Application and admission

An applicant who wishes to be admitted to a course or degree programme at Lund University must apply in accordance with Lund University's application instructions. 

The application process is centralised for most higher education institutions in Sweden. Applications are submitted via Antagning.se/Universityadmissions.se. It is also possible to apply from the course/degree programme page on Lund University's website, in which case the applicant is linked directly to Antagning.se/Universityadmissions.se. 

Applicants may need to supplement the application with documentation proving fulfilment of qualifying criteria and qualifications in accordance with the instructions on Antagning.se/Universityadmissions.se and any additional instructions on the programme's page on lu.se. This applies to all applicants, including those who have studied as exchange students at Lund University.

Some qualifications are automatically retrieved in the national admissions system NyA, such as upper secondary school qualifications that are found in the national grades database (BEDA), academic qualifications in Ladok and results from the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test. 

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

Ladok

Other qualifications must be added, such as older and foreign grades, as well as other documentation proving fulfilment of qualifying criteria and qualifications.

The review and registration of qualifications from abroad are centralised at national level in the Virtual Organisation (VO), whose work is organised by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR). The VO is a collaborative body with staff from both the higher education institutions and UHR. Lund University has staff who work in the VO. 

English tests whose level corresponds to at least English 6, upper secondary school qualifications from abroad and academic degrees from abroad that correspond to a Swedish first-cycle qualification (180 credits) are registered manually in NyA by the VO/UHR.

The applicant's qualifications are then checked against the entry requirements. The verification of qualifications is largely automated through qualification models in NyA. Qualifications that the models cannot handle are processed by the Admissions Office, often with the help of staff at the departments. The departments manage entry requirements for certain courses and degree programmes on the NyA website. 

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

If more applicants are qualified for a degree programme than there places available, the applicants are assessed based on their qualifications in light of the adopted selection criteria. The selection criteria are represented by different selection groups in NyA. An applicant can compete in several selection groups at the same time for a place in one and the same degree programme.
Examples of selection groups: 

• Selection based on grades (Betygsgrupp) – includes BI (upper secondary school grades, grade group one), BII (upper secondary school grades, supplementary adult education courses, grade group two) and BF (assessment from folk high school)
• Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (HP) – results from the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test
• Credits first-cycle studies (HPGR) – number of credits, for entry to first-cycle studies
• Credits second-cycle studies (HPAV) – number of credits, admission to second-cycle studies

More information about selection criteria 

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

Selection takes place at a predetermined time for the relevant admissions round. Selection is carried out in the NyA admissions system. Some admissions rounds have a response requirement and then a second selection.
Places on a course or degree programme are allocated in the selection process based on the adopted selection criteria and the allocation of places, as well as the number of available places set on the NyA website. Applicants with the highest merit rating are admitted first. Qualified applicants who are not admitted are placed on a waiting list. 

Selection criteria and allocation of places

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

Selection results and admission notification

The results of the selection will be published in the applicants' accounts on Antagning.se/Universityadmissions.se one to two days after the selection has been finalised. An email is also sent from Antagning.se/Universityadmissions.se stating that the results are available in the applicant's account. The admission notification can also be downloaded as a PDF. The admission notification is valid documentation of the University's decision, even though it is not signed. Some applicants, primarily international students, need a signed admission notification. Please refer these enquiries to the Division of Global Engagement for processing, email degreestudies [at] lu [dot] se (degreestudies[at]lu[dot]se).

The admission notification will indicate whether the applicant has been admitted, placed on a waiting list or deleted for each application option. The reason for deletion is stated in the applicant's admission notification. Possible reasons for deletion might be that the applicant is unqualified or that the applicant has already been admitted for the maximum number of credits to an application option with higher priority. There is a response requirement in some admissions rounds. This is stated in the admission notification and application instructions. There is a maximum number of credits for which an applicant can be admitted in each admissions round and also depending on whether the applicant has applied within degree programmes. The maximum number of credits for admission is stated in Lund University's application instructions and in the programme information for application within degree programmes.

Lund University’s application instructions

Programme information for application within degree programmes (in Swedish)

When the last regular selection has been published for the applicants, information on those admitted is transferred to Ladok. As reserves from the waiting list or late applicants are accepted in NyA, they are transferred to Ladok.

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

Ladok

After the last regular selection in an admissions round, departments or faculties may admit applicants who have been placed on a waiting list, if/when vacancies arise on the course or degree programme. The applicant can see their changed status from being on a waiting list to being admitted on Antagning.se and Universityadmissions.se and will then receive a new admission notification.

Admission from a waiting list is done on the NyA website in the admission from a waiting list feature. It is possible on the NyA website to mark when admission from a waiting list is expected to begin/be concluded for a particular course or degree programme. This provides better service to applicants and results in fewer questions via email.

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

The Swedish Council for Higher Education has created instructional videos on how admissions from a waiting list work. The videos are divided into short sections so that you can easily find the exact features you may need to repeat.

Videos and text guides on admissions from a waiting list on the UHR website

An applicant who has been admitted must register for the course or degree programme for the semester admission relates to. The department is responsible for providing applicants with instructions on how to begin their studies. Anyone who does not follow these instructions will be deleted from the course or degree programme instance. 

Delete applicants who are unqualified, do not register or cancel

After the last regular selection, those admitted may be removed for three main reasons.

• An applicant can submit a cancellation themselves on Antagning.se/Universityadmissions.se. The cancellation is also transferred to Ladok.
• If someone who has been admitted does not follow the instructions on how to claim their place to start studying, the place will be lost. In this case, the department must remove the person from the course or degree programme and communicate the new decision. This is done by setting the status of the person admitted to ”uteblev” (“no-show”) in the admission from a waiting list feature on the NyA website.
• At the start of the course or degree programme, the person admitted must meet any admission requirements in order to start their studies. If the person does not meet the admission requirements by the start of the course or degree programme, the person admitted will be deleted. The faculty/department does this by setting the status of the person admitted to ”ej uppfyllt villkor” (“unqualified”) in the admission from a waiting list feature on the NyA website. Those who are deleted from the course or degree programme because they do not meet the admission requirements will be notified of the new decision on the application website. Instructions on how to appeal are also provided in the decision. 

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

Lund University closes all application possibilities after the application deadline in all admissions rounds. Late application options are only possible once the first selection is complete. For the national admissions round for the autumn semester, this date is normally 15 July and for the national admissions round for the spring semester it is normally 15 December. If 15 July/15 December falls on a public holiday, the date is changed to an adjacent weekday. The faculty management is to forward the request to the Admissions Office. Courses and degree programmes that are open for late applications must be open for at least one week. The closing date is the Tuesday of the week the course or degree programme starts, unless otherwise communicated by the faculty. 

The Admissions Office sends instructions to the contact persons at the faculties on how to give advance notification if courses and degree programmes will be open for late applications. This is done one to two weeks after the application deadline.

Late applications are processed after the final regular selection at the earliest.

Admission of late applicants refers to admission to a course or degree programme after the regular selection in the admissions round and is based on late applications. Applicants may, through late applications, be admitted for additional credits beyond those to which they have already been admitted in the same admissions round.

Late applications are processed after the final regular selection in the admissions round. Notifications are sent out to late applicants as late applications are processed. For the national admissions round for the autumn semester, the first late placements are normally made at the beginning of August and for the national admissions round for the spring semester, the first late placements are normally made at the beginning of January.

In the event of late placement, qualified applicants will be placed on a waiting list. If late applicants are to have the possibility to be admitted right away in case of late placement, the number of students that may be admitted must be specified on the NyA website. In this case, NyA will accept up to the number of qualified applicants specified. 

The email addresses of the persons who are to receive an automatic email with the results of the late placement for a particular course or degree programme can be specified on the NyA website.

It is important to monitor the courses or degree programmes that are open for late applications and close them for late applications when the places are filled.

The NyA admissions system and the NyA website

The status of applicants who contact the University regarding what they consider to be an incorrect assessment of their application must be amended immediately if a mistake has been made by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR), the Admissions Office or the department concerned. This means that the department may need to be consulted if the complainant questions the department's assessment. If the amendment is made after the selection has been finalised, the status of the applicant is to be corrected, and they are to be placed as if they had taken part in the selection. 

If the Admissions Office establishes that no error has been made, the presiding committee of the University Admissions Board is to review whether the University needs to amend its decision.

The University Admissions Board and its presiding committee

A decision can be appealed once it has been taken, that is once the selection results have been published. In this case, an appeal form with guidance and information is available in the applicant's account on antagning.se. When an applicant wants to appeal, the Admissions Office must handle the case and forward the appeal to the Higher Education Appeals Board. The Admissions Office may need to consult the faculty/department before proceeding.

There is a requirement of urgency when processing appeals. The appeal must be submitted to the Higher Education Appeals Board within one week. The University first decides whether the decision stands or the case must be corrected. In both instances, the appeal must be forwarded to the Higher Education Appeals Board. The letter of appeal, all documents on which the decision is based and a statement from the University, or the University’s decision to correct the case, are then sent to the Higher Education Appeals Board.