Stockholm University (SU) () is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, it is one of the largest universities in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Stockholm University was granted university status in 1960, making it the fourth oldest Swedish university. As with other public universities in Sweden, Stockholm University's mission includes teaching and research anchored in society at large.

History

The initiative for the formation of Stockholm University was taken by the Stockholm City Council. The process was completed after a decision in December 1865 regarding the establishment of a fund and a committee to "establish a higher education institution in the capital".Thomasson, Carl-Gustaf, Stockholms högskolas matrikel 1878–1887. Stockholm 1969, sid. 52 The nine members of the committee were respected and prominent citizens whose work had helped the evolution of science and society.Engström, Eric, Stockholms högskolas gynnare. Givare och donatorer under högskolans uppbyggnadsskede. Uppsats, pedagogiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet (årtal?) The next important step was taken in October 1869, when the Stockholm University College Association was established.Nordisk familjebok, Uggleupplagan 27, Stockholm Nynäs järnväg – Syrsor: Stockholms högskola, 1918 Several members of the committee became members of the association – including Professor Pehr Henrik Malmsten.Svensk Uppslagsbok: Stockholms högskola, Baltiska förlaget A.-B., Lund: 1929 The association's mission was to establish a college in Stockholm and would "not be dissolved until the college came into being and its future could be considered secure." The memorandum of the Stockholm University College was adopted in May 1877, and in the autumn semester of the following year, actual operations began. In 1878, the

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

''Stockholms högskola'' started its operations with a series of lectures on natural sciences, open to curious citizens (a tradition still upheld by yearly publicly open lectures). Notable in the university's early history is the appointment of Sofia Kovalevskaya to hold a chair in the mathematics department in 1889, making her the third female professor in Europe. In 1904 the college became an official degree-granting institution. In 1960, the college was granted university status, becoming Sweden's fourth state university. The university premises were situated in central Stockholm at ''Observatorielunden'' but increased enrollment resulted in a lack of space, which required the university campus to be shifted to a bigger facility. Since 1970 most of the university operations are located at the main campus at Frescati north of the city center, the former Experimentalfältet, previously used by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

Organisation

Stockholm University is a state agency and is governed by decisions taken by the government and parliament. The university has the right, within the limits the government provides, to decide on many issues such as their internal organization, educational provision and the admission of students.

Intra-university bodies

* ''The University Board ''is the university's highest governing body. The board is responsible for the university's mission as a government agency and for following the requirements of laws and regulations. The board reports to the government. It consists of eight external members (including the chairman and vice-chairman), four business representatives from the university with two group deputies and three student representatives (one graduate student representative) with one deputy. The University Board is above the rector who is the head of the agency and has operational responsibility for all operations. The rector has a pro rector to replace him/her if necessary. * There are two area boards at the university, the ''Area board of science'' and the ''Area board of humanities, law and social sciences''. They are headed by a ''vice rector''. The area boards are responsible for strategic planning of education and research, coordination of faculty teaching, research and internal and external collaboration. * After the area boards, the ''faculty boards'' are the highest decision-making bodies at the faculty level. The faculty boards consists of the dean, the assistant dean, other business representatives and student representatives. The deans are appointed by the president after proposal by choice within the faculty. * After faculties, decisions are taken at the departmental level, where each department has a department head who manages and makes decisions together with the ''departmental board''. * The ''University administration'' is the preparation and service organization for the University Board, rector and other decision-making bodies, and it is led by the executive director. The university administration has a number of units, for example, finance department, IT department, HR department and the student section. There are also units for strategy, planning and communications. * The ''Executive Director'' is the most senior official at Stockholm University and decides on matters including the university administration's organization and finances.

International collaboration

The university is an active member of the

University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...

. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region. The university also participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.

Departments, institutes and centers

Education and research at Stockholm University is carried out within the natural sciences and the humanities/social sciences. Within these fields, there are four faculties with 56 departments, institutes and centers within the humanities, law, natural sciences and social sciences. Research and training also takes place at a number of centers and institutes with a separate governing board, but that organisationally belong to a department.

Courses and programmes

Stockholm University offers courses at both undergraduate and advanced level. There are 190 study programmes in total, including 75 master's programmes taught in English, and 1,700 courses to choose from within human science and science. Students can choose between studying one or more free-standing courses, that each may last between five weeks and one semester, or apply for a full study programme. Stockholm university offers 4 Bachelor Programmes taught in English, which are the Bachelor´s Programme in Business, Ethics and Sustainability; Bachelor Programme in Latin America Studies; Bachelor´s Programme in International Business and Politics and the Bachelor´s Programme in Earth Science, Distance Learning. Besides the programmes themselves, the university also offers opportunities for foreign exchange studies during the third year of a bachelor's degree programme. The university has cooperative agreements with more than 100 universities worldwide.

Research

The university's researchers engage in governmental investigations, are active in the media, provide responses to proposed legislation and are included in several Nobel committees and international expert bodies.

Field stations

;Askö Laboratory Stockholm University Marine Research center (SMF) provides "Askö Laboratory", where Research on ecosystems, ecology and the impact of human interference is carried out. The field station was built in 1961 by Professor Lars Silén, Head of the Department of Zoology, and is now established as a renowned marine research center.Facts Askölaboratoriet
;Tarfala Tarfala research station belongs to the Department of Physical Geography. The station is located 1135 meters above sea level in Tarfaladalen, on the east side of Kebnekaise in arctic / alpine surroundings and conducts glaciological, hydrological, meteorological and climatological research. The station has the capacity to accommodate groups of up to 25 people and the staff consists of 2–5 people. ;Tovetorp Tovetorp Zoological Research Station belongs to the Department of Zoology, and is located about 95 km southwest of Stockholm. It conducts research and training activities in ecology and ethology. Every year Tovetorp is visited by up to 600 students who live and study between 2–10 days on the station. On the research side, over 20 people work today with different research projects. The number of employees are currently 6 people.Tovetorp research station: startpage (in swedish)

Student unions

Prior to 2008, Stockholm University had only one student union called

Stockholm University Student Union The Stockholm University Student Union (SUS) () is one of Sweden's largest student organisation, with about 10,000 members as of November 2024. Stockholm University Student Union was founded in 1883. Purpose The purpose clause of Stockholm Univers ...

''(Stockholm universitets studentkår, SUS)''. However, since 2008 the computer and system science students and the teacher students have their own, independent, student unions called DISK and "The Teacher's College's Student Union" ''(Lärarhögskolans studentkår)''. The law students also have their own student union, as do journalism students (''Studentkåren vid JMK''). The future of the Teacher's College's Student Union is however not entirely safe, as Stockholm University's Student Union has declared it will begin talks with the Teacher's College's Student Union on transferring its members to it, as it already has a teacher's division. In contrast to common belief, DISK is not an abbreviation.

Rankings

In the

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

2020, an annual publication of university rankings by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy/

, Stockholm University was placed as the 69th overall best university worldwide. The

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

(THE) World University Rankings 2018 listed Stockholm University at position 134 on the list of the world's top universities. Times Higher Education World University Rankings are annual university rankings published by British Times Higher Education (THE) magazine. In the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

, Stockholm University was ranked 148 overall in the world in 2021. Its subject rankings were: 23rd in Environmental Sciences, 37th in Sociology, 98th in Natural Sciences, 132nd in Arts & Humanities, 238th in Life Sciences & Medicine, 297th in Engineering and Technology, and 175th in Social Sciences and Management. In the U.S. News & World Report Rankings, Stockholm University was ranked 114 overall in the world in 2021, 4 in Sweden and 43 within Europe. In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2022, Stockholm University was placed at 343 on the list of universities in the world.

Campus

The main part of Stockholm University is in the Frescati area, which extends from the

Bergius Botanical Garden Bergius is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Friedrich Bergius (1884–1949), German chemist * Jere Bergius (born 1987), Finnish pole vaulter * Karl Heinrich Bergius (1790–1818), Prussian botanist, naturalist, cavalryman and p ...

in the north to Sveaplan in the south. It is located in the world's first national urban park and the area is characterized by nature, architecture and modern art, featuring such notable buildings as the Aula Magna (auditorium). Within Frescati, the areas Albano, the

, Frescati Backe, Frescati Hage, Kräftriket, Lilla Frescati and Sveaplan are located. The names of many of these areas have a history dating back to the late 1700s. After Gustav III's trip to Italy in 1783–84, several places at

Brunnsviken Brunnsviken (literally ''The Bay of Wells'') is a by brackish lake in Sweden located on the boundary between Solna Municipality and Stockholm Municipality, connecting to Lilla Värtan through Ålkistan. It has a perimeter of . Around Brunnsvi ...

were given Italian names. Stockholm University has another campus in

Kista Kista ( is a district in the borough of Rinkeby-Kista, Stockholm, Sweden. It has a strategic position located in between Sweden's main airport, the Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport and central Stockholm, and alongside the main nationa ...

, which houses the Department of computer and systems sciences.

Public transportation to Stockholm University

There are many ways to get to Stockholm University. The main campus Frescati is located near the underground railway station

Universitetet metro station Universitetet ("the University") is a Metro station in the Frescati area, close to Stockholm University ''(Stockholms universitet)'', and the Museum of Natural History. It was opened on 12 January 1975 as the northern terminus of the extension ...

, on the red line of the Stockholm Metro. The commuter train line

Roslagsbanan Roslagsbanan () is a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge commuter railway system in Roslagen, Stockholm County, Sweden. Its combined route length is and there are 38 stations. It is built to the Swedish three foot gauge railways, Swedish three fo ...

also stop close to the main campus, at

Universitetet railway station Universitetet (Swedish: "the university") is a railway station in Stockholm along the Roslagsbanan, named for nearby Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, fo ...

. SL buses 50, 540, 608, 624C, 628C, 639, 670 676, 680, 690, 691, 696 and 699 can also be used to get to the campus. The Computer Science campus, Kista, also is close to an underground station called

. It is also located close to the pendeltåg station Helenelund, only one or two stops (depending on bus line) from the bus station Torsnäsgatan located next to the campus area.

Notable people

Academics

* Sofja Kovalevskaja, mathematician, first female professor of mathematics in Europe * Karl-Olov Arnstberg, former professor of ethology *

Svante Arrhenius Svante August Arrhenius ( , ; 19 February 1859 – 2 October 1927) was a Swedish scientist. Originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. In 1903, he received ...

, 1903

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

* Hans von Euler-Chelpin, 1929

George de Hevesy George Charles de Hevesy (born György Bischitz; ; ; 1 August 1885 – 5 July 1966) was a Hungarian radiochemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, recognized in 1943 for his key role in the development of radioactive tracers to study ch ...

, 1943

Paul Crutzen Paul Jozef Crutzen (; 3 December 1933 – 28 January 2021) was a Dutch meteorologist and atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric chemist. In 1995, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland, Frank Sherw ...

, 1995

Frank Wilczek Frank Anthony Wilczek ( or ; born May 15, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist, mathematician and Nobel laureate. He is the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Founding Director ...

, 2004

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

and a professor of physics *

Tomas Tranströmer Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long winters in Sweden, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer' ...

, 2011

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money an ...

, economist, sociologist and politician. Received the

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...

in 1974 * Hans Bielenstein,

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

* Bert Bolin,

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

, first chairman of the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

(IPCC) * Meemann Chang,

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

* Sara Danius, professor in literature, member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

* Horace Engdahl, former permanent secretary of the

* Harry Flam, economist, dean of the School of Business *

Christer Fuglesang Arne Christer Fuglesang (born 18 March 1957) is a Swedish physicist and an ESA astronaut. He was first launched aboard the STS-116 Space Shuttle mission on 10 December 2006, making him the first Swedish citizen in space. Married with three child ...

, astronaut, first Swede and Scandinavian in space * Gunnar von Heijne, professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics * Sven Hessle, professor in social work *

Oskar Klein Oskar Benjamin Klein (; 15 September 1894 – 5 February 1977) was a Swedish theoretical physics, theoretical physicist. Oskar Klein is known for his work on Kaluza–Klein theory, which is partially named after him. Biography Klein was born ...

, professor in physics * Thorsten Mauritsen, Danish climate scientist * Johan Rockström, professor of environmental science * Carl-Gustav Rossby, meteorologist * Velta Ruke-Dravina (1917–2003), Latvian-born Swedish linguist, folklorist, professor * Ebba Witt-Brattström, professor in literature * Carl-Herman Tillhagen, folklorist * Lucas Gottzén, professor of child and youth studies

Alumni

; Business * Mia Brunell, CEO Kinnevik. * Annika Falkengren, CEO SEB. * Johan Stael von Holstein, Swedish entrepreneur. * Peter Wallenberg Swedish business leader * Göran Bronner CFO Swedbank. * Torbjörn Törnqvist CEO Gunvor. ; Politics and society *

Hans Blix Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979) and later became the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Blix wa ...

(LLD), diplomat. *

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing as its lead candidate in four general elections, b ...

, Prime Minister of Sweden 1991–1994, and Foreign Minister 2006–2014. * Thomas Bodström, former Swedish

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. *

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

(Doctorate in Economics 1933), U.N. Secretary General. * Elinor Hammarskjöld, lawyer and diplomat. * Karin Kock-Lindberg, first woman to hold a Ministerial position in Sweden, and first female professor of national economy in Sweden. * Princess Madeleine of Sweden, studied

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

and

Ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

. * Mahoma Mwakipunda Mwaungulu,

Malawian Demographic features of the population of Malawi include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Region distribution Northern regio ...

freedom fighter and member of

Hastings Banda Hastings Kamuzu Banda ( – 25 November 1997) was a Malawian politician and statesman who served as the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister of Malawi, Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was ...

's first cabinet as Economic Advisor. * Carolina Neurath, Swedish journalist and writer. * Barbro Osher, diplomat and philanthropist. *

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...

, Prime Minister of Sweden. *

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek academic and economist who founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and served three terms as Prime minister of Greece, prime minister of Third Hellenic Repu ...

, Greek prime minister. Taught at the university 1968–1969. *

Georgios Papandreou Georgios Papandreou (, ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as the prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964 ...

, Greek prime minister. Studied sociology 1972–1973. *

Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, former Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014 and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He was the last rotating Presi ...

, Prime Minister of Sweden 2006–2014. * Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden studied

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. * Sara Skyttedal, MEP for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. * Anna-Britta Hellbom,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and americanist. ;Entertainment and art * Alexander Ahndoril, author *

Daniel Birnbaum Daniel Birnbaum is a Swedish art curator and an art critic. Since 2019, he has been director and curator of Acute Art in London, UK. Early life and education Birnbaum studied at Stockholm University, Freie Universität Berlin in Germany and Col ...

, director of Moderna Museet * Dr. Alban *

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

, film director * Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, author * Aron Flam (born 1978), comedian, podcaster, and writer, and actor * Signe Hammarsten-Jansson (1882–1970), Class of 1905 – Swedish illustrator. * Jens Lapidus, criminal defense lawyer and author. * Peter Lindgren, former guitarist of

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...

Petra Mede Petra Maria Mede (; born 7 March 1970) is a Swedish comedian, dancer, actress and television presenter. Mede is known for her several roles in comic shows and as a television presenter, and is best known outside of Sweden for hosting the Eurovis ...

, comedian, TV presenter * Greg Poehler, actor, author *

André Pops André Pops (born 7 October 1972) is a Swedish television presenter and sports commentator at the Swedish television station SVT. He has presented some of Sweden's most notable sporting events and has also won awards for his achievements. Early ...

, TV presenter * Johan Rheborg, actor * Vilgot Sjöman, film director, author * Maria Lynn Ehren, Miss Universe Thailand 2017, Top 5 Miss Universe 2017 * Bilal Haq, poet and geoscientist (studied and taught at the university 1970s) ; Sportspeople *

Johan Harmenberg Johan Georg Harmenberg Åkerman (born 8 September 1954) is a Swedish Olympic and world champion épée Fencing (sport), fencer.

(born 1954), Olympic champion épée fencer

References

External links

Official website of Stockholm University

Stockholm University
{{Authority control Universities and colleges established in 1878 Universities in Sweden Buildings and structures in Stockholm 1878 establishments in Sweden

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Universities and colleges established in 1960 19th-century establishments in Stockholm