Details

• Sweden
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

After getting admitted, Uppsala Uni sends you a list of courses that you can choose from for your duration with all the prerequisites needed. Make sure to have a plan B for courses as it is not 100% certain to get admitted to all of them (although the registration is done by university itself, you just have to send the application). I was also contacted that I didn't fulfill prerequisites for one course I selected, but after sending them the same information about my completed courses at WU as in the application before, they allowed me in, so don't get scared by it. When packing things, pack A LOT of warm things, especially if you're going for a winter semester. On my arrival day in the middle of August, it was 3°C at 10PM. It was a rare occasion for that time of the year, but later you will definitely need them. Also, pack a suit / dress for the gasques.

2. Accommodation

Accommodation search happens through Uppsala Housing Office. They have quite a few possibilites with different types to offer spread throughout the whole city. As an exchange student, you are guaranteed to get an accomodation. You pick your top 3 and are almost 100% certain to get your first or second choice. I would recommend Flogsta, Klostergatan and Rackarbergsgatan, probably in that order. I lived in Flogsta, which although is on the edge of the city, still takes only 15 minutes by bike to get to the city center. To get to Ekonomikum, where you'll be having your lectures at, is about 8-10 minutes with the bike, so very close. Flogsta is out of all accommodations by far the most social one, although it looks probably the worst, but definitely worth it in my opinion. It is also a completely safe location, but I think that applies to all accommodations in Uppsala. You have a large room (16-20sqm) and the bathroom including the toilet for yourself. You share the kitchen among 11 neighbors in the corridor. I was lucky to have incredible roommates in my corridor and we organized corridor dinners and even went on a trip together. But beware of the practices of the Housing Office. Upon arrival, make sure to make a very detailed video of your accommodation + photos of all the smallest flaws in your room. Flogsta buildings have been built around 50 years ago, so the rooms look accordingly, yet when I was moving out, I was deducted 80 euros for damage of the room and insufficient cleaning, even though I did that very thoroughly and I accepted the flaws such as little dents and prints on the wall given for the age of the building because I didn't capture and report it at the beginning. I am happy to send you the photos of the reported flaws to me through email. Klostergatan is basically in the city center, has newer and therefore way better looking rooms and a small gym for only a little price increase, but very little social life in comparison to Flogsta. Rackarbergsgatan is literally opposite of Ekonomikum, so you can walk there. I'd say that it is a mix of Klostergatan and Flogsta and you're also quite close to the city centre.

3. Academic life at host university

Uppsala University has their facilities all over the city, such as the departments and the libraries. Exchange and local students meet and study a lot in the libraries and the department buildings, as there is a lot of group work. I would recommend trying to visit most of the libraries as they are styled very differently. The teaching style is more student-centered than at WU, you have regular discussions during the seminars. You address basically anybody, professors including, in Sweden with their first name, which is a big contrast in comparison with Austria. Nonetheless, the professors definitely had their respect as they were clearly specialists in their field. During your semester in Uppsala, you do only a few courses for a lot of ECTS. Throughout my semester, I've attended only three courses and gained 30 ECTS: Scandinavian Leadership (7,5 ECTS), Business in Networks (7,5 ECTS) and Corporate Finance (15 ECTS). I would recommend Scandinavian Leadership the most out of these three although it gets abstract and repetitive from time to time. Regarding Corporate Finance, pick it only if you truly love finance and want to specialize in that field. I am studying Business Informatics at WU and picked the course mainly due to interest in the topic, but it is incredibly extensive and you'll have to spend weeks preparing for the two major exams. You can also attend a course for learning Swedish, but you won't be able to transfer the credits back to WU.

5. Every day life in the host country

Get a bike asap (definitely in the first week). It is the form of transportation of basically all students and most of the people in Uppsala. Public transport is very expensive and people also drive the bikes in winter unless there is ice on the crosswalks or a large amount of snow. Also, the bike paths get cleared out first, even before the roads. There is a big bike flee market in Flogsta happening on the first weekend before the semester, which is definitely an experience, but I wouldn't recommend buying your bike there - buy it either on Facebook marketplace or from a bike shop. There are some shops which also offer long term rentals. Most people I knew including myself bought the bike at the flee market and many of my friends had to invest in them during the semester for them to work or they broke down so much that it wasn't financially viable to repair it (my case). In terms of safety, the whole city is very safe except of one small part, far away from the city center, that becomes "fishy" during the nights, but there is no reason to go there or pass through it. Uppsala is one of the two cities in Sweden which has nations (13). They are centuries-old, student-run social organizations, each having their own building. Most of them have a pub and focus on different things - housing, cafes, clubs, or board games just to name a few. Each one organizes atleast one gasque per semester as far as I'm concerned. Gasques are a form of student dinners, where you have a multiple course meal and inbetween that, various activities happen. After that, usually the tables get cleared and it ends as a clubbing night. The topic of the gasque can be very different, such as a Titanic gasque or a Backward Gasque - definitely try atleast one of them. For regular clubbing, I recommend Stockholms, Snerikes and Värmlands. As Uppsala is a student city with 1/3 of people being students, there are a lot of members in every nation and there is always something happening for the students. Regarding sports, there are a few gyms in the city, but also possibilites to play football, floorball, padel, tennis, swimming - you name it. Also, if you will be missing the big city vibe or just want to do a short trip, Stockholm is just an hour away with a train, so that makes it a perfect destination and I've been there a few times throughout my semester. For longer trips, I would recommend renting a car or a caravan and doing a trip around Sweden. In winter semester, I did this with a couple of my friends at the end of September and the landscape was incredible. Also, the Stockholm airport is basically closer to Uppsala than to Stockholm, so that opens also a lot of possibilities. Swedes are proud doers of "fika" too - coffee break and chatting with your friends/family. This is a daily must for them and you have a lot of cafes to choose from where you can practice it. All in all, this makes it the best student city in the world in my opinion!

6. Testimonial

Best time of my life, I would go back in a heartbeat. I've made a lot of friends from all around the globe who I now share awesome memories with and they helped me make the experience in Uppsala unique. I think that I also grew a lot as a person during my stay and benefited from this for the rest of my life. If anyone is still hesitant about going on an exchange abroad, my answer is clear - do it and if I'd also have to recommend the place, Uppsala is definitely the place to be.