Aiming to make higher education in Europe a more harmonious affair, the Bologna process has been in the making since 1999. What started as political ideology was ratified when education ministers from 29 European countries, including Sweden, signed the Bologna declaration. It has since grown to become the making of an educational super state.

The first wave of reform theoretically comes into force in Sweden on July 1, but the upshot for students begins in the 2007-08 academic year. And the new architecture will bring benefits to those studying here.


Photo: Gösta Wendelius / www.imagebank.sweden.se

“One of the main advantages is the comparable degree system,” says Karin Järplid Linde from the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (Högskolverket). “It allows for increased mobility between institutions and faculties in other countries and quality assurance is also an important part.”

The current Swedish system is fairly compatible to the basic Bologna framework – a three-tier classification system of first, second and third cycles. “Structurally speaking, the changes are not that dramatic,” Järplid Linde says. “The biggest change for the next academic year is within the second cycle, at master’s level.”

Previously, Sweden offered a one-year Magisterexamen but it is now adding the two-year Masterexamen to the mix. “What’s specific about the new master’s degree is more emphasis on study in an international context,” Järplid Linde says.  “It encourages graduates to present and explain their studies from a global perspective.”


Chart explaining the new degree system. (Click on the picture for an enlarged downloadable version.)

Swedish universities have responded quickly to the changes, which were proposed by Parliament in 2005 and passed in 2006. “We are supportive of it,” says Einar Lauritzen, academic registrar at Uppsala University.

“Although, our courses are renewed annually, we have had to develop most of our master’s programmes to a far greater extent. “This level of restructuring makes higher education in Sweden more transparent. It will be much easier to cooperate with other institutions in the future and that is a positive effect of a reform this size.”

In Sweden, universities are individually responsible for implementing the directives and the country has taken a flexible approach to aid both incoming students and those in the midst of the reorganization.

“Students have the right to finalise the studies according to the old regulations up to 2015,” Lauritzen says. “Some of them will want to change to the new system and there are no real difficulties for them to do that.”

In addition, a new system of credits will be introduced, compatible with the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) – a standard for comparing performance across the continent. Master’s level studies will typically be between 90−120 credits.

“The best thing about Bologna is the grading system,” says Bilal Khalid from Pakistan, a Master’s student in Wireless Systems at KTH ((Royal Institute of Technology) in Stockholm. “Other universities have had difficulties in assessing the grading structure but now this won’t be a problem.”


Photo: Petter Johansson / www.imagebank.sweden.se

Oluwakemi Abiola, from Nigeria, agrees. Abiola is currently studying for her Masters in ICT Entrepreneurship at KTH, and has the option to extend her course to two years, in line with the new changes. “If I want to study further in the UK or Spain, for example, I don’t have to have my qualifications assessed independently,” she says. “That’s an advantage which makes it worth considering extending my course.”

The biggest implications at the moment involve those currently in the midst of their studies. “There have been some issues around practicalities but it will be much easier for new students,” Abiola says. “And I know that five years down the line I will probably need a qualification that conforms to Bologna.”

It’s fair to say that, as a whole, the Bologna process has been a long one. But Sweden is attempting to make this giant leap of educational reform a much smaller step for its students.

More information about the Bologna process and the new degree system is available here.

Christine Demsteader

Christine Demsteader is a freelance writer from England and has been living in Sweden since 2002.