Högskola
Encyclopedia
A university college denotes an independent institution in Sweden
and Norway
that provides tertiary education
(Bachelor and Master degrees) and in limited cases also quaternary education (PhD). It is somewhat similar to a Fachhochschule
in the German-speaking world and to a university college
in the English-speaking world.
in English instead (for instance Malmö University and Södertörn University). The terminology may be confusing to foreigners as university colleges are not constituent colleges of another university as some may understand the word literally, but rather institutions in their own right and standing.
The Swedish term högskola and the Norwegian term høyskole/høgskole would mean "high school" in a word-by-word translation. This translation is also misleading, as these institutions provide tertiary level education, not secondary education as American high school
s do.
Some of these university colleges do aspire a lift to full university status by the Swedish or Norwegian government, and have therefore changed their translated English name to "university", although they are not a university by Swedish and Norwegian law. A full university in Sweden requires extensive own research, a breadth of academic disciplines and a licence to award doctor's degrees in all fields it teaches. In Norway, university status may be conferred to an institution offering at least four PhD programmes.
The term högskola/høyskole is also used by a number of specialised universities, especially the technical universities. Some subunits of the universities in Sweden also use of the term "högskola" to mark their status within the larger university or for traditional reasons. For instance, several engineering faculties call themselves "teknisk högskola" in Swedish, like Lunds Tekniska Högskola
and Linköpings Tekniska Högskola
which both were originally established independently of their respective universities.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
that provides tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
(Bachelor and Master degrees) and in limited cases also quaternary education (PhD). It is somewhat similar to a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
in the German-speaking world and to a university college
University college
The term "university college" is used in a number of countries to denote college institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university...
in the English-speaking world.
Sweden
The Swedish government is the only entity that can attribute university status, and it does that only to generally more research-intensive higher education institutions. However, the exact situation of Swedish university colleges varies in that respect, i.e. some of them may be engaged in substantial research and even grant doctoral degrees in a limited number of fields. The main difference between an institution with full university status and a university college lies in the larger variety of academic subjects offered at a university, and the traditional right of the university to award doctoral degrees in any field.Norway
In Norway the difference between a university and a university college is that a university offers at least four doctorate programmes; any Norwegian university college could therefore become a university. Some university colleges have evolved into institutions more or less similar to small universities in the last decades. The distinction between universities and university colleges have been gradually phased out through legislative reforms in 1995 and 2005, the two types of institutions are now governed by the same law, they have the same structure and the same obligation to provide research-based education.Translation issues
University college is the most widely used official English translation in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, although some such institutions use the term universityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in English instead (for instance Malmö University and Södertörn University). The terminology may be confusing to foreigners as university colleges are not constituent colleges of another university as some may understand the word literally, but rather institutions in their own right and standing.
The Swedish term högskola and the Norwegian term høyskole/høgskole would mean "high school" in a word-by-word translation. This translation is also misleading, as these institutions provide tertiary level education, not secondary education as American high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s do.
Some of these university colleges do aspire a lift to full university status by the Swedish or Norwegian government, and have therefore changed their translated English name to "university", although they are not a university by Swedish and Norwegian law. A full university in Sweden requires extensive own research, a breadth of academic disciplines and a licence to award doctor's degrees in all fields it teaches. In Norway, university status may be conferred to an institution offering at least four PhD programmes.
The term högskola/høyskole is also used by a number of specialised universities, especially the technical universities. Some subunits of the universities in Sweden also use of the term "högskola" to mark their status within the larger university or for traditional reasons. For instance, several engineering faculties call themselves "teknisk högskola" in Swedish, like Lunds Tekniska Högskola
Lund Institute of Technology
The Faculty of Engineering is one of the eight faculties at Lund University in Lund, Sweden, commonly called LTH . LTH was originally established as an independent institute in 1961, but was incorporated in Lund University as a faculty in 1969...
and Linköpings Tekniska Högskola
Linköping Institute of Technology
The Institute of Technology at Linköping University or Linköpings tekniska högskola is the faculty of science and engineering of Linköping University, located in Linköping and Norrköping in Sweden. Since its start in 1969 LiTH has had close ties with the Swedish transport and electronics industry...
which both were originally established independently of their respective universities.
See also
- Education in SwedenEducation in SwedenEducation in Sweden is mandatory for all children from year 1 to year 9 - generally from the year of the child’s seventh birthday to the year of the child’s 16th...
- List of universities in Sweden
- Higher education in NorwayHigher education in NorwayHigher education in Norway is offered by a range of eight universities, nine specialised universities, 24 university colleges as well as a range of private university colleges...
- HochschuleHochschuleHochschule is a German term with two meanings.The literal meaning of the word Hochschule is “high school” which is not appropriate as a translation.- Generic term :...
- University collegeUniversity collegeThe term "university college" is used in a number of countries to denote college institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university...