In the 2010 Budget Bill, the Government proposes that foreign students wishing to study in Sweden should pay fees.
"Sweden is currently one of few countries in the world that does not charge foreign students fees. Swedish students who wish to study abroad have to pay. It is not reasonable to expect Swedish taxpayers to sponsor foreign students’ studies. This undermines the financing of Sweden’s higher education institutions," says Minister for Higher Education and Research Tobias Krantz.
The proposal means that foreign students (from countries outside the European Economic Area) will pay for their studies starting in the autumn term of 2011. The universities and higher education institutions themselves will decide how much to charge.
"Education has become a global market. Students can choose between higher education institutions the world over. I think that Sweden should compete in this market by having higher education institutions of high quality, not by offering a free education," says Mr Krantz.
The introduction of fees will be combined with a grant system. The Government intends to present a special bill later on in the autumn with all the details.
The following highlight the requirements for studying in Germany at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level as set out by DAAD.
Depending on the degree programme and university in question, additional requirements may also be demanded. So please inform yourself as early as possible – in fact, it's best to do so one year before you plan to start studying – by contacting the university of your choice. The Student Registration Offices and the International Offices will be pleased to help and assist you.
Possibly, proof of having passed a university entrance exam in your home country,
Possibly, proof of any academic years of study successfully completed in your home country,
German language proficiency (exceptions: International Degree Programmes sometimes require proof of English language proficiency; in some cases, French may also be required),
Possibly, proof of particular aptitude (aptitude tests are generally required in subjects like art, design, music and sport). Some universities meanwhile require applicants to sit general academic or scholastic aptitude tests (Eignungsfeststellungsprüfungen) for other subjects in strong demand or plan to introduce such tests.
For graduates and postgraduates:
If you have already graduated from a study programme in your home country, you will generally also be able to study in Germany. But please remember that not every foreign academic degree automatically qualifies the holder to take up a course of postgraduate studies. For example, Bachelor's degrees gained abroad are sometimes only recognised as an intermediate qualification in Germany known as Zwischenprüfung or Vorprüfung. Before you apply for admission to a postgraduate programme (for example a Master's or Diplom), please find out how you will be placed in the corresponding programme. Recognition of your previous academic and examination achievements and credits is an important factor in this respect. In most cases, the secretariat of your future faculty at your chosen university will be responsible for this. You have to send the full set of your study documents (credits, transcripts, certificates, etc.) there for these to be checked. Please make sure that you contact the International Office in advance to find out who is responsible for you.
For doctoral students and candidates (Finding an academic supervisor for your dissertation):
Before you apply for admission to a doctoral or PhD programme, you must find an academic supervisor for your dissertation. Only professors (university teachers) are allowed to supervise dissertations. When looking for a supervisor, you will find that scientific publications, lectures, or the contacts that your former university teachers may have can be very helpful. Another good option is to find out which German universities offer doctoral programmes in your subject area. For example, more and more universities are offering interesting doctoral programmes and Graduate Schools for doctoral candidates.
Recognition of previous academic and examination achievements/credits:
Once you have found a suitable university, it's best to contact the dean of the faculty that is (or will be) responsible for you. Add a synopsis of your doctoral project to your covering letter, plus a description of your previous experience in the research field and your curriculum vitae. Recognition of your previous academic and examination achievements and credits is decisive for your admission to the doctoral programme. Whether you are admitted to such a programme is decided by the relevant Doctoral Commission at your chosen university. You may possibly be admitted subject to the condition that must subsequently submit certain additional certificates or qualifications (for example, a German language proficiency certificate, certificates for subject-specific courses) parallel to doing your doctorate.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs suspects that the HAMK University of Applied Sciences in Hämeenlinna has not sufficiently examined the skills and motivation of 130 African students recruited for the school in a late application process in the late summer. Large numbers of West Africans have applied for other Finnish educational institutions in the summer.
More than half of the residence permit applications handled at the Finnish Embassy in Nigeria in June and July were seen to include forged documents. Most of the applicants were from Nigeria and Ghana, but some were also from Cameroon and Gambia.
Engineering students from Ghana and Nigeria were sought for HAMK in an additional application process, because four of the school’s five English language technology programmes were left almost empty in the application process in the spring. “How have the qualifications and motivation of these students been checked?” asks Vesa Häkkinen of the ministry’s passports and visas department.
Applicants in the new round included a few Finns, a number of Nepalese and Chinese, and a large number of Nigerians and Ghanaians, says Leena Luoma, chief of student services at HAMK. Applicants who appeared to meet the requirements, based on the copies of their school certificates that they had submitted. Entrance examinations were organised in China, Nepal, and Ghana. In Ghana, there were 180 applicants taking part in the exam, of whom 130 were accepted. Now these 130 are applying for residence permits at the Finnish Embassy in Nigeria.
Earlier in the spring, the Embassy in Abudja had granted residence permits to 150 students who had applied to various institutions in Finland. “Not all of the 130 will be getting permission to enter the country. One of the reasons is that some of the applications have proven to be forgeries, and we don’t even have that many opening vacancies”, Luoma says.
The Foreign Ministry says that forging certificates is so common in these African countries, that the ministry suspects that the primary motivation of the applicants is to get a residence permit for the Schengen countries. “We have no way to ascertain the authenticity of the degree certificate before the students have come here”, Luoma says. Nigeria has been a leading country for applicants for several years. Luoma says that forged papers have been isolated matters, and that students have generally been successful in their studies. “Africans, Nepalese, and other foreigners have been very good students”, says HAMK Director Veijo Hintsanen. “A much bigger problem than falsified papers has been that it is difficult, especially for Africans, to get trainee positions in Finland.” HAMK has always had more foreign than Finnish applicants for its international technology programmes. Foreigners must undergo an international language test. Many already have an academic degree of some kind when they enter the engineering programme.
The Foreign Ministry also has questions about the registration fees that foreign students have been asked to pay at Finnish educational institutions. In principle, studying in Finland is free, and Finnish students are not asked to pay any fees for the privilege of taking part in an entrance exam. The fee for the exam held in Ghana was EUR 35, collected either by the school or the Embassy.
Project Chief Annika Grönholm of the Finnish National Board of Education says that it is up to the institutions themselves to decide what kinds of registration fees they want to charge. “A greater problem are the private agents operating in Nepal and Africa, who fill in applications, get copies of certificates, and charge any manner of fees from the applicants.”
