Student Nations in Uppsala and Lund

Uppsala and Lund have a student institution found nowhere else in Sweden. Here is what a nation is, who gets through the door, how joining works in each city, and what changes around Valborg.

When you need this

You are starting a degree or an exchange semester in Uppsala or Lund and everyone tells you to “join a nation”. Or you study somewhere else and want to visit friends on a club night. Or you are a tourist who walked past a grand old nation house full of students and wondered whether you could go in for a beer. This page answers all three — and the answer for the tourist is different from the other two.

What a student nation is

A nation (student nation) is a student society tied to Uppsala University or Lund University. Each is named after a Swedish province or town and has its own house: a pub, club nights, a café or lunch, study rooms or a library, choirs, sports and student rooms. They are run by students, largely as volunteers, on a non-profit basis — which is why their food and beer are among the cheapest in town.

The nations are old. Uppsala’s date from the 1600s — Stockholms nation was founded in 1649 — at a university founded in 1477. Lund’s first nations came soon after Lund University was founded in 1666; Wermlands nation dates from 1682. Students used to join the nation of their home region. Today anyone can choose any nation.

In Lund the odd one out is Smålands nation, which stands outside Kuratorskollegiet.

Voluntary since 2010

Many older guides say every student in Uppsala or Lund must belong to a nation. That ended on 1 July 2010. Until then, membership was compulsory at the two universities. Today the Higher Education Act still gives these nations a special status — it defines them as the Uppsala and Lund nations students were obliged to belong to before 1 July 2010 — but nobody has to join. Student union membership is voluntary too.

Most students still join, because the card is the key to nation pubs, clubs, gasques and often housing. Kuratorskonventet says nearly 40% of Uppsala’s student housing is owned by the nations, and a nation room usually requires membership of that particular nation.

Who gets through the door

Nation pubs and clubs are not public bars. At the door you show a nation card, or a guest card, together with your ID.

• Members of one nation can visit all the others’ pubs and clubs — in Uppsala all 13. In Lund, Studentlund says members of Smålands nation do not get the other nations’ nightlife, while Lund University’s page says the membership opens all nations; ask the nation if it matters to you.
• Students from other universities, in Sweden or abroad, can buy a gästkort (guest card), a temporary membership. You show a valid student ID and a passport or ID card to buy it — and again at the nation, because the guest card alone is not enough. Entrance fees may apply on top.
• Non-students cannot buy guest cards in either city. So a tourist without student status will not get into a nation pub or club night, even with a friend inside.

Behind this is Swedish alcohol law. Serving alcohol needs a municipal serveringstillstånd (serving licence), which can be granted for serving to the public or to an association or other closed company. Serving age is 18, staff may not serve anyone noticeably drunk, and unless the municipality decides otherwise serving stops at 01:00. For club door ages and ID rules elsewhere, see nightlife and club age limits.

Joining in Uppsala

1. Be admitted to Uppsala University or the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala.
2. Visit several nations during inskrivning (registration) at the start of term to compare.
3. Register — online via Kuratorskonventet if you like — but you still have to visit the nation in person with a registration certificate and valid ID. It cannot be done fully online.
4. Pay the membership fee, set per semester by each nation.

Missed registration week? Go to the nation office (expen) and ask for the förste kurator (“1Q”), the officer in charge of membership. Exchange students join exactly the same way. Your nation card lives in an app, and you show it with your passport or other ID.

Uppsala guest cards are sold only in person in Uppsala — at Kuratorskonventet’s guest-card office or at a nation — for one, two or four weeks. A friend can buy yours with readable copies of your ID and student ID. Lost cards are not refunded or replaced. Students at folk high schools or vocational (YH) programmes are not eligible; Uppsala’s distance students and Campus Gotland students can buy one with a certificate.

Joining in Lund

In Lund you join Studentlund, one membership that makes you a member of a nation, your student union and the Akademiska Föreningen (AF), the students’ cultural association. Students at Lund University, including LTH, and at several universities of the former Öresund University network are eligible.

1. Register on Studentlund with your admission letter — the system opens with admission results in July (autumn) and December (spring).
2. Visit nations during the registration period, when they are open 10–18 every weekday.
3. Sign up at one nation. Your membership is complete only then, and the digital card appears in the STUK app.

You can switch nation freely in your first term; after that, only at the start of a term before paying the term invoice. Lund students abroad on exchange, distance students and those studying outside Lund can choose a reduced membership. Guest cards are sold at the nations or in the STUK app, only to students at other universities; Lund University students cannot buy them.

Gasques, spex and Valborg

A gasque is the formal student dinner: you dress up, eat a three-course meal, sing student songs and toast — often with snaps. Members get priority for tickets at their own nation, and Uppsala’s International Committee runs an International Gasque in English every semester. Spex, student comedy theatre, and balls fill the rest of the calendar; Stockholms nation in Uppsala stages its Marsspex every year.

Valborg on 30 April is one of the biggest days of the student year, and it changes the door rules:

Uppsala’s nations, the university and the municipality also run Varannan vatten (“every other one water”) at Valborg, handing out free water against overserving. The whole day, bonfires included, is in our Valborg guide.

Practical information

FAQ

What is a student nation in Sweden?

A student nation is a student-run society at Uppsala or Lund University, named after a Swedish province or town. Each has its own house with a pub, club nights, a café or lunch, study space, choirs, sports and student rooms. There are 13 in each city, founded in the 1600s. Today any student may join any nation, whatever their home region.

Can tourists visit a student nation?

Usually not inside. Nation pubs and clubs admit members and card-holding guests only, and guest cards are sold only to students at other universities, on showing a student ID and a passport or ID card. A tourist without student status cannot buy one. Public events, such as Uppsala’s cap ceremony and Lund’s 30 April celebration, are open to everyone.

Do you have to join a nation to study in Uppsala or Lund?

No. Belonging to a nation was compulsory at the two universities until 1 July 2010; since then membership is voluntary. Most students still join because the membership is the key to nation pubs, clubs, gasques, cheap food and often housing. In Lund you join through Studentlund, which bundles nation, student union and AF membership.

Can exchange students join a student nation?

Yes. In Uppsala you need to be admitted to Uppsala University or SLU and visit the nation in person with a registration certificate and valid ID. In Lund you register on Studentlund with your admission letter, then sign up at a nation. One membership opens the other nations’ pubs and clubs too, with one exception in Lund: Smålands nation.

What is a gasque?

A gasque is a formal student dinner held at a nation: guests dress up, eat a three-course meal, sing student songs together and toast. Nation members get priority for gasque tickets at their own nation. Uppsala’s International Committee runs an International Gasque in English every semester for students who do not speak Swedish yet.

What happens at the nations during Valborg?

Valborg, 30 April, is one of the biggest days of the student year. Uppsala’s nations hold herring lunches, champagne gallops and clubs; between 25 April and 1 May students from elsewhere need a special Valborg guest card. Lund’s nations hold the Siste april games in Lundagård, with a tug-of-war and pie-throwing. The main public events are free.

Related guides

• Uppsala — the city around the nations: cathedral, Gamla Uppsala and getting there from Arlanda
• Lund — the cathedral town where the other 13 nations live
• Valborg — the full 30 April, from bonfires to the Systembolaget closure
• Exchange students: the first two weeks — permits, insurance and housing before you pick a nation
• Nightlife and club age limits — door ages and ID rules at Sweden’s ordinary clubs

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Facts verified 2026-10-06. Sources: the Higher Education Act and Alcohol Act (Sveriges Riksdag), Uppsala University, Lund University, Kuratorskonventet, Studentlund and Kuratorskollegiet, Lunds kommun — full register in this topic’s source file. Guest-card rules and prices are set each term. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.