More Umeå University applicants – 5.3 per cent increase

Applications for this autumn semester closed on 15 April for students from Sweden and Europe, and the numbers show a huge interest in university studies in Sweden right now. In total, 405,552 people in Sweden have submitted at least one application, which is an 8 per cent increase compared to last year.  

Applications to Umeå University increased by 5.3 per cent from 68,371 for autumn 2023 to 72,004 for autumn 2024. Last year, applications had decreased by 0.8 per cent compared to 2022.  

Cathrine Norberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University.

ImageMattias Pettersson

“Seeing that interest in higher education studies is increasing both nationally and at Umeå University indicates a positive trend, even if our increase falls short of the national average. We’re pleased that as many as 72,000 prospective students have applied to our courses and degree programmes, and that we maintain our position as the fifth largest university in Sweden,” says Cathrine Norberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Education at Umeå University. 

In a report, the Swedish Council for Higher Education state that a worsened situation on the job market and a student finance initiative aimed at workers to transition and retrain, will result in increased numbers of people choosing higher education in the upcoming years.

Health care administration attracts 

The Programme in Health Care Administration is the degree programme with the highest number of first-choice applicants. This is a distance-based programme aimed at health care administration in regional health authorities and municipalities and with private care providers. The programme has peaked for several years now.

“I’m pleased that the number of applicants per place continues to be high this year too. That shows how sought-after the programme is, but also indicates that distance education is in demand and that interest for this type of education has increased since the pandemic,” says Jonatan Svanlund, programme coordinator for the Programme in Health Care Administration. He continues:  

“Administrative staff in the health and medical care sector continue to be in high demand, which is evident from the numbers of students who find a job after their studies. Our ambition with this programme is also to provide our students with breadth and information spanning the entire sector that we hope will prepare them for their working lives to come.” 

Counting the total number of applicants, the Medical Programme takes the lead, followed by the degree programmes in law, psychology and social work (distance education), with the Programme in Health Care Administration on fifth place. 

The number of applicants to Umeå University for the 2024 autumn semester has increased, compared to last year.

ImageMattias Pettersson

Positive interest in health care professions  

In top ten on total number of applicants, the programmes in business and economics, architecture, nursing, and study and career guidance (distance education) can also be found together with the Umeå-based programme in social work. Cathrine Norberg and Jonatan Svanlund are encouraged by the high number of applicants to health sciences programmes.  

“Health and medical care is in dire need of staff, and universities play an important role in providing the labour market with the desired expertise. Particularly considering the current and future societal transformation in the north of Sweden, we need to ensure that our society is well-equipped for a growing population in all aspects,” says Cathrine Norberg.

Admission decisions are available from 11 July.

For further details, all application data is available on the Swedish Council for Higher Education’s website.