KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Overview

KTH Royal Institute of Technology was founded in 1827 and is a public technical university. The main campus is in central Stockholm, near the Östermalm district, with other campuses at Kista (information and communication technology), Flemingsberg (medical technology) and Södertälje. Programs cover engineering, architecture, computer science, technology and management.

Swedish engineering education is organized differently from North America. Many students take five-year integrated programs leading to the civilingenjör title, with a master degree built in. Three-year bachelor programs (högskoleingenjör and similar) are shorter and more applied.

Language: mostly Swedish

KTH states that all but one of its bachelor programs are taught in Swedish, and that it offers one three-year bachelor degree in English. The KTH international applicants page links this to its information and communication technology area; confirm the program name and its entry requirements in the program list. For the Swedish-taught programs, you need Swedish at the level required for Swedish university study, in addition to the subject requirements.

For most North American students, KTH becomes realistic at master level, where many programs are in English, or through an exchange semester arranged by a home university.

Admission and application rounds

KTH says its admission requirements are the same regardless of where you are from: general entry requirements plus specific subjects, which for engineering usually include advanced mathematics, physics and often chemistry. Applications go through University Admissions in Sweden. The English-taught bachelor program accepts applications in two rounds, and KTH encourages non-EU applicants to apply in the first round so they have time to get a residence permit after admission.

Tuition

Students who are not citizens of the EU, EEA or Switzerland must pay tuition for bachelor and master programs at KTH, as well as the national application fee. KTH publishes the amount for each program on the program page, and it also publishes a student budget for living costs in Stockholm, which is worth reading alongside the fee.

A practical point for planning: Stockholm has a tight rental market, and first-year students from abroad often rely on housing offered through the university or student housing companies. Start looking as soon as you accept an offer, and keep the residence permit timeline in mind, since the Swedish Migration Agency needs time to process applications.

Preparing with StudyBrix

Engineering programs at KTH assume you can work comfortably with calculus, vectors and mechanics. Practise with calculus 2 integration, linear algebra and Python programming. Our Sweden guide covers University Admissions and residence permits.