Studying with a disability
On this page we have gathered information for students who have a disability and are considering studying here. If you have a documented permanent disability there is support you can get to help manage your studies.
To the extent possible, as an international student with a permanent and documented disability, you can be offered study support. This support is to facilitate your studies at the University of Gothenburg. To be able to apply for study support, you need to:
- Be admitted as a student at the University of Gothenburg
- Have a certificate verifying your permanent disability.
Students with mental health conditions can also receive study support. The support provided is based on your needs and may consist of a number of different adjustments depending on your course/study programme.
A disability means a permanent physical or mental impairment of a person’s ability to function and interact with the world around them. This may be due to an injury or an illness that you were born with, or that has arisen subsequently, or can be anticipated to arise. Examples of disabilities might be ADHD, diabetes, dyslexia, a hearing impairment, or mental illness. The disability must be permanent.
If you are not sure if you can get support during your studies, you can contact the coordinator for study support.
For example, if you break a bone or require surgery during your studies, contact your department. They can answer questions for you on how you can get support. This also applies if your pregnancy were to affect your studies.
You cannot get study support for a temporary injury or illness because it is not a disability under Sweden’s Discrimination Act.
Different support planning – are you a regular student or an exchange student?
An international student is a student who is studying all or part of their university degree abroad. An international student can be either a regular student or an exchange student.
If you are arranging your studies in Sweden yourself and not participating in an exchange programme, you are called a regular student. As a regular student, you are offered the same support as our domestic students. You need to have a documented permanent disability to get access to study support. If you are required to pay tuition fees, the costs for study support are included.
If you are participating in an exchange programme between your home university and the University of Gothenburg, you are called an exchange student. As an incoming exchange student, e.g. via the Erasmus Programme, you can be offered study support provided that this support is paid for by your home university. Be aware that it can take time to plan your support. An agreement between the University of Gothenburg and your home university concerning costs must be in place before your exchange studies start. Your home university can apply for additional funding via the Erasmus Programme or NordPlus if your study support will entail additional costs.
What documentation and certificates are needed?
The documentation may be a medical certificate or a certificate from a psychologist. Speech and language therapists and special educational needs teachers can issue certificates for dyslexia. The University of Gothenburg does not conduct any investigations of diseases or disabilities.
How do I apply for study support?
Once you have received your Notification of Selection Results via universityadmissions.se and accepted your place, you can apply for study support. You apply for the support by making an online application in a system called NAIS. Once we have received your application, a coordinator will contact you and book a meeting with you.
When we meet you, we talk about your studies and about the situations where you may need support. Together we try to find solutions to suit your needs.
Once you have received your user credentials for your student account at the University of Gothenburg, you can apply for study support. However, you are welcome to contact any of the coordinators right from when you have been admitted so that we can prepare ourselves for your support needs. You apply for this support by making an online application in a system called NAIS. Once we have received your application, a coordinator will contact you and book a meeting with you.
When we meet you, we talk about your studies and about the situations where you may need support. Together we try to find solutions to suit your needs.
What support can I get?
We have listed here the kinds of support that many of our students receive:
- Note-taking support
- Adapted course literature
- Adjusted assessment, for example, extended time to complete a written examination
- Longer loan periods for course literature
- Access to reading studio
- Mentors
- Support software such as speech synthesizers, magnifying software, and tools that facilitates spelling and grammar.
- Language support
- Support from a fellow student
If you need sign language interpretation to a sign language other than Swedish, it may be difficult for us to find qualified educational interpreters. Access to interpreters who can interpret several languages simultaneously is limited in Sweden. We recommend that you contact the coordinators for study support early to discuss what the possibilities of getting access to interpreting in sign language are.
Support that you need to arrange yourself
There is some support that the University of Gothenburg does not provide. This includes:
- Personal aids such as hearing assistive technologies. Contact the disability aids centre, occupational therapist or equivalent in your home country.
- If you need a personal assistant to accompany you or support you in your home or during your free time, you are responsible for making the required arrangements.
- Like other students, students with disabilities are responsible themselves for applying for student housing and when applying for housing, stating their needs.
- The mobility allowance and the national mobility allowance are managed by the municipality in which you are registered in the population register. For students not registered in the population register, you will generally need to use taxis that you pay for yourself. The fares for these trips are the same as for regular taxi trips. The legislation in Sweden governing the mobility allowance applies nationally.
- If you need contact with a doctor or other health care provider during your stay in Sweden, you ought to arrange this before beginning your studies at the University of Gothenburg.
Service for students with reading impairments
At Gothenburg University Library, you can get help with adapted textbooks, longer loan periods, access to reading studios and much more.