Evaluation 15 credits

About the course

Focus of the course
Evaluation is a research-based activity designed to assess the merits of policies and programmes. Increasing demands that policy decisions and public spending are based on evidence, mean that evaluation increasingly permeates all sectors of decision-making in society. The growing social and political significance of evaluation in turn means that evaluations need to be of high quality and informative.
Against this background, this course focuses on five central questions: What is evaluated? Why evaluate? How should evaluations be conducted? How are evaluations used? How can one assess the quality of evaluations?

Module 1: Evaluation as practice. 7,5 hp
Module 1 of the course studies evaluation as a social phenomenon, as practice and as a skill. Topics covered in this part of the course include: What is policy and programme evaluation? How does evaluation differ from research? What societal developments explain the growth of evaluation and monitoring systems? How does evaluation relate to the "evidence" debate? From a more practical perspective, the course introduces different evaluation models and discusses how to design evaluations for specific purposes.

Module 2: The evaluation society and evaluation use, 7,5 hp
Module 2 of the course addresses the following questions: What kind of problems are professional evaluators often confronted with in the course of their work? How are evaluations used? How can we assess the quality of evaluations (meta-evaluation).

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Apply

Spring 2026
- Evaluation
  
  International admissions round
  
  VT26 / Umeå / English / On site
  
  Show more Show less
  
  Starts
  19 January 2026
  
  Ends
  23 March 2026
  
  Number of credits
  15 credits
  
  Type of studies
  On site
  
  Study pace
  100%
  
  Teaching hours
  Daytime
  
  Study location
  Umeå
  
  Language
  English
  
  Application code
  UMU-F2242
  
  Eligibility
  General entry requirements
  
  Selection
  
  Results-National university aptitude test-Academic credits
  
  Application
  Application deadline was 15 August 2025. The application period is closed.
  
  Application and tuition fees
  As a citizen of a country outside the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you are required to pay application and tuition fees for studies at Umeå University.
  
  Application fee: SEK 900
  
  Tuition fee, first instalment: SEK 24,150
  
  Total fee: SEK 24,150
  
  Details about tuition, fees and funding
- Evaluation
  
  Second admissions round for EU/EEA citizens
  
  VT26 / Umeå / English / On site
  
  Submit a late application
  
  Show more Show less
  
  Starts
  19 January 2026
  
  Ends
  23 March 2026
  
  Number of credits
  15 credits
  
  Type of studies
  On site
  
  Study pace
  100%
  
  Teaching hours
  Daytime
  
  Study location
  Umeå
  
  Language
  English
  
  Application code
  UMU-22301
  
  Eligibility
  General entry requirements
  
  Selection
  
  Results-National university aptitude test-Academic credits
  
  Application
  Application deadline was 15 October 2025. Please note: This second application round is intended only for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens. Submit a late application at Universityadmissions.se.
  
  Application and tuition fees
  As a citizen of a country outside the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you are required to pay application and tuition fees for studies at Umeå University.
  
  Application fee: SEK 900
  
  Tuition fee, first instalment: SEK 24,150
  
  Total fee: SEK 24,150
  
  Details about tuition, fees and funding

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Late applications
Admissions to most programmes and courses typically close after the final application deadline. However, some programmes and courses may still accept late applications if seats are available. These are marked “Open for late application” on universityadmissions.se. Please note that late applications are not guaranteed to be reviewed.

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