Medicine 2023-2024

Options in English

For exchange students without very good command of the Swedish language, the study programme in Medicine offers options in English as presented below.

Please note that the teaching hospitals in Stockholm are currently undergoing structural and reorganizational changes that highly affect the clinical education of medical students at Karolinska Institutet. Unfortunately this also has an impact on our international student exchange programme and therefore the number of study places for incoming exchange students at KI is presently restricted.

General requirements

Specific Requirements

• Three years of study at a study programme in Medicine
• Ability to take medical history and to perform a physical examination of a patient

Other specific requirements may apply as well.

Study options

Exchange students without Swedish language command can apply for the following type of courses/rotations;

• Curricular courses
• Elective courses (see under Curricular courses)
• Clinical rotations; designed to fit the needs of incoming exchange students
• Research-oriented projects; exchange students may also carry out projects on specific conditions

Please note that the study options in English are limited and that a study place cannot be guaranteed.

Courses and clinical rotations are offered throughout the academic year (September - June) at the different teaching hospitals affiliated to Karolinska Institutet, in accordance with the time table below. No rotations are offered during July and August.

Please note that a clinical rotation, or parts of it, may take place at different teaching hospitals in Stockholm. Even if a clinical rotation is offered in English some elements, such as patient communication, might be conducted partly in Swedish.

Curricular and elective courses in English (may be subject to change)

All courses are offered full-time and require at least 40 hours of work per week. Courses are given in blocks and hence, a student can only attend one course at a time.

All clinical courses integrate theory and practical clinical training and end with an examination. The performance will be graded on an A-F scale on the basis of the student's fulfillment of the learning outcomes stated in the course syllabus.

2EE108 Clinical medicine - surgery, 27 ECTS credits 

Karolinska Institutet offers a unique opportunity to participate as exchange student in a regular full semester course (18 weeks)  taught in English integrating both theory and clinics. The course is offered at Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge/Flemingsberg in the autumn semester up until the Christmas break. Both national and exchange students are admitted and classes are taught in English.

2LK111 Clinical Medicine, Emphasis on Reproduction and Development, 22.5 ECTS credits

A 15 week clinical course including Obstetrics, Gyneacology, Paediatrics (incl. Paediatric Surgery and Paediatric Psychiatry) and Clinical Genetics at Karolinska University Hospital, Solna. Specific requirements: having passed a basic course in medicine and surgery at a study programme in Medicine.

2EE015 Clinical rotation in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 12 ECTS credits, 10-12 places per course

An eight week course given twice a year. The course ends with an exam. Specific requirements: having passed a basic course in medicine and surgery at a study programme in medicine or equivalent.

1EE021 Community and Home Based Rehabilitation - Cultural Perspectives, 7,5 ECTS

A five week course given every spring semester. This is an interprofessional, international course with teachers and students from different countries and different study backgrounds (e.g. occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nursing, medicine).

Clinical rotations designed for exchange students (may be subject to change)

September - June (no options during July and August).

A clinical rotation consists of clinical work under supervision. A rotation is four weeks long (6 ECTS-credits) and require at least 40 hours of work per week. A student can only attend one rotation at a time.

The rotations are offered in four-week periods throughout the academic year (September-June). See the time-table for a detailed schedule.

In addition to the general requirements, specific requirements may apply. The syllabuses presented below are examples from one of the teaching hospitals where the rotations are offered and specific requirements can be found in each syllabus.

Each rotation ends by an assessment. The type of assessment can be found in each syllabus.

Clinical rotations

• 2EE090 Emergency Medicine
• 2EE044 Gynaecology
• 2EE054 Internal Medicine 1(including subspecialties)
• 2EE043 Neurology
• 2EE098 Oncology
• 2EE039 Ophthalmology
• 2EE033 Oto-rhino-laryngology
• 2EE062 Paediatrics
• 2EE045 Primary Care
• 2EE027 Psychiatry 1
• 2EE036 Surgery 1 (covers the rotations in Hand surgery, Neurosurgery, Plastic surgery and Thoracic surgery)
• 2EE097 Urology

In addition to the clinical rotations described above, KI also offers a few clinical rotations that includes theoretical parts, such as seminars, lectures and a final examination.

2EE073 Inflammatory diseases, 6 ECTS, 10 places

A four week clinical rotation with in-depth studies on chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. The focus will be on rheumatic diseases and other chronic inflammatory diseases with an interdisciplinary approach both in the diagnostic procedures and during treatment and follow up. Theoretical lectures will be mixed with clinical training. The lectures will encompass basic immunology and inflammation with relevance for autoimmune diseases as well as disease characteristics.

Research-oriented projects (4, 8, 12, 16 weeks)

Exchange students in Medicine who want to carry out a research-oriented project at Karolinska Institutet may do so, but would have to make the initial arrangements themselves. The most successful approach is to find a supervisor interested in coaching students and participate in an ongoing research project. The subject area and a supervisor from Karolinska Institutet must be stated in the application form (more information under application procedure below). ECTS grades cannot be granted for projects. The duration of the project must be either 4, 8, 12 or 16 weeks.

• 2EE113 Project for Exchange Students 4 weeks
• 2EE114 Project for Exchange Students 8 weeks
• 2EE115 Project for Exchange Students 12 weeks 
• 2EE116 Project for Exchange Students 16 weeks

Options in Swedish

Exchange students with a good command of Swedish or another Scandinavian language are welcome to apply for the courses presented below.

General and Specific Requirements

Exchange students applying for a course or a rotation at Karolinska Institutet have to fulfill general as well as specific course/rotation requirements. Specific course requirements may be required. All students have to fulfill the language requirements:

• A very good command of Swedish, corresponding to a Pass in the Tisus test (Tisus – Test in Swedish for university studies)

In addition to this, exchange students applying for clinical courses/rotations have to fulfill the following general requirements:

• Three years of study at a study programme in Medicine
• Ability to take medical history and to perform a physical examination of a patient

Curricular courses in Swedish (Subject to change)

All courses are offered full-time and require at least 40 hours of work per week. No courses run in parallel. A student can attend only one course at a time. All clinical courses integrate theory and practical clinical training. All courses end with an examination. The performance will be graded in accordance with the ECTS grading scale and on the basis of the student's fulfillment of the learning outcomes stated in the course syllabus. All courses start every semester (both autumn and spring).

Exchange students may apply to the following courses offered in Swedish within the regular curriculum from semester 5 in the 5,5 year programme:

• 2LK134 Clinical Medicine, 48 ECTS credits (semester 5 and 6, starting autumn semester only)
• 2LK055 Clinical Medicine - Surgery, 27 ECTS credits (semester 7)
• 2LK063 Clinical Medicine - Neuro, Senses and Psyche (ORL; Ophthalmology; Neurology; Psychiatry), 30 ECTS credits (semester 9)
• 2LK111 Clinical Medicine - Emphasis on reproduction and development (Gynecology/Obstetrics; Pediatrics; Genetics), 22.5 ECTS credits (semester 10)

For more information please visit the programme website. Note that the website is in Swedish.

6 year programme (new curriculum)

Exchange students may apply to the following courses offered in Swedish within the regular curriculum of the new curriculum for the 6 year programme up to semester 5 (only in Swedish).

• 2LA002 Basic Science 3: Anatomy, histology and basic clinical consultation and examination
• 2LA003 Basic Science 4: Neuroscience, neuropharmacology and endoClinical rotationinology
• 2LA004 Basic Science 5: Function and dysfunction of the human body
• 2LK134 Clinical Medicine

Please contact international coordinator Magdalena Palmqvist for further information.

Application

Application deadlines

• 1 May for the autumn semester end of August to mid-January)

• 15 October for the spring semester (mid-January to the beginning of June)

More information about the programme

Medical students are expected to take much of the responsibility for their own learning. Teaching methods include group work, seminars, lectures and individual projects, and there is a clear integration of practical and theoretical skills. The teaching is often based on descriptions of patient cases.

The courses within the medical programme are offered on two levels, where semester 1-6 form the basic level and semester 7-11 the advanced level. Both levels include in-depth studies to ensure progression within each level as well as between the levels.

The final seven terms of study take place in teaching hospitals and within primary care. Students take part in day-to-day patient care, supervised at all times by professionally active specialists.

In order to be accepted as an exchange student at KI the applicant must be enrolled at a higher education institution that has a written exchange agreement with KI for the specific study programme of interest. Exchange students should be nominated by their home institution. The final decision on admission is made by KI.

After graduation

After five and a half years of study, students receive their medical degree. This is followed by an internship (AT) for 18-24 months, depending on the location, after which the Swedish licence to practice medicine is granted by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). To receive the specialist qualification another five years of specialist training (ST) or residency is required. There are currently 63 medical specialities in Sweden.

Medical doctors can work in many different sectors, including in-patient and out-patient hospital care, occupational healthcare and primary care, or in private surgeries, research laboratories and industry. Medical doctors also work abroad or for aid organisations. Those who choose to work in one or other part of the healthcare sector follow careers that are decided very much by their chosen medical specialities, such as general practice, surgery, infection diseases or psychiatry. Apart from dealing with patients, medical doctors also often become engaged in teaching, quality development, management and administration. Many medical doctors work wholly or partly with research in order to improve and develop future healthcare provision.