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.
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.
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?
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
- Adaptions for examinations, 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
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.