Course selection
At Swedish universities, students usually study only one or two courses intensively at a time, followed by an exam for each course (consecutive scheduling), instead of studying several different courses simultaneously with a midterm and final exam for each course at the end of the term (parallel scheduling).
At universities in Sweden there is no drop/add period at the beginning of the semester. However, it is possible to change courses upon arrival provided that the courses you want to change to have places available and have not yet started.
Grades and credits
Examinations
All courses include written or oral examinations. As a rule, there are no final exams covering the entire semester’s coursework (i.e., grouping the modules together when enrolled in a 30-credit course) or covering an entire study program.
Grading scales
Linnaeus University uses four different grading scales, and the faculty responsible for each course decides which grading scale to use. Therefore, a list of your completed courses may contain a number of different grading scales.
All grades at Linnaeus University are goal-related; that is, a student’s performance is assessed based on the objectives stated in the course syllabus. A goal-related grade does not indicate how well a student has performed in relation to other students, but instead to what extent the student has fulfilled the course objectives.
The grading scales used at Linnaeus University are listed below and arranged in order of precedence, from the highest to lowest grade.
- Pass–Fail: This grading scale is used at most faculties primarily for courses that are part of contract educations and courses of practical/aesthetic nature.
- Pass with distinction–Pass–Fail: The traditional grading scale at Swedish universities. This scale is mainly used at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
- Five–Four–Three–Fail: Used for most courses and programs offered at the Faculty of Technology. This grading scale is in use at most engineering faculties in Sweden.
- A–B–C–D–E–F (fail): Introduced in 2016 for all courses offered to international students. The School of Business and Economics uses this grading scale for the majority of its courses. The A–F grading scale assess students with the grades A, B, C, D, E, Fx or F. In order to pass the course, students need to meet the expected learning outcomes, which are stated in respective course syllabuses. The grade A constitutes the highest grade on the scale and the remaining grades follow in descending order, where the grade E is the lowest grade on the scale that will result in a pass. The grade F means that the student’s performance is assessed as failed. Fx is not a grade and is only used when a student is allowed to complement the examination. For students who do not pass the examination, retake examinations are provided in accordance with local regulations at Linnaeus University.
Credit system
At Linnaeus University, 1.5 credits represents one week of successfully completed full-time studies or 1.5 ECTS credits (approximately 0.75 U.S. semester credits). Sixty credits represents the workload of one year of full-time studies. The duration and extent of programs and courses are expressed through the credit system. One semester of full-time studies corresponds to 30 credits or 30 ECTS (approximately 15 U.S. semester credits). Individual courses are generally 7.5 credits (five-week courses in a single subject area) and run consecutively, not simultaneously. Full-time studies require 40 hours of studies (including class time and independent studies) per week.
Host university structure
Linnaeus University is one of about 40 universities and university colleges in Sweden. At the national level, the Swedish Higher Education Authority is responsible for higher education and research.
Transcripts
Upon returning, students often have to wait for their transcripts to be sent from their host universities. While this can be frustrating, there are some things you can do while abroad that make this an easier process, as well as to protect yourself from any possible discrepancies.
- Make sure you are properly registered. You should check and double-check that you are properly enrolled in the classes at your host university for which you want to earn credit. If you are not properly registered, no grade will be posted and you may not be able to earn credit for the course. If you enroll in a class and then decide to drop it, it will appear on your transcript as an incomplete, which will be translated as unsatisfactory on your MU record.
- Keep class materials. To avoid any discrepancies, it is crucial that you keep all materials related to the coursework you take at your host university. If the course has a syllabus, keep a copy of it and ensure it lists the course name, instructor’s name, department, address, phone number and email address. If there isn’t a syllabus, you should ask the instructor to give you all the above-mentioned information. It is also a good idea to get a written bibliography of the texts used in class. Keep a hard copy of all papers you write for class and, if possible, get a copy of all tests you take. If you don’t want to carry all of these documents with you on your travels, you can send them home through a trackable courier service, such as FedEx, so you are sure they arrive safely. If you are returning home as soon as your program ends, then keep these documents in your carry-on luggage to be sure they don’t get lost.
- Obtain an official transcript before returning if possible. If you are studying abroad during your last 30 hours at MU, it is in your best interest to get an official transcript of all coursework from your host university prior to your departure. It sometimes takes the university as long as five or six months to send the transcripts to Mizzou Study Abroad, which may be too late to get your credits translated and posted before the applicable graduation deadlines. Take the official transcript to your study abroad adviser in a sealed envelope so your grades can be posted to your MU record shortly after you return.