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Luleå, Sweden, with a population of about 75,000, is a fascinating place to be. The city is located just south of the Arctic Circle, in Norrbotten, which stretches over an area that is fully one quarter of Sweden. World attractions such as the Ice Hotel, the Ice Globe Theater, and the 400-year-old Sami winter market are within easy reach.
The Luleå University of Technology is a modern university with high-quality study and degree programs in areas such as engineering, business, media, music, teaching, and drama.
Students from all over the world are attracted to Luleå University by the magnificent natural surroundings. Many are fascinated by the dramatic transition of the seasons and nature’s contrasts, with brilliant white snow, the shimmering Northern lights, and warm Midnight Sun. In addition to its exotic geographic location, the university is characterized by:
- top class research and education
- teaching in small groups
- excellent research and lab facilities
- easy rapport between students and teachers
Learn more about Luleå!
“ISEP makes studying abroad very easy." - Richard Thomas, 2003-04 ISEP Student University of Utah to Luleå University of Technology
About Luleå University of Technology |
ISEP’s member university, the Luleå University of Technology, was founded in 1971 and is well known for its programs in engineering, business, music and media.
The university’s modern campus is barely 5 km from downtown Luleå. The university enrolls 12,500 undergraduate students, including about 150 exchange students per semester and 500 graduate students.
The School of Music, housed in new buildings with three organ auditoriums, concert hall and state-of-the-art audio engineering labs, is located in the town of Piteå, approx. 50 km south of Luleå. Piteå has some 30,000 inhabitants.
The university offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Business Administration and Economics, Social Sciences, Engineering, Health Sciences (no courses in English yet), Music and Media, and Teaching.
The institution has campuses in Luleå, Kiruna (Space Technology), Piteå (Music & Media), Boden (Health Science), and Skelleftea (Wood Technology).
“I studied music at the Musikhogskolan in Pitea. All of my instructors were great. They were all very knowledgeable in their specific training, and I learned a lot from each of them." - Melody Schwantes, Fall 1997 ISEP Student, Appalachian State University
Academic Information  |
Luleå University of Technology is renowned for its programs in engineering, business, and music and media. Swedish language classes are available at no additional cost at both the Luleå and Piteå campuses.
For ISEP students studying at Luleå, there are a variety of non-degree study programs taught in English:
- Applied Physics and Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Science/Electrical Engineering
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Educational Sciences
- Health Science
- Human Work Sciences
- Languages and Culture
- Business Administration and Social Sciences
- Chemical Engineering and Geosciences
- Space Technology
- School of Music
- Wood Technology
Library Services and Technology
The main campus features a brand new library which offers 400 reading places and nine rooms for group studying (to be booked in advanced at our homepage). A silent study hall within the library is available as is a separate, free access, all hours study hall.
Hundreds of databases for searching information are available, mainly on the Net. Some with references to Swedish and international research, others with full text articles online. The library offers wireless laptop Internet connection, and students have free access to the library on the Net within the campus.
All students have e-mail access free of charge. Student computer centers are located in all university buildings.
Quick Links
Courses in English
Piteå School of Music
“I was very pleased with the academic program. It was challenging, yet fun. The teachers did a great job at incorporating the exchange students and making sure they were adjusting and doing well in school." - Jill Foley, Spring 2000 ISEP Student, University of Northern Colorado
Student Life
Housing
Modern, top-notch student housing is located within a 3 km radius of campus. There are different housing possibilities for exchange students; an apartment shared with another student or a dorm room (corridor).
Students living in apartments are provided with a single room and share kitchen, bathroom and shower with one or two students. Students living in dorm rooms are provided with a single room, private bathroom and shower and have access to communal kitchen facilities in each corridor.
All housing includes access to laundry facilities. Most students walk or bike to campus. Exchange students are guaranteed accommodation as long as the Application for Housing form is filled out and sent to the Student Union Housing Office six weeks before the semester starts.
Support
On arrival, exchange students’ first contact is LURC, the Luleå University Reception Committee. LURC arranges numerous social activities, such as dinners, parties, and trips. LURC also arranges Swedish student mentors (buddies) to help incoming exchange students to adjust to life in Lulea.
Campus Life
Exchange students are integrated with newly arrived first year students to participate in an orientation called Nolleperioden: two fun-filled weeks of social activities to make the new arrivals feel welcomed and give them an opportunity to get to know each other and the campus. The orientation is arranged by students for students.
The central meeting point for students outside of class is the student union building. The student union also runs a restaurant and pub called Kåren, which all student union members have full access to. Running over the course of the year are activities such as discos, band-nights and festivals. During band-nights and festivals some of Sweden's most popular bands play at an often sold-out Kåren. Lunch, evening and bar meals are served every weekday at reasonable prices.
The student union employs two full time workers (students) to handle international student affairs. Together with LURC, trips and social activities are arranged during the year for all exchange students and their student mentors. Ski trips, study tours to visit mines in the north, visits to the traditional Sami market in Jokkmokk, and a trip to Vasa, Finland, are organized. Social activities include dinners, snow mobile safaris, culinary temptations, and sports tournaments.
Sports and Athletics
Students participate in sports such as football, handball, badminton, basketball, indoor hockey, golf, rink-bandy, skate-sailing, fencing, mountain-climbing, and dancing (dance and jazz ballet). The Sports Club has a large outdoor section that arranges hikes in the forests and mountains, skiing holidays, and excursions out in the archipelago. The physical fitness programs are extremely popular.
“One of the most positive aspects of my experience at Luleå was LURC: the help they provided and the activities they planned." - Richard Thomas, 2003-04 ISEP Student, University of Utah
About Luleå CityLuleå is the seat of Norrbotten County and has a population of about 70,000. The city center is on a peninsula. Water plays an important part in the lives of Luleå's inhabitants. The Luleå archipelago has over 500 islands. The city has developed into a technological center in the North of Sweden. The most important cornerstones of this development are metallurgy, education and research, and communications. Luleå University of Technology has played an important role in the development of the city.
Travel
The easiest and quickest way to reach Luleå is to fly from Stockholm. Two carriers, SAS and Nordic, serve Luleå several times a day. The overnight train from Stockholm to Luleå is another option.
Students use every opportunity to travel through Scandinavia and the rest of Europe from Northern Sweden. The competitive budget airline market has made it very affordable to travel by air. Many students choose to rent cars with student discounts and drive to Norway or Finland.
Day and Weekend Trips
Luleå is only a few hundred miles from the Arctic circle, so take a trip to the far north and Lapland.
Travel to Jokkmukk and see all the handiwork of the Lapps during their traditional fair in either August or February. There are only 40,000 Lapps spread between Finland, Norway, Russsia, and Sweden.
Kiruna, near Jokkmukk, is a town of 27,000 people situated on Lake Luosajava near the world’s largest underground mine.
The Northern Lights are the best entertainment around and cost nothing. The Northern Lights are clear and fantastic in Luleå.
Muddus National Park, famous for its bird sanctuaries and zoo of northern animals, also offers marked hiking trails and an observation tower of the lake. Located only 20 km from Jokkmukk, this park would be a great stop along the way.
History
Luleå was founded in 1621 around the medieval church in Gammelstad. The city was an important commercial center even then, with maritime trade to ports in the south, in particular Stockholm. However, the harbor in Gammelstad did not satisfy the demands made by an expanding maritime trade and the city had to be moved ten kilometers to its present site.
The citizens refused to abandon Gammelstad, and the King resorted to a decree to force them to move to the new city. In spite of this show of royal power the move went slowly and was finally accomplished in 1649.
The new site developed slowly; up to the end of the 18th century Luleå had a village atmosphere. It would take more than another half century before venture capital from the south would pave the way for industrial activity.
The Ore Railway changed the economic prerequisites for iron production and Luleå Ironworks was inaugurated in Karlsvik in 1906. In the 1940s, the Norrbotten Ironworks was built and came to play an important role in Luleå and the whole of the County of Norrbotten. Now known as SSAB Luleå (Swedish Steel Co. Ltd, Luleå Steelworks), it is one of the most modern steelworks in Europe.
“Luleå University is an amazing place. Luleå has a small town, cozy feel that makes you feel like you know everyone at the university. The Swedish people are incredible, and Luleå gives you the opportunity to meet students from all over the world who are also there on exchange. I loved my time at Luleå University, and would recommend it to everyone. The great thing about studying abroad is that no matter where you go, it will be the right place. The experiences you will have, the people you will meet, and the things that you will do will stay with you for the rest of your life." - Benjamin Reeves, Spring 2002 ISEP Student, University of Tennessee