Umeå University does not have an add or drop period for courses. This means that it is very important that you carefully select courses, and that you discuss them with your home coordinator before applying.
We have compromised some important things to consider below.
Check which period the course is offered
In the Swedish university system, you usually only take one course at a time. We therefore encourage you to choose courses that are given at different time periods during the semester so that you do not end up with four courses that all start at the same time or are given during the same period.
Learn how it works on the page Swedish study system – the basics
Observe the tempo of the course
Courses are given at different study paces. Full-time studies (100%) equals 40 hours a week.
Some courses are given at half-time (50%) or part-time (25%), which means that the workload is 20 hours and 10 hours per week respectively. Consequently, half-time and part-time courses run for a longer period than a full-time course. This means that they can, in some cases, be combined. For more information, see below. A student should never study more than 100% tempo at any given time*.
*An exception here is made for the Swedish for International Beginner's course(s), which can be combined with other courses.
Combining courses
Whether or not courses given at 50% study pace are possible to combine depends on the schedules and if there are any course conflicts. The schedules are not published until one month before the course begins.
Contact the international contact person for your desired programme or the department holding the course to ask if they have the schedule available, so that you can check if there are any course conflicts.
Find international contact persons
For non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals – residence permits
If you are a student from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland you need to apply for a residence permit. In order to be eligible to receive a residence permit, you need to be admitted to 30 credits of studies. These courses need to be on-campus studies.
More information about applying for residence permit (Swedish Migration Agency)
Course eligibiility requirements
The requirements for courses are not recommendations; you must have fulfilled the eligibility requirements to study that course.
For courses where you are currently studying a required course for eligibility, you may apply for the course. If admitted, you will be admitted with the requirement that you can prove that you have met the eligibility requirements by the course start. To prove eligibility, you will need to upload your Transcript of Records before the course start.
Proof of English proficiency
As an exchange student, you do not need to prove your proficiency in English – this is only required of international students outside a formal exchange agreement. However, you should have sufficient knowledge of English, both oral and written, so you are able to succeed in your courses.
