Facts & Figures
The School was founded in 1923 as a private business school. In 1961 the School beacame a public institution. After its amalgamation with the University of Gothenburg in 1971, the School was recognized as an independent unit within the University in 1986. Today, the School comprises four departments, a number of research centres and other units. There are about 460 faculty and staff and 4 300 full-time students (about 8 000 individuals). The School is accredited by EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA - the “Triple Crown”.
Research
The School's research is conducted at four departments and serveral research centres, and distinguished by its broad approach, which is interdisciplinary in large measure, and its collaboration across geographical, departmental and disciplinary boundaries. Much of the research takes place in close co-operation with companies and organisations.
PhD Education
All four departments within the School offers PhD Education. The total number of admissions varies from year to year, partly because the Department of Business Administration only admits every two years.
| PhD Education 2022 | Total | Women | Men |
| Admitted for licentiate degree | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Admitted for doctoral degree | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Licentiate degree | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doctoral degree | 13 | 8 | 5 |
Education
Programme within the first cycle (in Swedish)
- Programme in Business and Economics, 180 ECTS credits
- Programme in Logistics Management, 180 ECTS credits
- Programme in Environmental Social Science, 180 ECTS credits
- Bachelor Programme in Economic History and Human Geography, 180 ECTS credits
- Master of Laws Programme, 270 ECTS credits
Single subject courses within the first cycle
Business Administration, Economic Geography, Economic History, Economics, Human Geography, Law and Statistics.
Single subject courses within the second cycle (in Swedish)
- Management of Growing Enterprises., 60 ECTS credits
- Financial Reporting and Law, 60 ECTS credits
Master of Science Programmes, 2 years /120 ECTS credits (in English)
- Accounting and Financial Management,
- Economics
- Finance
- Innovation and Industrial Management
- International Business and Trade
- Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship
- Logistics and Transport Management
- Management
- Marketing and Consumption
Executive education
GU Executive Education offers Executive MBA programme, custom programmes and open-enrolment programmes.
Students 2022
| Full-time students | 3 891 |
| Individuals | 7 119 |
| Proportion of women | 51 % |
| Proportion of men | 49 % |
Graduates 2022
| Bachelor's graduates | 503 |
| 1 Year Master's graduates | 50 |
| 2 Year Master's graduates | 309 |
| Master of Laws graduates | 189 |
Employees
Average, number of individuals 2022
| Professors | 56 |
| Senior lecturers | 120 |
| Associate senior lecturers | 12 |
| Junior lecturers | 17 |
| Research assistants | 0 |
| Post-docs | 13 |
|
Other teachers/reserarchers PhD Students |
58 73 |
| Administration | 124 |
| Total | 473 |
Internationalization
Far-reaching international academic cooperation and exchange are essantial for attaining excellence in research and education. It is an area in which the School is countinously developing its activities.
Student exchange 2022/2023
- Outgoing 319
- Incoming 292
Students on Master's Programmes with international background 2022/2023
378
Courses in English 2022/2023
| Bachelor level | Master level * | |
| Economic History / Human Geography |
8 | 6 |
| Business Administration / Economic Geography |
20 | 82 |
| Economics | 10 | 25 |
| Law | 0 | 12 |
| Other | 1 | 7 |
* Refers to courses that can be read by master's students at Graduate School as well as exchange students. Part of the numbers are not updated for 2022/2023.
Partner universities 2022/2023
Africa: 5
Asia: 35
Europe: 89
South America: 3
Central America: 2
North America: 18
Oceania: 9
Middle East: 2
Totalt: 163 (of which 40 refer to universities with an agreement with the University of Gothenburg within EUTOPIA)
Figures
Income 2022
| Government grants | SEK 358 million (65 %) |
| Individual grants and sales | SEK 174 million (32 %) |
| Commissions | SEK 18 million (3 %) |
| Other sources | SEK 0 million (0 %) |
| Total | SEK 550 million |
Costs 2022
| Staff | SEK 346 million (65 %) |
| Shared university facilities and libraries | SEK 73 million (14 %) |
| Premises | SEK 56 million (11 %) |
| Other operating costs | SEK 54 million (10 %) |
| Depreciation | SEK 2 million (0 %) |
| Total | SEK 531 million |
Financial outcome 2022
| SEK million | |
| Income | 550 |
| Costs | 531 |
| Net surplus/deficit | 19 |
History
There were plans to establish a business school in Gothenburg as far back as the late 19th century. As a major centre of trade, Gothenburg needed such an institution in order to provide future merchants with the academic and to some extent practical education required to fill leadership positions in the world of Swedish commerce.
However, the time was not right and it took until 1923 for the School of Business, Economics and Law to finally opened its doors. The first intake comprised just nine students, who were educated in economics, business administration, economic geography and legal studies, in addition to English, German, French and Russian.
The School will celebrate its centenary in 2023. A great deal has happened over the years, but there are also features that remain to this day, such as research based education, close collaboration with business and society, and an international perspective.
Following the recruitment of leading faculty, accompanied by support from the University of Gothenburg in the form of additional teaching resources and from the City of Gothenburg in the form of premises, the School quickly justified its existence – and so the institution grew and progressed.
After being based temporarily at the University of Gothenburg, in 1925 the School moved to Gamla Handels at Läroverksgatan 1. However, it soon outgrew these premises and plans for a separate new building began to take shape. The doors of the new facility at Vasagatan 3 opened on 24 October 1952.
The 1960s saw increased pressure on Sweden’s universities to give academic education a more professional focus. As part of this drive, studies in business and economics were also introduced by the universities, alongside the business schools. By July 1971, all the business and economic studies in Gothenburg had merged into one programme at the University of Gothenburg, and the School ceased to exist.
During the 1970s, business and economic studies were open to all and demand was met through subject-dominated mass education. In 1977, restricted admission was reintroduced, but 500 students were still enrolled each year onto the general and international business and economics programmes. At the same time, competition from new university colleges and other universities was beginning to increase.
The large number of students also led to dissatisfaction with the quality of the education. As a result, the School of Business, Economics and Law was resurrected in 1986, now as a faculty within the University of Gothenburg. By this time the premises had definitely become too small. The 1952 building was designed for 700 students, but by the mid-1980s the School had around 4,000. The new building at Vasagatan 1 enabled most of the School’s departments to be gathered in the same location. The inauguration of the new premises in September 1995 marked the start of a new era for the School of Business, Economics and Law.
Per Cramér, 2010 -
Rolf Wolff, 2000 - 2010
Göran Bergendahl, 1997 - 2000
Gunilla Bornmalm-Jardelöw, 1994 - 1997
Anders Edström, 1993 - 1994
Lars Nordström, 1986 - 1993
Kurt Grönfors, 1962 - 1971
Ulf af Trolle, 1959 - 1962
Hadar Berglund, 1931 - 1959
Gunnar Silfverstolpe, 1928 - 1931
Otto Nordenskjöld, 1923 - 1928
The Richard C. Malmsten Memorial Foundation
For many years, this foundation has played an important part in the life of the School. Through an extreamely generous donation, the Foundation contributed to the realisation of the plans for a new School in 1995.
Since 1984, the Foundation has supported the School every year with large grants for both research and education, for example the Graduate School.
In 1887, Richard C. Malmsten and Gustaf Bergvall founded the wholesale trade and agency company Malmsten & Bergvall in Göteborg. Companies that subsequently developed included Apotekarnes Droghandlesaktiebolag (ADA) and the pharmaceutical company Pharmacia. The Foundation was set up in 1983, following a donation by the wholesaler Erik Malmsten, the grandson of Richard C. Malmsten. Its mail aim was to promote scientific, economic research and education at the University of Gothenburg.