Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences:

Founded in 1977, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a public research university in Ultuna, Sweden. Its other campuses are around Sweden, like Alnarp, Skara, Umea, and Uppsala. This university is funded by Sweden’s Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation.

Their programs aim to contribute to sustainable societal development and good living conditions.

The QS World Rankings ranks the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences as the third-best university in the world for agriculture and forestry. It ranks the university 25th in the world for veterinary sciences in 2023.

The Leiden Ranking CWTS ranked this university first in Sweden for life earth sciences in 2018-2021. It also ranked the university tenth in Sweden for scientific impact from 2018-2021.

According to the Times Higher Education ranking, SLU ranks 58th among the world’s best young universities. This makes SLU the second-best young university in Sweden in 2022. As of 2020, SLU has over 3,000 full-time staff, over 4,000 full-time students, and almost 200 professors.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Highlights

SLU offers one international Bachelor’s program: Forest and Landscape. It is a three-year program taught in English. The study location of this program is in Alnarp. This undergraduate program gives in-depth knowledge to students about perspectives on the environment and its management.

SLU offers 23 programs for international students, and more about them will be given in detail below. It also provides a range of doctoral degrees for research.

What makes SLU an attractive educational destination for life science students is how sustainably-driven it is:

• Their faculties prioritize research because of which students have access to quality research infrastructure. This encourages innovative and impactful research.
• Their programs are based on science, education, and research on developing sustainable lives.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Admissions

All applications should be made through the central application portal, universityadmissions.se. They must fill out the online application form and provide documents for general eligibility and proof of citizenship. Apart from that, applicants must provide evidence of English proficiency. This can be IELTS or TOEFL scores. The documents for specific entry requirements necessary for the program must be submitted.

Undergraduate Admissions

As mentioned, SLU offers only one Bachelor’s degree in Forest and Landscape. These are the requirements.

• Mathematics should be a compulsory module in secondary education equivalent to the Swedish national curriculum.
• Social Studies is another subject that should be taught during secondary schooling.
• Other mandatory subjects are Mathematics, Biology, and Physics or Science Studies.
• Additionally, English B or equivalent is required since the medium of instruction is English.
• General documents to be submitted for Bachelor’s programs are school-grade transcripts sent directly from the school.

Postgraduate Admissions

• Mandatory documents are CV and academic transcripts.
• Most Master’s programs do not require additional documents like letters of intent or recommendation.
• Specific programs may ask for additional documents.
• Applicants must have equivalent qualifications for every program obtained using a degree from another country. Another option is having equivalent knowledge obtained in some other way, which may also be regarded as fulfilling the specific entry requirements.

Doctoral Admissions

Admission to doctoral or PhD programs depends on vacancy in that faculty. Students can check this on the ‘Jobs and Vacancies at SLU’ page.

• Applicants need a second-cycle Master’s qualification or a Master’s degree with 240 credits.
• Recognized exams are TOEFL, IELTS, and Cambridge ESOL.
• Applicants must demonstrate and prove the skillset to complete their studies.
• Supervisors will read the applicant’s degree project and previous education and judge its merit. Best-suited candidates will be called for an interview.
• Applicants need to attach copies of their previous education certificates and grades.

Eligibility Criteria

Two entry requirements exist to study bachelor’s or master’s programs at the SLU. They are the general entry requirements and the specific entry requirements.

• For Bachelor’s programs, the general entry requirements include completion of high school education. They must show their proficiency in English. Students who received their school grades after 31st Dec 2009 must conduct additional mathematical requirements.
• For Master’s programs, the general entry requirement is a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen. This degree should be from an internationally recognized university.
• For Bachelor’s programs, specific entry requirements are that the previous high school grades should be equivalent to upper secondary Swedish courses. A particular list is given to help international applicants match the equivalence of their school subject and grade.
• For Bachelor’s programs, the eligibility criteria are straightforward. The subject of the Bachelor’s degree should be related to the program they have applied for.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Programs

As mentioned before, SLU offers only one international Bachelor’s program. That is a BSc in Forest and Landscape.

SLU offers 23 Master’s programs for international students. They are:

• Agricultural Economics and Management
• Agroecology
• Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Policy Analysis
• Animal Science
• EnvEuro
• Environmental Communication and Management
• Environmental Economics and Management
• Euroforester
• Food and Landscape
• Forest and Business Management
• Forest Bioeconomy
• Forest Ecology and Sustainable Management
• Horticultural Science
• Industrial Wood Supply Management
• Landscape Architecture
• Landscape Architecture for Sustainable Urbanization
• Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being
• Plant Biology for Sustainable Production
• Rural Development and Natural Resource Management
• Soil, Water and Environment
• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Food Systems

There is a plethora of doctoral courses at SLU as well.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Accommodations

SLU has three main campuses in Sweden- Alnarp, Umea, and Uppsala. If the student is fee-paying, they are guaranteed housing after the first round of admissions. They can apply for student housing by filling out an online application.

Fee-paying students granted scholarships are also eligible for guaranteed student housing from the university.

• SLU has many accommodations and student halls on the Alnarp campus. There are also options available in Lund and Malmo. Apart from university housing, other housing agents like Lantmästarkåren, Alnarps studentkår, Lommaborgen, Lomma kommun, and Stena Fastigheter, among others.
• Many housing agents provide accommodation to students in Umea. Some of them are Bostaden and BAB Fastigheter.
• The Ultuna Student Housing Foundation provides student housing in Uppsala. They manage two areas- Gälbo and Kronåsen.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Costs

Students who are not EU/EEU residents must pay application and tuition fees. The application fee is INR 7,140, and it is non-refundable.

Course Fee

• The tuition fee for international students is around INR 11 lakh for a bachelor’s program.
• For a master’s program, the tuition fee ranges from INR 17 lakh to INR 30 lakh per annum.

Cost of Living

The cost of living begins from INR 75,000 per month.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Scholarships

SLU accepts scholarship applications for the Bachelor’s program in Forest and Landscape and all SLU Master’s programs except four Masters programs. The Swedish Institute also offers scholarships and covers tuition fees and living expenses.

Scholars are offered for students who have applied for specific Erasmus Mundus specializations within Master’s programs at SLU.

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Placements

Graduates from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences can work in multidisciplinary sectors. They are given places in essential positions in sectors and industries like:

• Economy
• Rural Areas and Development
• Biotechnology and Food
• Horticulture
• Animal Science
• Forest
• Horticulture
• Landscape and Urban Areas
• Nature and Environment
• Water Industry

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
• 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
• Dalarna University
• Jonkoping University