The motivation to study may affect students’ successes and setbacks in their studies. Research has shownthat multiple factors affect students’ motivation to study. The purpose of this article is to describe howstudents conceptualize the motivation to study. We gathered empirical data through group interviewswith 32 Swedish students in six study programs. Through phenomenographical analyses, we identified sixcategories of how students experience the motivation to study: the importance of teachers, the subject,student characteristics and attitude, study results, and support from friends and family and theenvironment. Within each category, we distinguished various aspects. Differences in conceptions betweenstudents and programs or types of programs exist, but they are small. Only students from studypreparation programs emphasized the importance of student characteristics and attitude for increasingstudy motivation and getting good jobs. The study’s results show both general and distinctive content inthe meaning of study motivation. We make recommendations to develop incentives for all students, notjust those who have favourable socio-economic study conditions, to develop motivational strategies tostudy.