Dalarna University: Ranking, Courses, Admission, Fees, Scholarship & Placements

Dalarna University College, which is commonly referred to as Dalarna University (DU) is a top Swedish educational institute founded in 1977. It is located in Dalarna County, Sweden, and has two campuses, one in Falun and the other in Borlänge. Dalarna University is accredited by the Swedish Council for Higher Education. Its current ranking in Europe is 656, while its latest US News global ranking is 2564. 

Dalarna University teaches more than 70 subjects at undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD levels. It offers postgraduate programs in material science, economics, data science, business, sustainable tourism, solar energy engineering, etc. Additionally, Dalarna is specifically known for hosting multiple international research programs, which has made it one of the most sought-after universities among international students. Currently, it has around 450 international students enrolled in various on-campus courses. 

The sections below feature crucial information for Indian students looking to enroll in a desired course at Dalarna University. 

Dalarna University Highlights 

Studying at Dalarn a university should be the way to go for students looking to study at a prestigious, but affordable European university. The university has highly qualified teachers, who know how to educate students to become great professionals. Here are some highlights of Dalarna: 

DU offers a series of professional degree courses. Other than offering regular on-campus programs the institute has some distance education programs.  

Currently, the university has 4000 on-campus students. Another 10,000 students are enrolled in the university’s distance education programs. These include students from more than 90 countries.

Dalarna partners with the European Union, United Nations, and Research Institute of Sweden (better known as RISE) both in education and research. The university also has similar collaborations with several other famous educational institutions in different parts of the globe. 

Dalarna University Admissions 

The admission process should begin by creating an account on the common admission portal (for Swedish universities) universityadmissions.se. Next, the candidate will have to select the programs he or she would want to enroll in. Checking the curriculum carefully is a must before making the final decision. As each student is allowed to get enrolled in one program at a time, picking the right program is extremely crucial. Here, it must be noted that full-time students can take a maximum of 30 credits per term when studying the DU. 

Here are the steps one must complete when applying to DU:

Step 1: To apply, the candidates will first need to fill out the application form available on universityadmissions.se. 

Step 2: Next, they will need to pay the application fee. Swedish residents and EU/EEA citizens will not need to pay any fee to apply for a course at DU. However, to get the exemption, those people will have to attach proof of their citizenship (for instance, the identity page of their passport). All other international students including Indian students will have to pay 900 SEK (approximately 7200 INR) as an application fee. All applicants must remember that the application fee is non-refundable as it's an administrative fee. 

Step 3: In this step, the candidates will have to submit their supporting documents. 

Here are the documents to be submitted for admission:

• Proof of English language proficiency 
• Transcripts of previous educational qualifications 
• Reference, essays, motivation letter 
• CV

Indian students who have completed school education after 2009 will need a passing grade in Mathematics to be granted admission to a bachelor’s degree program at DU. Students who don’t have it on their Proficiency Certificate or Higher Secondary Marksheet will have to submit their Secondary School Certificate. 

Meeting the English requirements is slightly easier for Indian students looking to study at DU as any one of the following can be submitted as proof of their English language proficiency: 

• Grades scored in English and three or more subjects taught in English on the upper secondary mark sheet 
• Grades scored in English on the Class XII pass certificate issued by the CISCE
• Grades scored in English on the mark sheet of the Senior School Certificate Examination conducted by the CBSE (mark sheets issued after 2008 are considered valid)
• Others can submit scores they have secured in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). 

Step 4: After submitting the application along with the fee and required documents, the applicants should keep checking the status of their application regularly by logging into their universityadmissions.se account. Here are the four statuses they might come across:

• Not processed
• In progress
• Unqualified
• Qualified 

Individuals who have qualified should apply for a student Visa or temporary resident permit depending on the course they will enrol in. 

Most courses offered by DU allow late applications. However, it’s important to remember that the university authority processes late applications only if time permits. 

Eligibility Criteria

The basic entry requirements for DU bachelor’s degree programs are as follows:

• Must be 18 years of age 
• Must complete upper-secondary school or equivalent with 60% marks or more 
• Must be proficient in English (minimum TOEFL score of 90 or IELTS score of 6.5)
• The basic entry requirements for DU master’s degree programs are as follows:
• Must pass a bachelor’s degree program from an internationally recognized university 
• Must be proficient in English (minimum TOEFL score of 90 or IELTS score of 6.5)
• Other than the above requirements, each course has individual requirements for subjects studied, cut-off marks, etc. 

Dalarna University Programs

• DU courses that enjoy maximum popularity among international students are:
• Master’s program in International Tourism Management
• Master’s program in Solar Energy Engineering
• Master’s program in Tourism Destination Development
• Master’s program in Data Science 
• Master’s program in Business Intelligence

Dalarna University Accommodations

Accommodation for students of the Borlänge campus: Students studying at the Borlänge campus of the university can apply for accommodation at the Tunabyggen Student Accommodation. It has rooms in two different parts of the town. Students staying in these facilities need to pay rent for just 10 months (there’s no rent for June and July). 

The rent is inclusive of expenses for internet connection and other basic utilities. Most rooms feature a pillow, mattress, bed, chair, desk, and a space to hang clothes. 

The main housing for international students studying at the Borlänge campus is called Locus. Depending on the requirements and budget of the students, they can choose to stay in shared apartments or corridors. 

Accommodation for students of Falun campus: Students studying at the Falun campus of the university can apply for accommodation at the Kopparstaden Student Accommodation. The name of the housing is Bristen. A 25-minute walk is enough to reach the main campus from Bristen. The housing has both furnished and unfurnished apartments arranged along a corridor. Each apartment has a dedicated bathroom and kitchen. 

Dalarna University Cost 

Cost of Course: Individuals studying humanities and social sciences in the university will have to spend 87,000 SEK (approximately 7 lakh INR) per year as the course fee. The annual course fee is around 7 lakh INR even for programs teaching tourism and business studies. Technical programs at the university, on the other hand, have an annual course fee of 135,000 SEK or 8 lakh INR per year. 

Cost of Living: International students studying at Dalarna University need to spend 80,000 SEK or around 6,40,000 INR per annum as living expenses. 

Dalarna University Scholarships

Each year, the university offers scholarships to international students enrolling for on-campus master’s degree courses. The scholarship reduces the tuition fee of the course by 30-50%. The scholarship application can be submitted when applying for a DU program online. The application should also be accompanied by a video where the student must explain why getting a scholarship is necessary for him or her. 

The Program Directors and the Marketing and Communication Office of the university work together to decide whether or not a candidate will be granted the scholarship. Factors considered during the process include merit of the motivational statement, academic performance, work experience, etc. 

Students receiving the scholarship must complete 20 credits or more during each semester to remain eligible for the same. 

Dalarna University Placements    

Students must contact DU’s International Student Recruitment Office to know about their job prospects upon completing the course. Those who want to work in Sweden must apply for an extension of their residence permit (it can be extended by six months), which will give them the required time to look for suitable employment. Learning the local language is also important for them.

Other Universities in Finland that you might be interested are as follows,

• Lund University
• Uppsala University
• Karolinska Institute
• Stockholm University
• University of Gothenburg
• Chalmers University of Technology
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology
• Linkoping University
• Umea University
• Lulea University of Technology
• Linnaeus University
• Orebro University
• Malmo University
• Mid Sweden University
• Blekinge Institute of Technology
• Karlstad University