The largest increase was in applications to freestanding courses, where the number of applicants increased by 31.7 per cent, from 10,199 applicants last year to 13,429 applicants this year. But the number of applicants to our education programmes has also increased.  The figures indicate that the university has succeeded in producing a range of courses and programmes that match demand when it comes to competence development.

“It is wonderful that we have succeeded in being an attractive university that has so many applicants. I am very proud, and we will do everything we can to accept as many as possible. And we hope that those who begin their studies with us this autumn enjoy their educations,” said Mats Tinnsten, Vice-Chancellor.

Applications for the nursing programme have increased by 24 per cent; it is now the most sought-after programme at the university.

“That is fantastic and bodes well for the autumn term! The importance of the nursing profession and how exciting it is has received a lot of attention due to the pandemic; I think it has made more people want to educate themselves to become nurses. And we see in our student surveys that the University of Borås has very satisfied students and this educational programme in particular has a good reputation. I think that is the reason why so many have chosen to apply here,” said Katarina Karlsson, head of the Department of Caring Science.

The number of applicants for the teacher training programmes has also increased.  That trend began last year after many years with decreased numbers of applicants.  Compared to last year, the number of applicants for teacher training programmes has increased by 23 per cent.

“It is really gratifying and important that we are now seeing a general increase in applicants for our teacher training programmes. This testifies to the fact that we provide high-quality teacher education and our ongoing development work is giving results. The shortage of pre-school teachers and schoolteachers remains significant and we are working hard to offer more and attractive programmes in the future. It is especially gladdening that our new programme for pre-school teachers who already work in the profession has had so many applicants,” said Peter Andersson Lilja, head of the Department of Pre-School and School Teacher Education.

The course with the most applicants is "Introduction to programming in Python" which had 2,136 applicants.

The top five programmes in number of applicants

The top five courses in number of applicants

Translation: Eva Medin