Vocational education makes up an increasing share of higher education. But what shapes the trade-off between academic and vocational elements? When and why does the academisation of professional training result in tensions, and by whom are they felt? Drawing on the case of Sweden, we analyze the process through which vocational training has been pulled into the university system, and show how it has spawned distinct models for aligning academic and vocational elements. These models coexist in the era of vocationalism. By exploring their respective dynamics we can chart how - and where - tensions between academic and vocational elements arise and are managed.