Linköping University

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 5 November 2026.

About Linköping University

In the autumn of 1967 a branch of Stockholm University moved into premises in central Linköping. Units for engineering and medicine started two years later, education and research began moving to Campus Valla in 1970, and in 1975 Linköping University College became Linköping University, the sixth university in Sweden.^[7] Campus Norrköping opened in 1997.^[7]

LiU reports 46,200 students (19,896 full-time equivalents), 1,300 PhD students, 4,700 employees and 349 professors, based generally on its annual report for 2024.^[1] It has four faculties: Arts and Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Science and Engineering, and Educational Sciences.^[6]

How is Linköping University ranked?

In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published on 18 June 2026, Linköping University is 308th in the world. A table published by the University of Gothenburg that day lists the Swedish results and shows LiU at 310th in the previous year’s ranking and 308th in the new one, ahead of Umeå University (438) in that table.^[2]

LiU’s own ranking article lists 308 for QS, 242 for Times Higher Education and 301–400 for ARWU, without naming editions.^[8] Rankings differ by publisher and year, so treat one position as one view. How we compile rankings.

What can you study at Linköping University?

LiU offers 147 study programmes, of which 31 are international programmes taught in English.^[1] Its degree-studies page speaks of 30 international programmes and one international bachelor’s programme in English; most master’s programmes take two years and give 120 credits (ECTS).^[9] The 2027 international programmes folder groups them as:^[4]

• Design (one programme)
• Education (two programmes)
• Engineering and computer sciences (eleven programmes, for example Aeronautical Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity and Statistics and Machine Learning)
• Environmental studies (two programmes)
• Natural sciences (seven programmes, including one three-year bachelor’s in Experimental and Industrial Biomedicine)
• Social sciences and humanities (nine programmes, several as online distance learning with campus periods)

Programmes are taught in Linköping or Norrköping; Campus Lidingö offers Furniture Studies in Swedish.^[4]

How much does Linköping University cost for international students?

The fees below are for citizens of countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from LiU’s 2027 international programmes folder (published September 2026):^[4]

The folder gives one amount per programme and does not label it as a yearly or total fee. LiU’s fee page says fees are paid one semester at a time and are based on the number of credits, with master’s programmes normally covering 30 credits a semester, so the amounts are programme totals.^[3] Dividing the 120-credit amounts by two gives about SEK 107,400 to SEK 208,600 per year; that is our arithmetic.

Application fee and payment

• The application fee is SEK 900, paid to universityadmissions.se before the application deadline.^[3]
• Tuition is paid in advance, one semester at a time, with no partial payments. LiU recommends card payment, and it cannot accept payments from Belarus, Iran or Russia.^[10]
• Fees do not cover accommodation, course literature or living costs; LiU estimates about SEK 10,000 a month for those.^[3]

Who does not pay?

Citizens of Sweden, the EU/EEA and Switzerland do not pay. Some types of Swedish residence permit, all exchange agreements and, normally, PhD students are also exempt.^[3]

Scholarships

The LiU International Scholarship normally reduces the tuition fee by 50 percent, and LiU decides each year how many scholarships it offers and at what percentage. Applicants must be fee-paying citizens of a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, and the 2026 update requires a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Only your first-choice programme is considered.^[11][12] Holders of a Swedish Institute scholarship pay no tuition at LiU, and a LiU scholarship is withdrawn if you receive an SI scholarship.^[10][11] For living costs, see our Sweden guide and the Study in Sweden guide.

How do you apply to Linköping University?

Master’s applications run through universityadmissions.se, the national portal. Each programme page has an “Apply” button.^[12]

1. Create a personal account and rank up to four programmes in priority order. You can be offered only one place.^[12]
2. Pay the application fee if you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland. EU/EEA and Swiss citizens submit a passport copy instead.^[12]
3. Upload your documents: bachelor’s certificates and diplomas, transcripts, English proficiency evidence, documents for programme-specific requirements, a syllabus and a passport or ID copy. Some countries must send documents by post.^[12]
4. Check your results in your account. Admission depends on your ranking and on meeting the requirements.^[12]

You need a bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Swedish kandidatexamen; final-year students with at least 150 ECTS credits may be accepted if they provide an official statement that the degree will be awarded before the programme starts.^[5] Applications that are incomplete after the deadline are treated as late and processed only if places remain.^[12] We give no deadlines here because they change every year; check the programme page.

Which language level do you need?

Master’s applicants must show English at the level of Swedish upper secondary English B/English 6. LiU’s master’s requirements page lists IELTS Academic with an overall score of 6.5 and no section below 5.5, and TOEFL iBT with 20 (scale 0–30) in the written test and 90 in total. Other routes exist, such as earlier university studies in English, and the options depend on your country. The page shows no date, so confirm the current TOEFL scale on the programme page.^[5]

LiU counts 31 international programmes taught in English;^[1] check the language of instruction on the programme page.

More about studying in Sweden

• Sweden: best universities
• Study in Sweden: complete guide
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

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