Press Release from Umeå University

Sharp increase in international master’s students expected

[2013-05-23] The number of international students that have been admitted for master’s degree programmes starting in autumn 2013 has risen dramatically in comparison with the prior year. Some of the most popular programmes are in the areas of public health, finance, molecular biology, business development and internationalisation, IT management, and accounting.

The main application round for autumn 2013 studies had an application deadline of 15 January. Statistics from the Swedish Council of Higher Education (UHR) show that Umeå University nearly doubled its number of first choice applicants for autumn 2013 entry. 1,024 individuals selected Umeå University as their primary place to study a master’s programme in comparison with 527 for autumn 2012 (the figures did not include the five master’s degree programmes in architecture, design and fine arts, or students within exchange agreements).

“The improvement is very gratifying for Umeå University, since we have prioritized work with internationalisation in recent years and stressed the importance of increasing the number of international students,” says Anders Fällström, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education. “But there is great deal more to accomplish, for instance, as many of the university’s educations programmes can focus even more on internationalisation.”

Umeå University had 41% first choice applicants of its total number of applicants (2,510), in comparison with 28% first choice applicants of its autumn 2012 total number of applicants (1,897). Among the six largest comprehensive universities in Sweden, Umeå Univerity was second according to this measure.

Higher education institution	Percentage 1st choice applicants of total
Lund University	47.0%
Umeå University	40.8%
Linköping University	39.5%
Stockholm University	39.2%
Uppsala University	37.0%
Gothenburg University	30.7%

In addition, there was a spike in the number of international students that have been admitted for autumn 2013 master’s programmes. A total of 421 applicants were admitted to the 30 programmes (including architecture and design), an increase of about 68% in comparison with the number admitted to autumn 2012.

It is noteworthy that for the first time, European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) students were permitted to apply online during an additional application period - 15 March to 15 April - the same period as domestic Swedish students. Statistics from UHR show that 301 individuals without a Swedish personal identification number applied to many international master’s degree programmes Umeå University. Therefore, it can be estimated that the number of admitted international students will likely be higher than 421.

Statistics courtesy of:
Swedish Council of Higher Education search tool for admissions statistics

Photo: © Elin Berge/Moment

Editor: David Meyers

Link to news:
http://www.umu.se/english/news/.cid216133