Behind the rankings
How We Rank Swedish Universities
See how Odin's Swedish University Index combines its sources into a ranking built for students choosing where to study in Sweden.
The Swedish University Index is in research beta
Research betaSome inputs are not yet connected to their live sources. The Swedish research, employment and completion figures are provisional estimates, the Leiden data is from the 2024 edition, and UniRank data is not yet included. Use the index as a rough guide alongside official rankings, not as a final verdict. It leaves beta once every input comes from current published data.
The Process
Multi-source data collection
The index combines six sources: three international rankings (QS, Leiden and UniRank) and three Swedish public datasets covering research output (SwePub), graduate employment (UKÄ) and degree completion (SCB). No single source dominates.
Normalisation & quality adjustment
Raw values arrive in incompatible formats - ranks, counts, percentages. We normalise everything to a common scale and apply a recency adjustment that discounts scores based on older data.
Proprietary weighting model
Our weighting model reflects what matters to students choosing a Swedish university. International rankings carry 70% of the weight; Swedish data on research output, graduate employment and degree completion carries 30%.
Rolling recalculation
Our team recalculates the index after source data has been reviewed and updated, so a ranking only changes when its inputs change.
Design Principles
Reproducibility
Our process is systematic and deterministic - the same inputs always produce the same output. No university is moved up or down by hand.
Resilience
When a source has no data for a university, its weight is shared proportionally among the sources that do, so rankings stay comparable rather than silently incomplete.
Balance
We deliberately balance global benchmarks against Sweden-specific outcome data, ensuring rankings reflect both world-class standing and real student experience.
Honesty
Universities with insufficient data coverage are not ranked. Where inputs are still provisional, we say so, which is why the index is currently in research beta.