Södertörns högskola

About Södertörns högskola

Södertörn University is a relatively young Swedish institution with a broad academic remit. Founded in 1996, it was given a particular role in strengthening knowledge about the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe. That regional perspective remains visible in its research environment, including the Baltic and East European Graduate School, but the institution’s work now spans a substantially wider range of social, cultural, environmental and technological questions. The university is organized into academic schools covering historical and contemporary studies; culture and education; social sciences; natural sciences, technology and environmental studies; and police sciences. Its official 2025 figures report 13,500 students, 7,361 full-time-equivalent students, 860 employees, 82 professors, 105 employed doctoral students, 79 programmes and around 313 freestanding courses. These figures suggest a sizeable institution while still being smaller than Sweden’s largest comprehensive universities. Södertörn is part of Campus Flemingsberg, a multi-institution setting that also includes organizations such as Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the Swedish Red Cross University. This gives students access to an academic district rather than an isolated campus. The university’s own profile emphasizes multidisciplinary and intercultural education and research, especially in contemporary societal questions. Applicants should nevertheless evaluate the exact curriculum, teaching language, delivery mode and start term of their chosen programme; the institution-wide profile does not mean every subject or course is available in English or every semester.

Independent applicants apply through Sweden’s centralized UniversityAdmissions.se platform and should not send an application or supporting documents directly to Södertörn unless instructed otherwise. Exchange students follow a separate nomination and application process. Every programme has its own eligibility and selection information, so applicants must check the live programme page and the centralized application listing rather than relying on institution-wide assumptions. For international applicants, the first autumn admissions round generally opens in mid-October and closes in mid-January. Södertörn recommends this round particularly for applicants outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland who may need time to pay fees, arrange housing and obtain a residence permit. The later national round is primarily oriented toward applicants living in Sweden and EU/EEA citizens; the university warns that applicants needing a residence permit generally will not have enough time if admitted through that round. Exact dates can change and must be confirmed on UniversityAdmissions.se for the intended semester. Master’s applicants generally need a completed bachelor’s degree and must satisfy the programme’s specific academic and English-language requirements. Bachelor’s requirements, required prior subjects and selection methods likewise vary by programme and applicant’s educational background. Admission to one programme does not imply eligibility for another. Applicants should also verify whether their intended option is taught in English or Swedish, delivered on campus or at a distance, and open to their applicant category for the selected 2026 or 2027 intake.

Södertörn offers first-cycle, second-cycle and doctoral-level education. Its current programme finder covers bachelor’s and master’s programmes as well as freestanding undergraduate and graduate courses, with filters for start term, subject, campus or distance delivery, study pace and applicant group. In the Swedish credit system, one full-time semester equals 30 higher-education credits. Students comparing options should use the current listing because availability and language can differ by term. The academic range includes business studies, economics, environmental science, journalism, law, media and communication, political science, psychology, public administration, social work, sociology, tourism, history, literature, gender studies, religious studies and several related fields. English-language master’s options listed for autumn 2026 include programmes in economics; environment, sustainability and global development; European legal studies; infectious disease control; journalism; media, communication and cultural analysis; political science; and user experience and interactive media design. This is illustrative rather than a guarantee of future intake, so applicants should confirm the live programme page before applying. The university’s research and education often cross traditional subject boundaries. Its four broad academic schools and School of Police Sciences manage subjects, programmes and research environments, while research centres bring together work that intersects disciplines. Doctoral education is available only within authorized research areas and should not be inferred from the existence of a related master’s subject. Students can also construct some qualifications from freestanding courses, but progression and main-field requirements apply; academic and career counsellors can help students understand how courses may fit into a degree.

Key Highlights

• Founded in 1996 with a continuing research connection to the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe
• Official 2025 figures report 13,500 students, 79 programmes and around 313 freestanding courses
• Part of the multi-institution Campus Flemingsberg academic area
• Organized across humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, technology, education and police sciences

Student Life & Environment

Student life is centered on the Flemingsberg campus and its shared academic district. The SöderS students’ union is voluntary to join and provides routes into societies, student representation, events and the student pub. Union membership also includes access to benefits such as the SSSB student-housing queue. New students can use orientation information, the university’s digital services and the central Infocenter for practical questions. The university library serves as a major study space for students across Campus Flemingsberg. It provides environments ranging from silent reading areas to group-work floors, bookable group rooms and an IT lab with support software. The Study Support Unit assists with academic writing, reading, presentation skills and study techniques. Other services include disability support, university chaplaincy, study and career guidance, and access to a Student Wellbeing Centre for study-related health concerns. University-managed accommodation is restricted to specified groups, including tuition-fee-paying students, exchange students, guest researchers and doctoral students, with a minimum study load of 15 credits per semester. Housing is not offered for families, and availability is not universal. The university states that only individual fee-paying master’s students and some non-European exchange students who meet the deadline are guaranteed housing. Eligible students can consider furnished rooms at Flemingsberg Centre or Björnkulla; others should plan an independent Stockholm-area housing search early.

Location & Surroundings

The campus address is Alfred Nobels allé 7 in Flemingsberg, within Huddinge Municipality south of central Stockholm. The university states that commuter trains travel between Stockholm Central and Flemingsberg station in about 19 minutes. This makes central Stockholm accessible while placing day-to-day study in a suburban academic and healthcare district. Campus Flemingsberg brings Södertörn together with parts of Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the Swedish Red Cross University and other education providers. Huddinge Hospital is nearby, as are campus cafés and lunch restaurants. Flemingsberg Centre provides a supermarket, gym, cafés, restaurants and local shops. The station is approximately an eight-minute walk from the university-managed residence there, while the main campus is about five minutes from that housing. Students should distinguish between the municipality recorded in an address and the wider destination commonly marketed as Stockholm. Södertörn is not in Stockholm’s central neighborhoods, but public transport connects it directly to the city center. This arrangement may suit students who want metropolitan access without studying in the inner city, though commute time, late-evening transport and the location of independently rented housing should be considered before enrollment.

Costs & Career Outcomes

Tuition liability depends primarily on citizenship and legal status. Applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland generally pay Sweden’s SEK 900 application fee and will usually owe tuition unless an exemption applies; exchange students are exempt from application and tuition fees regardless of nationality. Södertörn’s official range for the 2026/2027 academic year is SEK 108,000 to SEK 162,000, depending on the programme’s discipline. Tuition does not include accommodation, food, course literature or other living expenses. Fee-paying students normally must pay the first-semester instalment before arrival. For most programmes, the university indicates a 1 June payment deadline, but the invoice contains the controlling amount and date. Failure to pay can cause the admission offer to be withdrawn. Eligible fee-paying applicants to a one- or two-year master’s programme who rank Södertörn first may apply for the university tuition-fee waiver. It covers 90% of tuition, not living costs. The 2026/2027 scholarship round is closed; the university says applications for 2027/2028 will open in autumn 2026. For spring 2026, university-managed housing cost approximately SEK 28,500 per semester at Björnkulla, SEK 36,000–38,200 for a single Flemingsberg Centre studio, or about SEK 20,500–21,000 per person for a shared studio. These are dated housing figures and may rise annually. Career support includes confidential guidance and the SH Karriär portal, where students can find jobs, internships and thesis projects, attend career events and access application advice. The university publishes no general graduate salary or placement rate on the sources reviewed, so career outcomes should be assessed by field rather than inferred institution-wide.