Course syllabuses

In accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, there must be a syllabus for any course at Bachelor’s or Master’s level.

On this page we have compiled advice and information about the rules and guidelines contained in the Higher Education Ordinance, the recommendations of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions and the University’s own regulations and guidelines that are of significance for syllabuses.

Syllabus content

A syllabus must state the following information:

• the level of the course
• the number of credits
• learning outcomes
• specific entry requirements
• forms of assessment of students’ performance
• other required regulations.

The Teaching and Learning at Uppsala University programme prescribes that courses are to be characterised by the connections between intended learning outcomes, forms of instruction and examination and recurring information being provided for students about such connections. The syllabuses are an important tool for conveying this information.

Instructions for the syllabus content

Syllabus approval

The syllabuses are approved by the disciplinary domain boards or – at the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences – the faculty boards. In line with the University’s rules of procedure (UFV 2017/95), the boards may delegate this task.

When should a syllabus be approved?

Courses with an applivcation process via antagning.se or universityadmissions.se

In accordance with the University’s Guidelines on working conditions, the syllabus must be available in good time before the final application deadline. In practice, “in good time before the final application deadline” means when application opens, i.e. approximately five weeks before the final application deadline.

Courses within programmes which do not require application via antagning.se or universityadmissions.se

In accordance with the Swedish Higher Education Authority’s recommendations (reg. no. 32-00481-17), the syllabus for a course within a programme that only permits registration via the department should be available at least eight weeks before the start of the course. It may be appropriate to establish a syllabus earlier than this, however, if changes are to be made to entry requirements, for example. The department then determines on a case-by-case basis when it is appropriate to make the established syllabus available for students.

Register and upload the syllabus to Selma

Once a syllabus has been approved or amended, it should be registered and archived where it has been approved. It should also be uploaded to the Selma course database. The reading list belonging to the syllabus should also be uploaded to Selma.

When a course is replaced by a new course or is entirely removed from the range on offer, information about the phasing out (closure) of the course should be entered into Selma.

Translation into English

The course syllabus must always be available in Swedish. Syllabuses for courses that are to be offered in English must also have an English translation. Even courses that are to be taught in Swedish must have an English translation.

The translation can be uploaded to Selma either simultaneously with the Swedish text or at a later date. To upload an English translation for an approved syllabus, a completed, proofread translation can be send to Selma support for uploading.

Note that a translation or amendment to a translation should never be uploaded to Selma in the form of a revised syllabus. Revision can only be carried out when a change has been approved for the Swedish text.

Educational terms in English:

The Swedish Council for Higher Education's Swedish–English dictionary

The University's English style guide