For students attending the course Degree project in biostatistics and data science (30 credits) course code 5BD004

Project requirements

All students, once they have identified a potential project and supervisor, will submit a project proposal describing the proposed project. The course director will evaluate and approve all projects on an individual basis before the student is allowed to start the course. Following are some general guidelines for projects.

The project must:
1. Address a research question in biostatistics and/or data science. That is, the project must have a methodological component in biostatistics and/or data science.
2. Address a research question in biology, medicine, or health science.
3. Provide the student with the opportunity to complete the learning outcomes of the course within the duration of the course. In particular, it should be feasible for the student to complete the practical project work and complete the examination within the duration of the course (approximately 20 weeks).

We hope the course will give students the opportunity to conduct analyses of real data, under supervision, to address relevant research questions in biology, medicine, or health science. Analysis of empirical data is not, however, a requirement.

A project where the student applies standard analytic methods to address a question in medical science will probably not be sufficient; the project must also give the student the opportunity to develop new knowledge in biostatistics and/or data science (point 1 above), such as an in-depth study of the properties of a method or comparing alternative methodological approaches to a problem.

Project proposal

Once a suitable project and supervisor have been identified, students should submit a project proposal by sending an e-mail to bds-degreeproj-meb@ki.se. The project proposal should be written together with the supervisor(s) and must include the following information.

1. Name and e-mail address of student.

2. Name, affiliation, e-mail, and contact telephone number of the main supervisor. Every student must have a main supervisor with a KI/KTH/SU employment or affiliation. If, at this stage, you only have a practical supervisor without such a position then state that in the proposal and the course leadership will identify a suitable main supervisor.

3. [if applicable] Name, affiliation, e-mail, and contact telephone number of the practical supervisor. This information is only required if you are conducting the practical project work outside KI/KTH/SU.

4. Title of the project.

5. Hypothesis or research question related to biostatistics or data science that will be addressed during the project.

6. Hypothesis or research question related to biology, medicine, or health science that will be addressed during the project.

7. Description of the project. Describe the background and rationale along with the proposed material and methods. If empirical data are to be used, describe if the data are available or will be collected during the project.

8. Describe the work and time plan for the project along with plans for practical supervision.  

9. Ethical permits. If ethical permits exist, provide the reference numbers. If ethical permits are not required then please state why. Karolinska Institutet guidelines stipulate that degree projects may require ethical review if the work has a scientific content that can be categorised as research.

Credit Transfer

Student who are admitted and pursuing studies at Karolinska Institutet are entitled to apply for credit transfer for previous education, work experience and other prior learning. Further information about credit transfer, along with a link to the application form, is available at the following link.

Please email your application for credit transfer, including supporting documents, to bds-degreeproj-meb@ki.se