JONJonkoping · SEExchange destination
Perched at the southern tip of Lake Vattern, Jonkoping is a friendly, walkable university town known for its international business school and lakeside student life.
Sweden avg / mo
€850–1,300
Languages
Swedish (everyone speaks English)
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c/o Jonkoping group chat · Fall 2026
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City Guide
Jonkoping University, and especially its International Business School (JIBS), pulls in a big exchange crowd, so you land in a genuinely international bubble. The compact campus sits right by Lake Vattern, whose beaches and sunsets become the backdrop to your semester. It is small and easy to settle into, with Gothenburg and Stockholm both reachable by train for bigger trips.
Jonkoping Student Union and the JIBS clubs run the welcome weeks, sittningar and parties, and the international crowd makes for a tight, sociable scene. The union pub and the bars around Ostra Storgatan are the main student haunts, and summer term means barbecues and swims along the Vattern shoreline. It is a place where you quickly know everyone in your cohort.
Jonkoping is mid-range for Sweden, so budget around 8,500-11,000 SEK (roughly 750-950 euros) a month. Student rooms run 3,500-5,000 SEK, and the town is small enough that you walk or cycle rather than pay for transport. Cooking at home and hitting lunch deals keeps things affordable.
Studentbostader i Jonkoping is the main student landlord, with rooms in Raslatt and Oxnehaga and closer-in Rosenlund, and the university helps place exchange students, so take the offer early. Raslatt is cheaper but a bus ride out, while central options cost more. Avoid deposits for unseen sublets.
The town is compact and walkable, and a bike covers the rest. City and regional buses run on Jonkopings Lanstrafik (JLT); use the app for tickets and a monthly pass if you live further out. The train station in the centre connects you to Gothenburg and, via changes, Stockholm.
Jonkoping University is known for business (JIBS), engineering, health sciences and education, with plenty of English-taught courses aimed at exchange students. Teaching leans on group projects, case work and presentations rather than big exams. Staff are approachable and informal.
It depends on your nationality. EU, EEA, and Swiss students need no visa or residence permit and have full right to study and stay. Non-EU students staying over 90 days need a residence permit for studies from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), applied for online before arrival, with proof of admission, funds, and comprehensive health insurance.
Apply as early as possible, as processing can take weeks or months in peak season. You'll also want to sort a Swedish personal number (personnummer) if you're staying a full year, as it unlocks banking, healthcare, and many services, though shorter stays can get by with a coordination number instead. Keep digital copies of everything.
Fika runs the day here as everywhere in Sweden, and the lakeside setting shapes life, from summer swims to winter walks. The town has a solid cafe scene and a Saturday market, and the student union events keep food cheap and social. Alcohol comes from Systembolaget.
The centre sits on the strip of land between lakes Vattern and Munksjon, with campus, shops and nightlife all close together. Rosenlund and Liljeholmen are handy central-ish residential areas, while Raslatt and Oxnehaga are the bigger, cheaper student-housing districts a short bus ride out.
Gothenburg is around two hours by train and Stockholm three and a half, both easy weekend targets. Closer by, the quaint town of Granna (home of polkagris candy) and the island of Visingso in Lake Vattern make a lovely short trip, and Vattern's shore is made for cycling.
Because so many students are international, English gets you a long way, but a few Swedish words are appreciated. Get a bike, lean into the lakeside outdoor life, and mind Systembolaget's opening hours. Winters are dark, so build cosy indoor habits early.
Student Reviews
“The residence is modern and the rooms are clean, but the common areas are rather dirty due to the students using them. Most of the rooms are large enough and fully equipped (kitchen with stovetop, microwave, and fridge, bathroom, toilet, bed), and shared kitchens (with stovetop, microwave, oven, kettle, dishwasher, cutlery, dishes, and all necessary equipment) are available with a certain number of slots available per month (10). There is a laundry room with a washing machine and dryer, also with a certain number of slots available per month (I don't remember). There is also a gym (STC) on the ground floor of the building; it costs money (around €40 per month at the student rate) and is open to both students in the residence and non-residents. The main problem I encountered was that rooms were assigned randomly, and I was placed in one of the smallest rooms (14m²) that didn't have a kitchen. I am therefore obliged to use the shared kitchen on a daily basis, which is only functional from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (despite my unlimited number of slots because I only have this kitchen) and the other students who use it to party or cook always leave it in a terrible state of cleanliness. The internet connection is not extraordinary but remains sufficient for normal use (no video games).”
“The campus is pretty nice, there's a coffee shop, a library and a lot a rooms to study in. Registration was relatively easy. I wouldn't pick that university again, because I have ADHD and the classes at Jibs were a nightmare for my brain: huge courses with so many students, almost no practice, mostly theorical, very few classes per week and a lot to read on your own. I would recommend for someone who's very organised and independent, but if you struggle with mental health and/or socialisation I wouldn't recommend. It's very easy to isolate yourself when there is so few classes with too many people, I know many people who share the same feelings as me on that matter. However, it is a different experience for everyone, it depends on their study method and personality!”
“What you need to know is that there are not many activities to do in the city, we quickly toured the activities when we have been there for a while, but there is a nice bar with a bowling alley in it and arcade games I spent a lot of time there and there is a lot of discount it is the O'learys bar, then there is a good steakhouse in front of the bar it is the grill I think, there is also a bar with darts at the bottom next to the grill, in the same place there is a cinema even if the movies are in Swedish, which is quite cool is also when the weather is nice there is a beach at the end of the lake and you can sit there have barbecues or even play volleyball so all this is really nice”
“Transport is quite expensive when you are over 20 (595 SEK). Life in Sweden is more expensive than in France. In terms of food there is less choice and diversity of products than in France and it is more expensive. We feel very safe there, there are a lot of police officers in the city and at night when leaving the club too. In terms of weather, in spring/summer the sun rises early and sets very late (e.g. in May it rises at 3am and sets at 11pm) and in winter/autumn the opposite (e.g. it rises at 8:30am and sets at 4pm). It's still a small town so the number of activities, restaurants and bars is quite limited. The city tour is quite quickly done.”
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