On July 10, the first admission decision was made for the autumn's college and university education. According to a report from the University and College Council (UHR), the number of applicants for certain education programs that provide a professional degree has increased compared to autumn 2024.
Anders Ljungberg, analysis manager at UHR, describes the increased application pressure as a trend from a few years back.
The hypothesis is that it is due to a combination of large youth cohorts that have reached the right age to apply for higher education, and a deteriorated economic situation that makes the labor market uncertain, he says.
UHR has specifically looked at 14 professional degree programs that are considered to have good labor market prospects. Ten of them, including nursing education, have more applicants this year compared to 2024. The largest increase is in optician education – a full 24 percent.
It is gratifying to see that the great interest in college education persists, says Anders Ljungberg.
At the same time, there is greater competition for the education programs. The number of admitted persons is 7,000 fewer compared to last year. The range of courses and programs has also become slightly smaller – something that varies from year to year, according to Ljungberg.
Nearly 32 percent of all education programs offered in autumn 2025 are conducted with distance education – also a phenomenon that has steadily increased since the outbreak of covid-19.
It opens up more opportunities, says Anders Ljungberg.
Optician education (24 percent)
Biomedical analyst education (13 percent)
Occupational therapist education and psychologist education (9 percent)
Civil engineer education and nurse education (8 percent)
Medical education (6 percent)
Physiotherapist education (5 percent)
Dental hygienist education (1 percent)
Dentist education (nearly unchanged)
Source: UHR
