Degrees and academic credits

Degrees

The higher education system in Sweden is divided into three cycles. You will find the degree types listed below and the credits they are worth.

First cycle degrees (Undergraduate degrees):

• Higher Education Diploma: 120 ECTS credits
• Bachelor's Degree: 180 ECTS credits
• Professional Degree (the number of credits varies)

Second cycle degrees (Postgraduate/Master's):

• Master's Degree (1 year): 60 ECTS credits
• Master's Degree (2 years): 120 ECTS credits
• Professional Degree (the number of credits varies)

Third cycle degrees

• Licentiate Degree: 120 ECTS credits (similar to the UK MPhil)
• Doctoral/PhD Degree: 240 ECTS credits

Academic year

The official academic year at Lund University is divided into two semesters (autumn and spring), each lasting 20 weeks.

See the Academic Calendar

Credits

Each course or programme is measured in credits. 1 credit is equal to 1 ECTS credit (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).

• 60 ECTS credits are equal to the workload of a full-time student over one academic year (i.e. two semesters of study over 40 weeks).
• 30 ECTS credits are equal to the workload of a full-time student over half an academic year (i.e. one semester of study over 20 weeks).
• One credit is the equivalent of approximately 25–30 hours of study.

ECTS is a student-centred system for describing an educational programme or course. ECTS is being adopted throughout Europe, as part of the Bologna Process and enables studies to be easily compared for all students. The aim is to further student mobility and make recognition of achievements easier.

About ECTS on the European Commission's website

Grading system

At Lund University, there are five different grading scales. The relevant faculty board decides which grading scale is to be used for which course. This means that one degree or transcript might include courses with different grading scales.

Grading systems used at Lund University