This page provides details on the main fields of study and the specific requirements you must meet to be awarded your degree.
Degree requirements
SLU awards both professional and general degrees. You can find detailed descriptions of all the degree requirements in SLU’s system of qualifications.
Professional degrees (e.g., veterinary surgeon, forester, agronomist): These require you to complete specific courses to fulfil the degree requirements. General degrees (Bachelor’s, 1-year Master’s and 2-year Master’s): These requirements primarily focus on the total number of credits earned within your main field of study at the appropriate level.
A single programme can lead to a professional degree, one or more general degrees, or both. To see which qualification(s) your specific programme leads to, check your programme syllabus on the student web.
The sections below outline the requirements for general degrees issued by SLU.
General degrees
All higher education involves courses that you can combine towards a degree. A general degree often requires a set number of credits and specialisation in a main field of study, as well as credits earned from elective courses.
Your main field of study will be your degree subject, and the title of your degree will match your main field of study (rather than the programme name). Check the programme syllabus to find out a course’s main field of study and its level.
General degrees at undergraduate and Master’s level
There are two types of undergraduate (first cycle) general degrees: the Degree of Bachelor and the Higher Education Diploma. There are also two types of Master's (second cycle) general degrees: the 60-credit and 120-credit Master’s degrees.
To be awarded a Master’s degree, you must have successfully completed a minimum of 180 credits at the undergraduate level or hold an equivalent degree from abroad.
You can either take courses included in a programme, or combine freestanding courses to make up a degree. A degree made up of freestanding courses is worth just as much as a programme-based degree. However, combining freestanding courses into a degree requires slightly more planning to ensure that you will be able to meet the qualification requirements. If you choose to compile your own degree, you can include courses from other higher education institutions. However, for certain main fields of study at SLU it won’t be possible for you to create your own degree by combining freestanding courses. Courses that have been included in first-cycle (bachelor’s) degrees cannot be included in second-cycle (master’s) degrees.
Credit transfer for general qualifications
For general qualifications, you will need to apply for a credit transfer for any courses you may have taken at a higher education institution abroad. You do not need to apply for a credit transfer for courses taken at Swedish higher education institutions. Read more about credit transfer here.
Successfully completed courses totalling 180 credits, of which 90 must met the following requirements:
a minimum of 60 credits from courses in the main field of study at levels G1N and G1F;
a minimum of 15 credits from courses with specialised study in the main field at G2F level;
a minimum of 15 credits from an independent project (independent/degree project) in the main field of study at G2E level;
a maximum of 30 credits may be accounted for by approved courses at second-cycle level.
All courses included in a degree must be at university level, have been successfully completed and may not overlap/have similar content.
More information about degree requirements can be found in SLU's system of qualifications (in Swedish language).
Course subject area and level
Course syllabuses provide information about a course’s subject area(s) and its level and specialisation, e.g., G1N or G2F. The syllabus is available from the course’s webpage which you can search for here. If you are studying on a programme, you can click the course heading on the programme’s course schedule, which you can find on the search page on the student web.
a minimum of 15 credits from courses in the main field of study at levels A1N or A1F;
a minimum of 15 credits from an independent project (independent/degree project) in the main field of study at A1E level;
a minimum of 45 credits from courses at second-cycle level.
I en magisterexamen får max 15 hp får utgöras av kurser på grundnivå, förutsatt att de inte redan ingår i den underliggande kandidatexamen.
A Degree of Master (60 credits) may contain a maximum of 15 credits from first-cycle courses (as long as they are not already included in the Degree of Bachelor).
All courses included in a degree must be at university level, have been successfully completed and may not overlap/have similar content.
To be eligible for the Degree of Master (60 credits), the candidate must have successfully completed a Degree of Bachelor or equivalent.
More information about degree requirements can be found in SLU's system of qualifications (in Swedish).
a minimum of 30 credits from courses in the main field of study at levels A1N and A1F;
a minimum of 30 credits from an independent project (independent/degree project) in the main field of study at A2E level;
a minimum of 90 credits from courses at second-cycle level.
A Degree of Master (120 credits) may contain a maximum of 30 credits from first-cycle courses (as long as they are not already included in the Degree of Bachelor).
All courses included in a degree must be at university level, have been successfully completed and may not overlap/have similar content.
To be eligible for the Degree of Master (120 credits), the candidate must have successfully completed a Degree of Bachelor or equivalent.
Course subject area and level
Course syllabuses provide information about a course’s subject area(s) and its level and specialisation, e.g., G1N or G2F. The syllabus is available from the course’s webpage which you can search for here. If you are studying on a programme, you can click the course heading on the programme’s course schedule, which you can find on the search page on the student web.
More information about degree requirements can be found in SLU's system of qualifications (in Swedish language).
Subject area and level
Course syllabuses provide information about a course’s subject area(s) and its level and specialisation, e.g., G1N or G2F. You can find the syllabuses on the course search page.
If you are studying on a degree programme, click the course name in the programme plan, which you can find on the programme page on the student web.
G1N: First cycle, only upper-secondary level entry requirements
G1F: First cycle, less than 60 credits from first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
G2F: First cycle, at least 60 credits in first-cycle courses as entry requirements
G2E: First cycle, at least 60 credits in first-cycle courses as entry requirements, contains a degree project for the Degree of Bachelor
A1N: Second cycle, only first-cycle course/s as entry requirements – at SLU, a minimum of 120 credits at first-cycle level is required
A1F: Second cycle, second-cycle course/s as entry requirements
A1E: Second cycle, contains degree project for the Degree of Master (60 credits)
A2E: Second cycle, contains degree project for the Degree of Master (120 credits)
GXX: First cycle, in-depth level cannot be classified
AXX: Second cycle, in-depth level cannot be classified