The University Association

The idea was that the association would dissolve once the university had been established and its future secured. Instead, it remained, long after the university became a state university in 1960. Today’s University Association is a friends’ association for anyone interested in the university’s overall activities. The association safeguards the university’s history and supports various projects in this area.

Each year, the association awards prizes for the most outstanding doctoral theses within the different faculties.

 It took 40 years to reach 775 students; this number had increased tenfold to about 8,000 students by the transition to university status 40 years later. The largest quantitative expansion took place during the 1960s, when student numbers more than doubled in a short time. This expansion was driven by large post-war cohorts, expanded secondary education, a new student aid system, and strong economic growth. By 1970, the number of students had reached 30,000. Growth continued during the 1970s and 1980s, albeit at a slower pace. In the first half of the 1990s, another major expansion occurred, driven by high unemployment and political decisions to increase educational capacity.

Between 1960 and 2025, Stockholm University transformed from a relatively small state-funded institution with a few thousand students into a multi-billion-krona organization (approximately SEK 6.5 billion), with around 33,600 full-time students, 1,200 active doctoral candidates, and 5,400 employees. Alongside education, research has both broadened and deepened, increasingly funded externally leading to greater dependence on competitive funding.
The original emphasis of Stockholm University College was to meet both educational and societal needs, while research held a natural place from the beginning. The natural sciences formed the foundation of the university, unlike older universities. This area has consistently accounted for the largest share of research, although it has significantly fewer students than the humanities.

Stockholms universitets/Högskoleföreningens kronologi 1878–1960 (Chronology of Stockholm University / The University Association 1878–1960) pdf, 1.4 MB.

Åren 2007-2009
Kåre Bremer

SciLifeLab pdf, 2.3 MB.

Stockholm 1869: 76 personer vill starta en högskola
Pia Bjerén Fürstenbach

Tid för en ny högskola pdf, 15.3 MB.

– några pedagogiska idéer i pläderingen för en ny "högskola i hufvudstaden"
Anders Gustavsson, Max Scheja & Annika Ullman

Rum för en ny högskola pdf, 1.2 MB.

Conversations with five vice-chancellors of Stockholm University: Kåre Bremer, Gunnel Engwall, Gustaf Lindencrona, Inge Jonsson and Staffan Helmfrid.

Part 1 (00:00:17)

• Government control of universities through annual appropriation directions
• Steering research towards current topics and areas prioritised by the government
• Insufficient resources for other research, particularly in the humanities and social sciences
• Appointment of the governing board, its chair and the vice-chancellor
• Universities’ status as government agencies
• Alternative organisational forms

Part 2 (00:21:06)

• The field of languages, language research and attempts at coordination between universities
• The government’s mandate to universities regarding less widely taught languages

Part 3 (00:33:01)

• Established universities and newer university colleges
• Distribution of research funding among higher education institutions
• The scale and breadth of research at major universities
• The requirement for research-based education and the resulting need for research funding at university colleges
• New university colleges as regional policy initiatives
• Örebro, Linköping and Gotland
• Closures, reprioritisation and targeted recruitment
• Strategic initiatives and specialisation at higher education institutions

Part 4 (00:55:31)

• External funding, new funding bodies and their influence
• Consultation with funding bodies
• The ability of vice-chancellors, faculties and professors to shape priorities
• Reprioritisation and closures
• Independent research and commissioned research

Part 5 (01:06:54)

• The scale and capacity of doctoral education
• The value of a doctoral degree as a qualification and the future prospects of new PhD graduates
• The shortage of mid-level academic positions and long-term funding
• Funding, self-perception, future prospects and opportunities in the humanities
• Internationalisation and forthcoming major international projects
• International standing and competitiveness