgöta nation
Archive information
About Östgöta nation's archive in Alvin
Printed student nation registers
1595–1900: Östgötars minne. Biografiska anteckningar om studerande östgötar i Uppsala 1595–1900 (Libris)
Digitised unpublished student nation registers
Find pictures of students in Uppsala
Start by searching in Alvin. If you cannot find what you are looking for in Alvin, you can move on to the portrait catalogue or images from Upplandsmuseet.
- Alvin – Platform for digital collections and digitized cultural heritage – Here you can find digitised portraits. Search by the student’s name. You can also use a free-text search, for example, ‘student* uppsala’.
- Uppsala University Library’s portrait catalogue – Search by the student’s name.
- Upplandsmuseet's images at digitaltmuseum.se – Digitised images from Uppsala. Here you can search by name or use a free-text search, for example, ‘student* uppsala’.
Other resources
In addition to the material above, information about students can also be found in other archival institutions:
- Uppsala University's central archive is stored in Segerstedthuset and contains, among other things, original registers and examination papers from the late 19th century onwards.
- Akademiska konsistoriets protokoll 1624–1699 – Individual students may also appear in matters before the faculty or konsistoriet (the university board).
- Kanslersämbetets arkiv – NAD (Riksarkivet) contains older statistics and reports, including lecture diaries where you can see what teaching was conducted and who attended.