Apply for a master's programme
You submit your application to Sweden's central application portal universityadmissions.se. Here is our step-by-step guide on how to apply for a master’s programme.
Application period
The application period is open 16 October 2023-15 January 2024 for studies starting in autumn 2024. The deadline for the supporting documentation 1 February 2024.
1. Choose your programme
Before you apply your first step is to decide which programme you want to study. If you haven't already decided, you can find a list of our master's programmes with description and syllabus below.
2. Check the entry requirements
To be eligible for a master's programme you need to meet the general and specific entry requirements, and prove your English language proficiency.
You will receive a formal eligibility assessment after you have submitted a complete application to University Admissions in Sweden.
To meet the general entry requirements, you must have been awarded a Bachelor's degree (equivalent to a Swedish 180 ECTS Bachelor's degree) from an internationally recognised university.
If you are in your final year of studies, you can also become conditionally admitted on condition that you meet the degree requirement by the start of the programme.
You can find the country specific documentation requirements for your country of study at universityadmissions.se.
Country specific pages on universityadmissions.se
Additional instructions for applicants in their final year of bachelor's studies
Most of our master's programmes have programme specific entry requirements, for example studies in a specific subject area. You can find the programme specific entry requirements on the webpage of the programme that you are applying to.
The English language requirement is a level of English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary school course English 6. There are three ways of proving your English language proficiency:
- Certain upper secondary school studies
- Certain university studies
- Certain English tests
3. Apply
You apply at universityadmissions.se.
Good to know:
- Your application will not be processed until you have paid the application fee (non-EU/EEA) or submitted proof of your EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship.
- Ranking your programmes is important! If you are offered your first choice, all other programmes with lower ranking will be deleted from your application.
- Gather and submit your documents well in time. Documents received after the deadline will not be considered.
4. Fill out the CV form
All applicants are required to fill out a CV form that will be used in the selection process. You upload your CV form to your account on universityadmissions.se.
5. Follow your application
Once you have applied it is a good idea to check for messages from University Admissions in your account. University Admissions will notify you if you are missing any documents. However, it may take several weeks for University Admissions to assess you documents, and there is no guarantee that they will notify you before the documentation deadline. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit the correct documents on time.
Good to know:
- By applying early, you increase the chances of getting notified about missing or incorrect documents before the documentation deadline.
- The status you can see at your account on University Admissions is not a final admissions result.
What happens now?
As a fee-paying applicant you can apply for the Karolinska Institutet Global Master's Scholarship. Depending on where you are from there may also be other scholarship opportunities. Be sure to read in and check the deadlines.
If you meet the documentation and entry requirements you will compete with the other applicants for available places. All applicants are given a merit rating. The better the merit rating, the better chance you have of being awarded a place.
Who does what?
- University Admissions reviews the general entry requirements, the documentation requirements and the English language requirements.
- The Admissions Office at KI reviews the programme specific entry requirements.
- The academic staff of the programme you have applied for reviews the KI CV form and your certifying documents, and give you a merit rating.
There are several different results you may find on your notification, for example admitted, deleted, reserve, not processed and conditionally admitted.
- You don't need to accept or reply to your admissions offer to confirm your place.
- If you are conditionally admitted you will be receiving an email from KI with instructions. Your status as conditionally admitted will not change in your account even after the conditions are met.
- KI admits a very limited number of students from the reserve list. Reserve means that you are currently not admitted but that you may be admitted in case KI needs to fill the seats for the programme. KI admits more students than the number of seats for the programme, and when an admitted student decline their admissions offer, this does not automatically lead to an offer for an applicant on the reserve list.
Good to know
- In your account, you can find a PDF-file called ”Notification of Selection Results”. This document is the official copy of your admissions results. No other admissions letter will be sent to you.
You can appeal decisions regarding eligibility after you have received the Notification of Selection Results. You submit your appeal in your University Admission’s account.
Before you submit an appeal, please contact the admissions office at KI regarding your case.
If you need to postpone the start of your studies, you can apply for a deferral if you have a valid reason.