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Report 2008:45 R

Review of study programmes in archive studies, library studies, information studies, museum studies and cultural management: national overview

This report records the results of the review of study programmes in archive studies, archive and information studies, library and information studies, museology, museum and cultural heritage studies and cultural management at first, second and third cycle conducted by Högskoleverket (Swedish National Agency for Higher Education) in 2008. Four external expert groups, including eleven experts from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, were appointed.
 
The report comprises two parts. The first part is the Agency´s reflections on the external experts´ views. The second part is the external experts´ report. This includes a national overview of the main fields of study, a description of the subjects, a description of the subjects at every higher education institution and, in certain cases, recommendations. 
 
The external experts confirm that many of the environments are small and vulnerable. The archive studies programme at Stockholm University has only one lecturer employed until further notice. The archive studies programme at Uppsala University and the museology programme at Umeå University have only two lecturers employed until further notice whilst the international museum studies programme at the University of Gothenburg has only employed lecturers on fixed-term contracts. However, two HEIs have larger environments on all levels. These are: the library and information studies programme at Borås University College in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg and the cultural management programme at the University of Gothenburg.

There is considerable variation in the proportion of teaching staff holding doctorates. The library and information studies programmes at Borås University College and Växjö University, and the cultural management and international museum studies programme at the University of Gothenburg, have less than 30 per cent of lecturers with doctorates, whilst the library and information studies programme at Umeå University has over 80 per cent with doctorates. The low proportion of lecturers with doctorates is sometimes compensated by a higher number of lecturers, particularly in the University of Gothenburg´s cultural management programme and the library and information studies programmes at Borås University College and Växjö University. There is a Nordic-Baltic doctoral school for library and information studies that has a great influence on the creative and academic doctoral studies environment throughout the country. There is no doctoral level archive studies programme in Sweden although such a study programme is being developed at Mid Sweden University. The country´s only doctoral studies programme in cultural management can be found at the University of Gothenburg. The country´s only doctoral studies programme in museology can be found at Umeå University although no doctoral students have been accepted there since 2000.

Last updated: 2009-02-02
Contact: Pär Brännström, Email: firstname.lastname@hsv.se
Swedish National Agency for Higher Education  Visting address: Luntmakargatan 13  Box 7851, 103 99 Stockholm
Phone: 08-563 085 00  Fax: 08-563 085 50  Email: hsv@hsv.se