English language requirements (2023)

Can I meet the Bachelor's requirement with my upper secondary studies?

There are many countries from which you can meet the English 6 requirement with your upper secondary studies.

Find your country of study at the required document page

Can I meet the Master's requirement with my upper secondary studies?

The English requirement for most master's programmes is the equivalent of English 6, while a few have a higher or lower requirement.

• First, find out what exactly is required at the course description page on the university's website. You can find a link in the search results or your application here at Universityadmissions.se
• Next, find out if upper secondary English from your country of study can meet the requirement. Find your country of study at the required document page

If you have previous university studies, you may meet the English 6 requirement for the course or programme you've applied to.

Can I just send in a certificate or letter from my university?

In the majority of cases, a certificate or letter cannot be accepted.

There is, however, one exception. A certificate/letter is acceptableif you have the equivalent of 60 ECTS credits with English as the language of instruction from:

• an EU/EEA country
• Switzerland
• USA
• English-speaking parts of Canada
• Jamaica
• Australia
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom

Any other certificates or letters will not be accepted.

English as language of instruction

The following meet the requirement. Please note that if you need more than one degree to meet the degree requirement (for example a 2-year Bachelor’s degree + a 2-year Master’s degree), both degrees must meet one of these requirements:

• Students with a formal university transcript or degree certificate where it's clearly stated that the language of instruction for the programme was English. The degree must be the equivalent of the Swedish kandidatexamen.
• Students with a degree that was awarded 10 years ago or less, from a university where English is the only language of instruction. The university must be listed as only providing instruction in English in the edition of theInternational Handbook of Universities/ World Higher Education Database (WHED) ortheWorld Directory of Medical Schoolsthat was current the year the degree was awarded. The degree must be the equivalent of the Swedish kandidatexamen.

The following also meet the requirement:

• Students with a degree of at least 1-year that's at a level above the Swedish kandidatexamen (for example a master’s degree), where it's clearly stated in the official university transcript or degree certificate that the language of instruction for the programme was English.
• Students with a degree of at least 1-year that's at a level above the Swedish kandidatexamen (for example a master's degree) from a university where English is the only language of instruction. The university must be listed as only providing instruction in English in the edition of the International Handbook of Universities/ World Higher Education Database (WHED) or the World Directory of Medical Schoolsthat was current the year the degree was awarded.

Please note that if you received your university degree in Bangladesh, having English as a language of instruction will not be sufficient unless the degree-awarding university is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools.

Find out more at the Bangladesh required documents page

English as the main subject

Students with a degree equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen where English is the main subject meet the English requirement.

Please note that if an applicant requires more than one degree to meet the requirement of a degree equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen (for example a 2-year bachelor’s degree + a 2-year master’s degree), both degrees must have English as the main subject.

60 credits from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland

Students with 60 ECTS credits (or the equivalent) from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland where the language of instruction of the course was English meet the English requirement. The language of instruction must be clearly stated on official documents. You can also document this by submitting a certificate/letter from your university in addition to your official study documentation.

Please note that these credits cannot be from a preparatory programme or introductory level English courses.

60 credits from other countries

Students with the equivalent of 60 ECTS credits from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, United Kingdom or English speaking parts of Canada meet the English requirement where the language of instruction is English. You can document this with your official transcript of studies.

Please note that these credits cannot be from a preparatory programme or introductory level English courses.

African countries

Students with a bachelor's degree (equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen) from the following countries meet the English requirement: Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

India and Pakistan

Students from India or Pakistan with a Bachelor's degree (equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen) in Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Applications, Medicine, Pharmacy, Natural Sciences or Technology,unless it's documented that the language of instruction for the programme was a language other than English,meet the English requirement. Please note that there are a few exceptions:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Information Technologywill notmeet the English requirement.
• A Bachelor's of Technology from Pakistan will not meet the requirement.
• A Bachelor’s degree from Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST),will not meet the English requirement unless it's clearly stated in the official degree documentation that the language of instruction was English. Any other English language certificates or letters will not be accepted.

You can demonstrate your English proficiency with an internationally recognised test. University admissions accepts a number of different tests, with minimum score requirements. We've provided the required results for the tests we currently accept as guidance.

IELTS Academic/IELTS UKVI

Please note that we do not acceptIELTS General Training or IELTS Indicator.

Academic modules

For English 7:an overall score of 7.0 and no section below 6
For English 6: an overall score of 6.5 and no section below 5.5

Submitting your IELTS test results

You can upload a scan of your originalIELTS AcademicTest Report Formhere at this website. You can also send a copy of your test results to us using regular mail.

Your results will be verified online so the copy of your test results is sufficient documentation. If your score cannot be verified, it won't be accepted.

How long are IELTS results valid?

According to IELTS, test results are valid for 2 years. Please note that University Admissions can accept older test results as long as they're available online for verification.

Contact IELTS with questions about test result availability.

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TOEFL iBT

We accept the TOEFL iBT, TOEFL iBT Home Edition and TOEFL iBT Paper Edition.

Please note that wedo not accept TOEFL ITP, TOEFL iBT MyBest, Institutional TOEFL, TOEFL Essentials, or the revised TOEFL Paper-delivered Test (available 2017-2021).

For English 7:Score of 20 (scale 0-30) in written test, total score of 100
For English 6: Score of 20 (scale 0-30) in written test, total score of 90

Please note:TOEFL Examinee Score Records are not accepted.

Submitting your TOEFL test results

Submit a copy of your test taker score to University Admissions, either by uploading a scan of the original document or through regular mail.

University Admissions will then be able to verify your score online. If your score cannot be verified, it won't be accepted. The TOEFL test can be verified for up to 2 years after the test date.

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Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments

University of Michigan, Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE) is required forEnglish 6

Submitting your Michigan test results

You can upload a scan of your original, official certificate issued by the University of Michigan here at this website. You can also send a copy of your test results to us by regular mail. Your test results will be verified online.

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Pearson PTE Academic or PTE Academic Online

For English 7:Score of 68 (writing 61)
For English 6: Score of 62 (writing 61)

Submitting your Pearson results

Please submit a copy of yourTest Taker Score Report.

Having your Pearson test results accepted requires the following steps:

• Submit a copy of your test results to University Admissions, either by uploading a scan of the original document or through regular mail. Test results from PTE Academic Online should be uploaded.
• Your test scores must be verified. Using your PTE account, assign your test result to “University Admissions in Sweden”. This will enable University Admissions to verify your test score online. Send your PTE score report to us as soon as you have your test result. University Admissions will not accept results that can’t be verified.

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University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL)

For English 7

• C2 Proficiency (CPE), minimum overall score 200 (points awarded since 2015), or
• Cambridge English: Proficiency

For English 6

• C1 Advanced (CAE), minimum overall score 180 (points awarded since 2015), or
• Cambridge English certificate level C1, minimum score 180, or
• Cambridge English: Advanced

Please note that a First Certificate in English does not meet the criteria, regardless of the result.

Submitting your Cambridge English test results

• Submit a scan of your Certificate or Statement of Results.
• Make sure you are registered at Cambridge Candidate Results Online portal so we can verify your results. Share your results with the Swedish Council for Higher Education (University Admissions in Sweden).