The spring semester 2026 can begin
At the welcome center at the Segertedts building, newly arrived students are able to pick up their keys from Uppsala university Housing office, activate their student accounts and student ID, and get answers to their questions.
Matthew, 20, arrived yesterday. He is from Australia and despite his excitement to be arrived in Uppsala the jet-lag has its impact on him.
– I didn't sleep yet, so yeah I'm a bit tired, he says.
He's doing his bachelors in international relations, and since climate change is an interest he will be studying sustainability during the spring semester here in Uppsala. As many others he has heard about the Uppsala Nations, which he is looking forward to checking out.
Matthew left an Australia in extreme heat and bush fires, and describes arriving in Sweden with snow on the ground as an odd experience.
– It's my first time in Scandinavia and I haven't been to Europe a lot, so hopefully I will be able to have a look around during my time here.
Yerin Lee, 20, and Si Yeon, 21, arrived in Uppsala today from Seoul in Korea. Both of them will be doing bachelors here in Uppsala. Yerin Lee will be studying Linguistics, and Si Yeon will study education.
Si Yeon says she's looking forward to meeting new people, and to taking part in the multicultural community amongst international students in Uppsala. Yerin Lee agrees, but also has a slightly different idea of her stay in Uppsala.
– Seoul has a big population and it's crowded with people everywhere. So I´m actually really looking forward to enjoying some space, the nature and less people here in Sweden, Yerin Lee says.
For Tebogo Sanelo Mitane it's not the first time stepping foot in the Segerstedts building. He came to Sweden from South Africa in August 2024, and has since then been deep in studies of his master in data science. Today he's here as an student housing ambassador, answering the questions of newly arrived students.
– I had a hard time figuring things out when I first arrived, and I had to do it myself which was not easy, not knowing the Swedish language. So I hope I can give students some help with that.
He tells that for him there was a struggle to get settled with all the practicalities. For example getting to know the transportation system, doing banking, getting a sim-card for the phone and figuring out how to get medications.
Regarding the studies in Uppsala university Tebogo appreciates the bigger amount of group work. In his opinion it builds great teamwork, when people from different places in the world with different experiences work together. Yet, due to the intensity of his courses he hasn't found the time to explore a lot outside of Uppsala.
– In this semester I'm writing my thesis. After that, hopefully I will have some more time to travel, he says.
Annelise, 21, and Ilse, 21, are just getting ready to leave the information centre to get settled in their new homes. They are studying at the same Biology programme in the Netherlands and traveled together to Uppsala. Here, they will continue with courses in biology during the spring semester.
– I'm mostly looking forward to experiencing outdoor life and hiking, Annelise says.
– Yes, and to get to know other international students that are also studying here, Ilse adds, before they have to hurry on.
Uppsala University has seven international bachelor programmes, around 80 international master’s programmes and approximately 680 independent courses in English.
According to Jenny McKeever, International Officer for Exchange Studies at Uppsala university, Around 450 international students are registered to begin their studies at Uppsala university in the spring semester 2026.
278 of those who arrive have contracts with different institutions, and the rest are doing their exchange studies through agreements centrally at the university. In those agreements, around 50 percent is from countries within and outside of the EU. The institution has a bigger part of students from inside the EU since they admit students through the erasmus programme.
