FAQ about exchange studies

No language certificate or language exam is required. However, Uppsala University expects exchange students to be proficient in English at least at the B2 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. You will be asked to evaluate your level of English in the application form. Your exchange coordinator at your home department might also be asked to confirm that you have at least a B2 level of English.

More information

• Definition of B2 level from the Council of Europe

All courses in the Courses Catalogue for Exchange Students are open to incoming exchange students through university-wide exchange agreements. However, they may have specific entry requirements. Students include their transcript of records so that Uppsala University can determine if they are eligible for the courses selected.

Entry requirements are listed in the syllabus for each course and accessible in the Course Catalogue for Exchange Students.

The number of spaces available on each course is limited and you might not meet the entry requirement for some of the courses you have chosen. Because of this, Uppsala University cannot guarantee that you will be placed in the first courses you request. This is why you need to send us 60 credits worth of course choices in order to have reserve course options. However, you will only be admitted to full-time studies (30 credits).

Not including reserve courses in the course proposal might result in an admission delay.

Under normal circumstances, you cannot change courses. Uppsala University does not have an "add-and-drop period".

Students selected through a university-wide agreement

Once the Letter of Admissions has been sent out, courses are fixed. A course change can be made only in one of the following cases:

1. If the courses chosen overlap substaintially.
2. If the courses you have been admitted to would have a negative impact on your studies after the exchange. This must be confirmed by the coordinator at your home university via email to mobility@uu.se.

Students selected through a department or faculty agreement

Contact your department's or faculty's exchange coordinator at Uppsala University if you have a question regarding course change.

As an exchange student, you can drop a course on two terms:

1. You do it before the deadline.
2. You still reach the minimum required number of credits per semester.

Deadline

The deadline to drop a course is three weeks after the course starts.

The minimum required number of credits

Exchange students with EU/EEA citizenship need to be admitted to 22,5 credits per semester.

Exchange students with non-EU/EEA citizenship have to be admitted to 30 credits, per semester. This is due to the Swedish Migration Agency's requirements of full-time studies, on-campus, to issue residence permits.

The first step is to check your schedule and verify what is mandatory and what is not. After this, speak to the professors responsible for the courses.

Do the courses overlap all the time, or only a few times throughout the semester? If they only overlap sometimes, your professors might be able to find a solution. If they overlap a lot, email mobility@uu.se and ask for a course change.

Yes, you can. Uppsala University offers some Swedish courses, such as the Basic Swedish courses 1-4 throughout the autumn and spring semesters. You apply for these courses by including them in your exchange application.

More information

• Basic Swedish courses

Yes, but you have to prove that your level of Swedish is good enough to take university-level courses.

The reading list is found on the syllabus for each course on the respective course page. You can find all courses for exchange students here.

For academic questions, please contact the relevant department directly. Contact details can be found at the bottom of the course description.

What is course registration?

You will receive the Letter of Admissions with a listing of the courses that you are admitted to. You also need to register for these courses.

How to register

Registration procedures vary between departments. Information for specific courses is available in the Syllabus and reading list search.

Search for the course code and then use the down arrow to open up Application and requirements. Look under Registration period as well as Information on registration from the department for more information. If there is no information regarding online registration and you are still not registered on courses, please contact the department directly, closer to the start of the term.

Questions about course registration?

Contact the department that is giving the course.

No, we cannot convert the grades you receive here into another grading system. Uppsala University cannot use any other grading scale than the one determined by the department in question.

Note that ECTS grades not offered to students at Uppsala University and that some courses only offer a Fail (U) or Pass (G) grade.

More information

• Grading scales at Uppsala University
• Also see the course syllabus for grading scale used.

It is advisable for students to activate their accounts online before their arrival, as soon as they receive the Letter of Admission. Alternatively, students can also activate their accounts in person at the start of each term by presenting an official photo ID. An activated account enables students to access course details, schedules, and Wi-Fi services within university-owned facilities.

Please follow these instructions.

A full-time study load at Uppsala University is 30 credits per semester.

If you have EU/EEA citizenship, you can study 22.5 credits per semester. This equals a workload of 75%.

However, the Swedish Migration Agency requires non-EU/EEA students to be admitted to full-time studies, on-campus, which means 30 credits per semester.

Failure to meet the Swedish Migration Agency's requirement will result in your residence permit application being denied.

Maximum

Exchange students can take a maximum of 37.5 credits per semester at Uppsala University. This exceeds the full-time study load of 30 credits and equals a workload of 125%.

Minimum

Exchange students with EU/EEA citizenship need to be registered for at least 22,5 credits per semester.

Exchange students with non-EU/EEA citizenship need to be registered for at least 30 credits per semester. This is because the Swedish Migration Agency requires students to be accepted to full-time studies, on-campus, to issue residence permits.

Students at Uppsala University take courses consecutively. This means you take courses one after the other rather than in parallel. Because of this, you need to "map" your courses. You can find information and examples of how to do this on the course mapping page.

The autumn semester officially ends around mid-January so you can expect to have classes and exams during the first two weeks of January.

More information

• Uppsala University's academic calendar

Credits

The duration and extent of programmes and courses is expressed in a system of credits equivalent to ECTS credits - that is, you take 30 credits per semester for full-time studies. A full academic year corresponds to 60 credits. Thus, one semester corresponds to 30 credits. Furthermore, one semester corresponds to 20 weeks and one week corresponds to 40 hours of study. Each week of full-time study is worth 1.5 credits.

How to calculate credits?

60 ECTS credits correspond to one full-time academic year. Knowing the total number of credits needed to get a degree in your local credit system and the duration of the degree (the number of years), we can estimate the conversion factor (CF) as follows:
CF = (the number of years × 60) / the total number of credits

For example, if your 3-year Bachelor’s degree corresponds to a total of 120 credits in your system, then:
CF = (3×60) / 120 = 1.5

This means that a 4-credit course in your system corresponds to 4×CF = 6 credits at Uppsala University.

Grading scales

Uppsala University uses five different grading scales. Each faculty decides which of the grading scales will be used in that faculty. The syllabus for a course must always specify which grading scale will be used for that particular course.

The syllabus must specify the course goals, formulated as intended learning outcomes. The goals describe the requirements for a passing grade. The requirements for higher grades must be formulated in terms of increasing levels of quality of goal attainment.

The following grading scales are used at Uppsala University:

• Grading scales at Uppsala University

Note that:

• ECTS grades are not offered to students
• Some courses only offer a Fail (U) or Pass (G) grade

The grade “Fail” does not appear on an official transcript of records.

If a student receives a passing grade, no re-takes or supplemental assignments can be done to receive a higher grade, nor can a student be re-registered on the course.

If you have a long-term disability that affects your studies, you can get targeted study support during your time at Uppsala University. Please contact the coordinators well in advance of starting your studies to discuss your need for support. At the start of the semester, there might be a wait to book an appointment with the coordinator and be notified of support.

More information

• Targeted study support

Students selected through a university-wide exchange agreement:

Email the coordinator for your exchange studies at Uppsala University at mobility@uu.se with a scanned copy of your Learning Agreement.

Students selected through a department or faculty exchange agreement:

Please contact your department's or faculty's exchange coordinator at Uppsala University directly.

1. Go to "My Ladok"
2. Download your secure and verifiable Transcript of Records. If you send it to your home university, let them know they can use the link and verification code at the bottom of the page to verify that the document is authentic.

Note

• The departments can submit the grades up to five weeks after the official end of term.
• Uppsala University's Transcripts of Records do not include failed courses.
• If you have questions about missing results, contact the department where you studied directly.

Yes, you can. Everyone who has studied a minimum of five credits at Uppsala University is welcome to join the Alumni Network.

More information

• The Alumni Network