Is all higher education in Sweden professionally focused?
Higher education in Sweden is not altogether professionally focused. Since one definition of liberal education is that it is an alternative to professional education, I have to clarify what we mean when we talk about liberal education. In one sense, liberal education exists in Sweden, since, for example at Uppsala University, students can shape their own education in whatever way they like. However, a bachelor’s degree in Sweden takes three years of study, not four, as in the U.S., and we have no core curriculum, not even a distributed core as in the U.S. Swedish students either study programs, or choose among free electives. In Sweden, students stay one year longer at the “gymnasium” or high school in your terms. The idea is that the core courses should be covered through the gymnasium. However, in later years, it has become apparent that the education given at our gymnasiums is not sufficient. That is the reason why we are interested in the American practice of liberal education. In
