Karlstad University

(Sweden :: University Partner)

Web site: www.kau.se

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Description

Apart from training teachers, a tradition that dates back 150 years, Karlstad University (KaU) offers 40 programmes and 750 courses in the fields of the humanities, health science, natural science, social science, education and technology.

At present KaU has more than 10,600 undergraduate students and about 270 postgraduate students. Furthermore, a similar number of postgraduate students are pursuing the major part of their doctoral studies in Karlstad although they are formally enrolled at other universities in Sweden. There are just over 1 100 staff, 70 % of which are lecturers and researchers.

The University?s budget is approximately SEK 700 million a year. It offers master?s degrees in 33 disciplines and PhDs in 22. It has two postgraduate schools, one for research in the natural sciences and technology and the other for the humanities and social sciences. All postgraduate and undergraduate education is gathered together under two faculty boards.

KaU is a one-campus university, characterised by integration and multidisciplinarity. This creates the ideal conditions for a way of working which promotes considerable openness across disciplines, between lecturers and students and between research and undergraduate students.

KaU is headed by a rector who has overall responsibility. The rector is assisted by a pro-rector and one vice-rector. A governing body, which has a majority of external members but also representatives of staff and students, takes major decisions on policy and budgetary matters.

KaU has formulated six priority research areas?our six knowledge area profiles. KaU has also post-graduate research education programmes and today offer doctoral degrees in 22 disciplines. One of the six priority areas is "Forests, environment and materials". Research on forests, wood and paper finds a natural home at KaU located in V?rmland county in central Sweden, an area with abundant natural forest resources and expertise in the pulp and paper industries. Within our forest industrial research programme we concentrate mainly on pulp, paper, surface treatments and printing.

Research personnel