During your studies

At Stockholm University, grading takes place, unless otherwise stated, according to a seven-point goal-related grading scale:

A = Excellent
B = Very good
C = Good
D = Satisfactory
E = Sufficient
FX = Fail
F = Fail

A, B, C, D and E are pass grades.

Fx and F are failing grades.

The grade Fx does not imply the possibility of supplementation unless this is stated in the syllabus. The course plans for the courses the Department of Human Geography is responsible for do not offer the possibility of supplementation at the grade Fx.

Students who received the lowest grade E on the exam may not retake the exam for a higher grade.

G-U is used for minor course elements like participation in a compulsory excursion or a laboratory experiment but also for placement (work experience) courses.

Grading criteria will be announced at the start of the course. See also the respective syllabus.

The grade for the entire course is a weighting of the course's exam. At the Department of Human Geography, this is done in the following way:

If one or more tests have not been graded or are graded F, Fx or U, the entire course is not graded. Passed exams with grades according to the scale A–F are given a value where A = 5,
B = 4, C = 3, D = 2 and E = 1. If a course consists of two or more parts, the weighting is done in two steps – first weighted together the tests in stages and then the stages are combined into a grade for the entire course. Rounding does not take place. The tests, with grades A–E, respectively, are weighted in relation to the number of higher education credits and an average value is calculated. The weight of an element is determined by the element's total number of higher education credits, regardless of the grading scale of the entrance exam, and the element's value of the grade average from entrance exams with grades A–E.

Grade A is given if the grade point average is at least 4.5.
Grade B is given if the grade point average is at least 3.5 but less than 4.5.
Grade C is given if the grade point average is at least 2.5 but less than 3.5.
Grade D is given if the grade point average is at least 1.5 but less than 2.5.
Grade E is given if the grade point average is less than 1.5.

Grades on tests according to the G–U scale are not taken into consideration. For a passing course grade, however, G is required on the exam according to this scale.

There is extensive research in geography, human geography and urban and regional planning. It is largely reported in scientific journals. The list below is a selection of them but there are many more. As a student at Stockholm University, you get access to them free of charge through the Stockholm University Library's website, click on "e-journals" and search your way to your choice. Some of the journals are also available in paper format.

Journals within the areas of geography and human geography

Annals of the Association of American Geographers
Antipode: a radical journal of geography
Applied Geography
Cultural geographies
Economic Geography
Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography
Geografiska Annaler, Series B, Human Geography
Geografiska Notiser
Geografisk Tidsskrift – Danish Journal of Geography
Geography teacher
Global Environmental Change
International Journal of Geographical Information Science
Journal of Economic Geography
Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift – Norwegian Journal of Geography
Professional Geographer
Progress in Human Geography
The Geographical Journal
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers

Journals within the area of Urban and Regional Planning

Cities
Environment and planning, A
Environment and planning, B: Planning and Design
Environment and planning, C: Government and Policy
Environment and planning, D: Society & Space
European Planning Studies
International Development Planning Review’s
International Planning Studies
Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning
Journal of Planning Education and Research
Journal of Planning History
Planning Perspectives
Planning, practice & research
Planning Theory
Planning Theory & Practice
Progress in planning

KTH Library
The National Library of Sweden (KB)
The Swedish Riksdag's library (Riksdagsbiblioteket)
City of Stockholm Library (Stadsbiblioteket)

Stockholm University, the respective area, faculty and the department responsible for the courses are responsible for the quality of the education in general through decisions on the organization, implementation and examination of the education. For each course and module there are responsible teachers and an examiner. Each teacher has an important function in quality assurance through responsibility for the implementation of teaching and examinations.

As a student you also have an important role in the quality assurance of the education - for example through how you carry out your studies, through your participation in evaluations of modules and courses, through your involvement in the student council (Kultär) and other student organizations that appoint representatives in the decision-making bodies (department board et cetera) where students are represented. Completed evaluations of modules and courses are available from the department's Study Counsellor.

The university works to prevent, detect and remedy cheating in connection with examinations. Cheating contributes to creating unfair relationships between honestly working students and students who cheat. Cheating poses a direct threat to the quality of education. A degree must reflect the requirements set out in the objectives of the education – knowledge and skills that cannot be acquired through cheating. Cheating undermines the world's trust in education and thus poses a threat to the possibilities of getting work after completing education. Cheating can also involve a violation of the author's right to his work.

It is fundamental to use a correct citation and reference technique and to report starting points and methods. There are different standardized ways of writing references in academic text. Regardless of the system you use, it is important that you are consistent and thorough. It is of course important that quotations are verbatim and that sources are indicated correctly. A page reference should always be included for direct quotations because the reader should be able to easily check the quotation and the original context.

In case of uncertainty, seek help from reference literature or from the course teachers so that you do not accidentally plagiarize because you are not familiar with the academic rules.

The Academic Writing Service
 

To use other people’s expressions or ideas without stating where they are from is plagiarism. To translate and/or change some words in someone else’s text and present it as one’s own is obviously also a form of plagiarism. There must be no doubt about what your own expressions and ideas are and what has been gathered from other sources. Plagiarism is considered to be cheating and if discovered in an exam or paper, the exam or paper will not be marked and disciplinary measures may be taken.

Examples of plagiarism:

Copying sentences or longer texts word for word from one or more sources, whether published or unpublished. This may include - but is not limited to - books, journals, reports, student theses, web pages, conference papers, memos, lectures and other oral presentations without proper referencing.

To "cut and paste" texts from one or more sources and change only a few words or add single sentences without proper referencing. This also applies to shorter passages from a text.

To copy designs, illustrations, images, maps, artwork etc. and pass them off as your own work.

Presenting orally or submitting written work that someone else has prepared, completed or written for you.

Reusing text that you have written before, for example within another course, is called self-plagiarism, and is prohibited.

All assignments, take-home exams, essays and similar texts are normally checked through Urkund, a text matching tool that tracks plagiarism.

The Department of Human Geography's AI policy applies to all courses in the Department. Further instructions can be found in the course guide for each course.

Permitted use: Students are permitted to use AI tools in their studies. This includes using AI tools to support their learning, improve communication, and improve their programming and writing skills.

When using AI tools, students are required to respect the following principles:

Ownership of originality: Students bear full responsibility for the content of all texts and documents submitted for examination (e.g. exams, assignments, theses, computer code). It is prohibited for students to claim ownership of AI tool-generated material such as text, images, models, code, etc. When AI tools were used for a submission, the student must describe how the tools were used, for example which prompts were used as input to the tool and how the output is integrated into the submitted work. Failure to cite original sources, including AI tools, is considered plagiarism.

Additional considerations: Students must be aware that in each course there may be additional guidelines about the use of AI tools in that particular course. It is important to read course information or equivalent for each course for more detailed instructions.

Consequences of academic misconduct/plagiarism: If a student is suspected of violating guidelines related to academic misconduct through the use of AI tools in assignments, exams, essays, etc., action will be taken in accordance with established procedures for handling academic misconduct.

Resources for academic writing

Plagiarism is cheating and if such is discovered in, for example, a degree project, a take-home exam, a report or a seminar assignment, the student will not be approved and disciplinary measures may be considered. Plagiarism – like other types of cheating – is reported to the university's disciplinary committee. The University takes cheating very seriously.

Cheating is usually discovered through the teacher's knowledge and experience. The teacher must report any suspicion. To help the teacher, text comparison tools are used to detect plagiarism by comparing a submitted text with material on the Internet and in databases. Guidelines for disciplinary matters can be found in the university's rule book.

During short study trips, excursions, a lecturer introduces the student group to a specific topic in a chosen area; e.g. historical landscape geography or urban planning. Excursions primarily occur at the more basic courses. In some courses excursions are prepared by student teams; during the field day the students presenting a place or a space for the group. Excursions are often carried out over the course of a day, but can be both shorter and longer. They are typically done by foot and coach. Excursions can also be parts of field courses.

Fieldwork usually means collect material for a report or a thesis on your own or in group. Before on site fieldwork in the study area preparation is done through literature search and study, time management, query formulation, methodology and technology considerations, map studies, questionnaire design, booking interviews and more. Analysis of the material collected begins in the fieldwork area and is completed back at the University.

Field course fieldwork provides opportunity for tutoring in the study area during the field period. Many students also conduct more independent fieldwork within the framework of theses projects for bachelors and masters degrees.

Field courses often contain both excursions and fieldwork. More extensive field courses sometimes also include other field activities, such as lectures, study visits and presentations. Field courses are often 5 to 10 days, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. Travel to field course areas within Sweden is usually made by coach or train and to destinations abroad by coach or air.

Field studies may well be minor components of a course in which the student independently or in a team conducts a course task, such as observation, mapping or interview.

The Department's committee for work environment, equal opportunities and environment (ALM) includs representatives of various staff categories as well as for doctoral students and bachelor and master students.

The committee is an advisory body and meets approximately five times a year. The task is, among other things, to prepare a gender equality and equal treatment plan to increase gender equality at the department and to integrate women's and gender equality issues into teaching.

If you have been harassed or otherwise mistreated contact the Head of department or the Director of studies. If you are a student you may also contact the student safety officer (appointed by the student council of the Department; Kultär) or the Stockholm University Student Union.

More information about the department's procedure for investigating discrimination, harassment and abusive differential treatment can be found in a governing document on the Swedish website.

Stockholm University offers different kinds of targeted study support to students with long-term disabilities. The aim is to give all students the opportunity to study on equal terms.

If you need any form of support during the education, you should contact the coordinator well in advance of the start of the studies to get information and discuss your individual need for support. Contact the study advisor as soon as possible after the contact with the coordinator at the Student Department and show the certificate you received from the coordinator.

Studying with a disability

Contact

Questions about support
Email: disability@su.se

Contact person at the Department of Human Geography is Veronica Hohl.
E-mail studievagledare@humangeo.su.se
Phone 08-16 48 37

Early interruption

A student who has registered for a course for the first time but who does not consider completing the education can make an early interruption of the course. This gives students the opportunity to apply to the course at a later date. Early interruption is done within three weeks after the start of the course and at the latest before the first examination. The interruption is done through the web service My studies and notified to the department's student office.

Late interruption

A student who has registered for a course but does not consider completing the education can interrupt the course even after three weeks. However, sending an application for a course interruption does not give you the opportunity to apply for the current course. However, a late interruption should be done to avoid problems with CSN. A late interruption can be canceled at a later time so that the student can be examined. If there are special reasons for the interruption, a student can also be given permission to participate in the teaching. The interruption is reported to the department's student office.

Study breaks

A study break requires that the student, when the break begins, has been registered for at least one semester in the program and has passed an exam for a total of at least 15 credits within the program. If there are special reasons, study breaks can be granted earlier and without the requirement of 15 credits. Those who wish to take a break from their studies on a program at the Department of Human Geography must notify the student office.

A study break is automatically granted for one semester and can be extended by another semester. If there are special reasons, longer breaks may occur. Study breaks are noted in the study documentation system Ladok.

During the study break, the student does not have the right to participate in teaching and examinations within the program.

Return to studies

Returning to the program is notified to the student office no later than April 15 before the fall semester and no later than October 15 before the spring semester. Course applications for the return semester are made as usual via antagning.se. Only valid reasons, such as parental leave, sick leave, student union assignment or military service, guarantee a place upon return. Usually, this is not a problem, and the student can be prepared for a place and continue his studies within the programme.

However, difficulties may arise if the program or courses within the program have changed in terms of content or examination - this can lead to longer than normal study time. Another obstacle may be that some courses are not offered every semester.

Those who have not notified a study break in advance may continue their studies upon return, subject to availability.

The teaching in is designed in different ways depending on the material covered. Some forms of teaching contain examination parts, others do not.

Introduction

During a course introduction or another type of introduction, the teacher addresses, for example, the course's learning objectives, structure and schedule, comments on literature, examination and grading, presents group division or practical details about the course's implementation. Sometimes part of the introduction is a lecture where the teacher deals with the course content in an overview or part of the course material in more detail.

Lecture

During a lecture, the teacher gives a prepared account of the subject. There is usually time for questions. A lecture can also contain parts where you get to be more active in shorter exercises and group discussions.

Seminar

A seminar means that everyone present participates in a discussion. The seminar is often an examination opportunity and requires the seminar participants to prepare. Often, material has been distributed in advance for reading, or the participants have been given a task to solve before the seminar, or each has prepared a short presentation of a text. Seminar is an example of a form of teaching that often requires clear active participation. This usually means that you must participate in the discussion at the seminar with questions, answers and comments.

Examinatorium

Examinatorium is called a seminar that aims to more carefully check the participants' knowledge.

Practice and laboratory

Practice and laboratory work are for you to more tangibly learn to use certain materials or techniques. This can apply to geographic information processing (GIS), map reading, map drawing, statistical interpretation, aerial image interpretation and so on. It can also be about discussing or solving problems in different ways.

Excursions

Excursions are study trips that supplement the literature studies. The excursions usually last half a day to a day, but sometimes for several days when you carry out tasks of various kinds or collect materials - individually or in a group. Often the teacher brings up phenomena, processes and terms that the course deals with and gives examples on the spot. Student-led excursions occur when groups of students participate in the preparations for and implementation of the excursion. In addition to participating during the excursion, you are usually required to make a written submission after the excursion.

Field course

Field courses can be included in thesis projects and courses. At these, teaching and material collection takes place for a few days or weeks, sometimes abroad. The department charges fees for participation in certain excursions and field courses. As a rule, however, the institution covers at least half of the actual cost.

Normally, all teaching is compulsory. This means that you who take a course are expected to be present and actively participate in all teaching sessions. Even if attendance is rarely checked at, for example, lectures, you are expected to have taken part in what was conveyed.

Attendance is always mandatory for examinations, excursions, field courses, laboratories, seminars and exercises. Other teaching may also be compulsory, as shown in the schedule and instructions for each course. Mandatory attendance requirements therefore mean that you as a student must attend, for example, an excursion, introduction or laboratory.

Anyone who has a disability and cannot participate in a mandatory event should consult with the teacher in good time about how this can most appropriately be retaken. Sometimes it is possible to change groups and thereby participate on another occasion already in the same semester. Only in exceptional cases is it possible to be examined in another way, for example by an extra written or oral exam or a submission task replacing a seminar or other compulsory teaching.

All gradings are individual. It is therefore important that it is possible to distinguish who did what in a group work, unless the work is carried out precisely in a group.

Examination

The written exam is a common form of examination especially during the first year of studies. A "dugga" is a shorter written exam that examines a smaller part of the course's content. Duggan is often earlier in the course than other written exams. Oral exams where you meet the examining teacher individually to answer questions are more rare.

Home exam

Home exams can occur at all levels and differ from written classroom exams in that you can choose where you want to write your exam, you can look at the course literature (often it is more or less necessary to have access to the literature) and the questions usually require more elaboration and exhaustive answers. Sometimes the time for a home exam is several days and sometimes just a few hours.

Submission task

Many courses include the submission of exercises, PMs, essays, etc. There are many different types of assignments and how they should be completed differs from course to course, so pay attention to the instructions in the course instructions and in each assignment. Submission usually takes place via the learning platform Athena. Remember to always keep a digital copy of what was submitted. The copy can be good to have if the assignment needs to be reworked.

Oral presentation

Oral presentation occurs in many courses. It can be shorter or longer reports, individually or in groups. Often a prepared presentation must support the report. On some courses, for example, role plays are carried out as part of an oral presentation.

Thesis project

A degree project is a slightly more extensive independent academic work within your main field. At the Department of Human Geography, the degree project is always carried out individually. You will be supported by a supervisor and group seminars. You can normally choose the theme relatively freely and how you will carry out your research within the framework of the main area. For a bachelor's degree, the thesis is 15 credits and for a master's degree, 30 credits. The degree project is presented in writing and discussed at a seminar where one or more students on the course object, ask questions, about your work. You object to one or more other degree projects. The degree work is usually carried out during the third year at the first level and always in the second year at the advanced level.

Exams can be done both orally and in writing. Here you can find information about, among other things, taking exams with special support, rules for taking exams and how exam results are assigned. The following refers to the written exam.

In order to participate in the exam, you must be registered on the course, registered for the exam and be able to show valid identification in the examination room.

Normally, an ordinary exam and a re-exam are organized each semester the course is given. In addition, a summative exam is given every academic year. You only have the right to examine older lists of literature in cumulative exams.

Written exams are usually written on a computer.

Examination registration is required

Generally for exams at Stockholm University, including at the Department of Human Geography, the registration period in Ladok for written exams closes no later than 10 calendar days before the exam. (If, for example, an exam is given on September 28, registration closes no later than September 18.) If there are technical problems with Ladok, the department's student office can notify the department no later than 8 calendar days before the exam of the student who has heard about it, preferably to studentexpedition@humangeo.su.se , no later than 10 calendar days before the exam.

Please note that rules for notification of participation in exams may vary between different courses.

Disability support during exminations

If you need an adapted exam must notify the department's student office, studentexpedition@humangeo.su.se, your name, exam date and course no later than 10 working days before the exam date. The reasons for this are (1) that classroom exams are written anonymously and that you, as a student, are therefore anonymous immediately when you register in Ladok before the exam, so the department does not know that you have registered for the exam and (2) that, for example, extra exam invigilators, individual premises, extended time or technical equipment must be arranged.

Exams in older syllabus

If you wish to take the exam according to an older syllabus - which is possible for cumulative exams if the syllabus is not too old (in that case, contact the study advisor first) - you must notify the student office at the latest when registering for the exam which syllabus (literature list) is relevant for the exam. If it has been longer than three semesters since you studied a course, you may have to take the exam on new literature.

Examining a course that is no longer offered

When the course is no longer given or when the course content changes significantly, you usually have the right to be examined three times during a three-semester period after the course was last given, according to the syllabus that applied when the course was given.

Class room exams are written anonymously

All classroom exams (including written tests) at Stockholm University are written anonymously. This is normally arranged through registration in Ladok and further in the examination system. If the exam is written on paper, this means that the examinee does not write names on the sheets that are submitted, but instead writes a code that is assigned at the time of the exam. In that case, it is important that you, as an exam candidate, enter the code clearly on all sheets that are submitted and that a list of names and codes is drawn up in the exam hall.

As the exam is written digitally, the teachers can see who wrote which exam only after the exam has been marked and the results compiled. If the exam is written on paper, the paper exams and list are separated after the exam, so the correcting teacher does not have access to the list before the correction is complete. When the paper exam has been corrected, two results lists are drawn up: a list with code and results, which is assigned, and a list with names and results, which forms the basis for reporting to Ladok.

Return of corrected exams

The correction normally takes about two to three weeks and no more than 15 working days. Corrected writing with correcting teacher's assessments and any comments are announced in the examination system. If the exam is written on paper, corrected notes can be collected from the student office. Please note that complaints about the correction cannot be made after a corrected paper entry has been brought from the student office.

If you fail

Almost everyone fails an exam at some point. If you have prepared well and still fail several times, or if your studies are going badly in other ways, contact the study advisor. There is a good chance that together you can figure out how the study results can be improved. If you do not understand why you failed, you should talk to the teacher.

Unless the teacher of the course has explicitly announced otherwise, no aids are permitted at the time of the exam (apart from the computer intended for the exam with the program or pen, eraser and papers distributed in the writing room for the exam that are written on paper) but there the student is expected to answer a number of questions based on their acquired knowledge based on the course literature. Mobile phones and other unauthorized technical equipment must be switched off during the exam and stored among personal belongings according to the invigilator's instructions.

Special rules for test takers can be found in the rules for the hall examination at Stockholm University. These include, among other things, that:

• Candidates must be able to show approved identification.
• No aids other than those approved by the examiner may be used.
• No examinee may leave the exam room earlier than after 30 minutes.
• Exam takers must follow the exam guard's instructions regarding placement in the room, placement of personal belongings, smoking breaks and toilet visits.
• Cheating or disruptive behavior can lead to a warning or temporary suspension.
• Some forms of cheating fall under the Criminal Code and may lead to prosecution.

Complete rules for the classroom exam can be found in the university's rule book. After approval of the teacher responsible for the course, SAOL may be used in exams.

On written seated exams, including what documents are accepted as proof of identity
Rules for the hall exam (in Swedish)
Rules and procedure for disciplinary matters (in Swedish)

You are always welcome to get in touch if you have any questions about your education. If it's about a specific course, it's usually best to ask the course coordinator or the teacher responsible for the part of the course you have a question about.