Dalarna University

Key Highlights

• Established in 1977 and operating as a Swedish public higher-education institution.
• Teaching is distributed across Campus Falun, Campus Borlänge and online formats.
• Falun and Borlänge campuses have different subject profiles and are about 20 kilometres apart.
• The university operates doctoral education in four research areas.

Student Life & Environment

Student life is divided between Falun, Borlänge and online communities. New international students beginning on campus are encouraged to attend a Welcome Day before the semester, where they can meet classmates, current students, university support staff and representatives of Dalarna’s Student Union. The union works on educational quality and student representation while also organising clubs, activities and introductory events. Membership provides a route into both social activity and formal student influence. Facilities on both campuses include libraries, group-study rooms, open study areas, quiet rooms and places to heat or purchase food. Campus Borlänge has a public-facing library and café in its central building. Campus Falun offers library and study facilities alongside nearby sporting infrastructure, while Mediehuset supports media programmes elsewhere in Falun. Housing is arranged through external municipal housing companies rather than university-owned residence halls. Tunabyggen serves Borlänge and Kopparstaden serves Falun. The university advises students to register in the housing queues as early as possible and no later than the university application if they want the regional housing guarantee to apply. Accommodation location matters because the campuses are in different towns. Students arriving with a family are advised to contact housing providers at least four months before the semester. Online students should not assume that campus housing or on-site activities are relevant to their study format.

Location & Surroundings

Dalarna University operates in Falun and Borlänge in central Sweden. The campuses are approximately 20 kilometres apart. Direct buses connect the towns, and trains between their stations take about 15 minutes; actual door-to-door travel depends on the timetable and campus destination. Campus Borlänge is at Stationsgatan 4 in the town centre, roughly a five-minute walk from Borlänge station. Campus Falun is at Högskolegatan 2, about a 20-minute walk from Falun station. Media students may instead attend Mediehuset at Kaserngården 15. The setting combines small-town services with access to outdoor recreation. Campus Falun is beside the Lugnet sports area, which includes cross-country skiing, ski jumps and indoor sporting venues. Falun also contains the historic copper-mining landscape associated with the UNESCO-listed Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain. Campus Borlänge’s central location places shops, transport and services close to teaching facilities. The university reports a rail journey of about 2.5 hours from Borlänge to central Stockholm. Applicants should choose housing according to their programme location. Commuting between the towns is feasible, but it adds regular travel, and a programme labelled online may have no campus meetings at all.

Costs & Career Outcomes

Under Swedish rules, citizens of the EU/EEA and Switzerland and students admitted through an exchange programme are generally exempt from tuition. Other international students normally pay programme-specific fees. Dalarna University’s fee page, reviewed in July 2026, lists total tuition for its English-taught degree programmes ranging from SEK 96,000 for several one-year master’s programmes to SEK 300,000 for the two-year Data Science and Solar Energy Engineering programmes. The three-year International Tourism Management bachelor’s programme is listed at SEK 291,420. These are programme totals, not a single university-wide price, and students should verify the amount on their admission result and invoice. Tuition covers teaching, supervision, specified software, university systems and required course visits, but excludes accommodation, living expenses and course literature. Fee-paying master’s students starting in 2026 or later may qualify for the Choose Dalarna First reduction of SEK 5,000 if they meet the published ranking, application and admission conditions. Academic Excellence tuition reductions are also available to qualifying master’s students during their studies. The university does not extend these institutional scholarships to bachelor’s students. Housing costs are separate and depend on the municipal provider and property; no current universal room price was verified. Students should also budget for transport when living away from their teaching campus. Career support includes individual study and career counselling, job-search and application guidance, and information about working in Sweden. Registered students who have completed 60 credits may apply for university-supported Erasmus+ traineeship funding. Swedish-language ability can materially expand local employment options, so international students should not assume that an English-taught degree guarantees access to an English-only job market.