Social and Behavioural Scientists

Last updated: 8/12-2022

Graduates of social and behavioural sciences do not normally work in regulated professions except for psychologists and psychotherapists, about which you can read more under Health Care professions.

Employment training programmes

The fast track for newly arrived immigrants with a degree in social work is an initiative for people who have recently arrived in Sweden and are registered with Arbetsförmedlingen. The fast track is intended primarily for people from countries outside the EU/EEA and who arrived here in the past 36 months and who have at least a bachelor's degree in the field of social work. People with foreign education who have at least a bachelor's degree in social work will also be considered.

The programme consists of a preparatory module in which you study Swedish for academic purposes and do a kind of work experience, where you shadow a person working in the field of social work. This is followed by a period of 26 weeks in which you take three academic courses that must correspond to 30 credits. These courses should be regarded as a supplement to your foreign qualification to make you employable in the Swedish labour market. Contact Arbetsförmedlingen.

There is also a fast track for social scientists who have a minimum three-year university education in the social sciences, economics or law. The programme is arranged in a similar way as that for social work, but there is no shadowing element in this fast track. You study preparatory Swedish for academic purposes, which is followed by the academic programme of three courses corresponding to 30 credits. Finally, you do work experience at a public authority for 4-6 months. The fast track is aimed at preparing you to work as a case officer at a large central government agency, which have a need for case officers, especially those with language skills from countries outside the EU/EEA.

Supplementary education programmes

Once you have had your education assessed and validated, you can either seek a job directly or undertake supplementary education to improve your prospects of finding work.

Supplementary education is provided at higher education institutions in Sweden. They qualify for financial aid and last for 1-2 years.

Regular training

Stockholm University offers foreign social workers a supplementary training programme of four semesters.