Stockholm university

The history of Stockholm University

Stockholm University College was founded in 1878 as a radical alternative to the traditional educational establishment. Then as now, the university stands for openness and accessibility with an active role in society.

Stockholm College began without exams or diplomas, offering an alternative to the traditional universities in Uppsala and Lund. The first open lectures were held in fall 1877 in the handicrafts school building on Mäster Samuelsgatan. There were lectures in mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology, joined soon after by cultural history and economics. The tradition of open lectures continues today.

Illustration: Elsa Wikander/Azote
 

The university college and city in cooperation

Stockholm University College gained the right to grant degrees in 1904. This change was strongly supported by the town council and meant that the city began funding the university college. The idea of an economically independent university college was left behind and the university college and city began working together more closely. In particular, the city wanted the university college to start granting law degrees in order to alleviate the lack of lawyers in Stockholm.

 

From university college to university in 1960

After several years of studies and reforms, Stockholm University College was granted university status in 1960 and thereby became a part of the general movement toward education and research that characterized the post-war years. In retrospect, it would seem like becoming a public institution was foundational in allowing the university college to grow at the speed demanded by modern society.

 

Surge in enrolment and crowding

The massive increase in student enrolment in the 1960s made the Observatory Hill campus too crowded with nowhere to expand within the city centre. The 1970’s saw a large-scale relocation to the Frescati campus with the intention of assembling the entire university in one place. In the same period both the School of Journalism and the School of Social Work joined the university. In 2008, the Teacher University College also joined the university.

Today the university has more than 27,000 students, 1,400 doctoral students, and 5,700 members of staff active in the scientific areas of human science and science. We offer 300 programmes and 1,700 courses in science and human science, including 75 master’s programmes taught in English. The university has a total revenue of SEK 5.3 billion.

 

National City Park and Architectural Park

Stockholm University sits in the middle of the world’s first National City Park, while the city centre is just a few minutes away. The blend of nature, historical surroundings and access to the job market, cultural events and entertainment make Stockholm University unique.

During the time the university has been at the Frescati it has become one of the foremost architectural parks in the country with the help of some of the most well-known 20th century architects - David Helldén (Södra huset), Carl Nyrén (Arrheniuslaboratoriet) and Ralph Erskine (Allhuset, Aula Magna, Juristernas hus, Universitetsbiblioteket).

The first professors

  • 1884 – Viktor Rydberg, Stockholm University College’s first professor in cultural history
  • 1889 – Sonja Kovalevsky, Sweden’s first female professor and the world’s first female mathematics professor
  • 1904 – Gustav Cassel, Stockholm University College’s first professor of economics.
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