For students attending the Master's Programme in Biomedicine Exchange Studies - Master's Programme in Biomedicine

If you are interested in exchange studies keep an eye on this page. Here the international coordinator posts information regarding the application process as well as invitations to information meetings where you can find out more about our partner universities, the application process, and stipends among others.

Application
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Application

Information and forms for application for exchange studies on the Master's Program in Biomedicine

Accreditation
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Accreditation

Information about applying for accreditation of elective courses.

Q&A and Contact Information
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Q&A and Contact Information

Questions and answers regarding the application and contact information

Exchange studies through the International Committee of the Biomedicine Programmes (BIONK)

The International Committee of the Biomedicine Programmes (BIONK) is responsible for exchange studies in the Biomedicine Programmes. BIONK consists of teachers, international coordinators, the programme administrator, and student representatives. BIONK signs exchange agreements with partners universities, decides about rules for participation and selection of students for the exchange programmes, etc.

In the field of Biomedicine, you have the opportunity to spend part of your studies abroad. Completing a course or doing project work in another country is a unique experience compared to studying in Sweden. Experiencing another culture from the inside is a fantastic way of learning more about yourself and your field of study. Studying abroad means not only academic development, it also provides insights and experiences you will profit from in your future life - both professionally and personally. You will also make lifelong friends and many other interesting contacts. If you are considering studying abroad, it is important that you consider how you will deal with unforeseen events. An exchange student should be flexible and be able to take initiative.

For general information on exchange studies through KI, read more on:

Applications 2025/2026

Apply

Apply for exchange studies abroad here.

Deadline

Deadline to apply to go on exchange for your degree project in semester 4 (spring semester 2026) is January 31st 2025. The deadline for our second round of application has been set to Friday June 6th 2025 at 11am (prel). The application for the academic year 2025/2026 will open late December.

If after the first round of applications there are exchange places left, we will announce them in our second round of applications. Deadline to apply is June 6th, 2025 (prel).

Preparations

Until then you can prepare yourself by collecting the necessary documents. You can also read the exchange reports from previous exchange students and benefit from their experience.

Presentation

The international coordinator's presentation about exchange studies in the academic year of 2024-2025.

General rules

Important information regarding application, waiting list and second round of application

Deadline to apply for exchange studies in the academic year 2025-2026 is Friday January 31st at 11am. Only complete applications are assessed by BIONK. No individual extensions will be granted.

Additional rules and conditions may apply for students going abroad on their own (freemovers). Please check with your study programme at Karolinska Institutet.

Acceptance of nomination

After BIONK has assessed all applications, they are ranked based on the criteria set by the international committee. Successful applicants will receive an offer of exchange (nomination) by email and a deadline to accept/reject their nomination.

As an applicant you have the following options:

  • Accept their nomination
  • Reject their nomination
  • If not having been nominated to the firsthand choice of university, the applicant can accept their nomination and be placed on a waiting list for a higher alternative as listed in the application

If the applicant does not fulfill the course eligibility criteria to be nominated for exchange, i.e. having passed all taken courses, the applicant will receive a conditional nomination. This eligibility criteria will be checked again on April 15 for exchange during the Autumn and on September 15 for exchange during the Spring semester.

As soon as an applicant accepts their nomination, the international coordinator will nominate the applicant to the allocated host institution; the applicant will have to apply to the partner institution according to the rules stated in the information sent by the partner institution.

Waiting list

During the first two weeks of May the international coordinator will assess if any of the applicants placed on the waiting list can be offered a higher alternative. After this assessment, all applicants on the waiting list will be informed if any of their higher alternatives have become available and they will be offered the opportunity to be nominated to a higher ranked alternative or to keep the original nomination.

After this step the student will no longer be able to change to any other host institution. It is not permitted to reject a nomination awarded in the first round of applications and then re-apply in the second round. Any such application will not be assessed.

Second round of applications

Those who did not apply for exchange in the first round have the opportunity to apply for exchange in the second round of applications. In mid-May the list of places still available after the first round will be published online, and a second application round will be announced.

During the first week of the summer break, students who did not participate in the first application round can apply in the second round, and exchange study places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Until accepted by our partner university it is possible to withdraw from the exchange program. Please consider though that the later you withdraw, the fewer chances you will give to a fellow student to be nominated instead of you if there is a tight application deadline to the partner institution. After being accepted you will only be able to withdraw due to issues related to health, family problems or financial problems.

Rules

  • Only one exchange per academic year is possible. 
  • You cannot postpone an exchange place to next academic year unless you have a valid reason for doing so. 
  • If you are awarded a scholarship, you have to follow the rules that apply to the scholarship (see Travel Grant Application Form for Exchange Students).
  • Within Erasmus+ you can receive the scholarship in total up to 12 months per academic level (i.e. Bachelor, or Master).
  • During your exchange period you must be a good representative for KI and market KI in the best possible way. See Code of Conduct for exchange studies.
  • You have to hand in your exchange report after your exchange period has ended. The deadline is September 1 every year, but you are strongly advised to write and hand in the report directly upon return from your exchange.

Summer courses

Our partner universities organise summer courses.

Summer courses abroad

Partner universities 2025/2026

At the Master’s Programme in Biomedicine you can participate in exchange studies at universities in the Nordic countries, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America. Please note that the information about the partner universities is continuously being updated.

List of partner universities

Exchange places for students in the Master’s programme in Biomedicine

Most of the exchange agreements within Biomedicine, and the number of exchange places stated in the agreements, are shared between the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. Therefore, the number of exchange places allocated to the Master's programme in Biomedicine can differ from the number of places as seen on the list of partner universities on the link below.

Australia

Read about studying and living in Australia, watch stories from other students, and learn about Australian education on the official Australian Government website for international students.

The University of Sydney, (Sydney-Australia)

Austria

Learn about studying in Austria on the Study in Austria web site.

Medizinische Universität Innsbruck

Eurolife partner  

Brazil

Canada

Please note that it is not possible for Master's students in Biomedicine to apply for exchange studies in Toronto during the 3rd semester. You can only apply for exchange studies in Toronto during the 4th semester (data collection for degree project).

Find out about studying in Canada on the EduCanada web site.

University of Toronto (UTM)

Information about applying for exchange studies at University of Toronto.

One or more elective courses have to be additionally selected when going on exchange to Toronto for a research project. This is mandatory to obtain a full-student visa in Canada. Read more about life as an international student at the University of Toronto.

If students are interested in going on exchange to the University of Toronto Mississauga (undergraduate campus) to do research, the process has changed a few times over the last 18 months, but currently you should reach out early to their international coordinator Andrew Sedmihradisky (andrew.sedmihradsky@utoronto.ca) and he can put you in touch with staff in the Experiential Education Unit (EEU) – who will assist you in finding a project/supervisor. Please do so as early as possible so you will have an idea of whether research in your area of interest is possible. The EEU can walk you through the process and help you find a project in the ROP program on UTM's website. All research areas are potentially possible, but they vary from year to year depending on which professors have submitted projects or not.  

Students studying at the University of Toronto need to take a minimum of 1.5 U of T credits per semester. Assuming your research project is worth 1.0 credits, you’d need to take at least 1 (and up to 3) more 0.5 credit course. Students can view the courses available in an academic year using the UTM Timetable linked below – if you need a detailed syllabus for a particular course you can reach out to Andrew and he can download it for you. 

UTM Timetable

Denmark

Read about what life would be like studying in Denmark at Study in Denmark.

Finland

Learn more about studying in Finland on the Study in Finland web site.

France

Practical information and facts about studying in France is available on Campus France.

Germany

Study in Germany provides information, student stories, and tips about student life in Germany.

Great Britain

You can find information about studying in Scotland on the web site Study in Scotland.

Ireland

Find out about studying in Ireland on the web site Education in Ireland.

Italy

Università Degli Studi di Milano

Japan

No Japanese language requirement to apply to these universities.

Study in Japan provides information about life as a student in Japan.

Lithania

Norway

Read more about studying in Norway on the Study in Norway website.

Saudi Arabia

KI and the international committee for the study programmes in Biomedicine has just signed an agreement with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. KAUST is offering master’s students in Biomedicine to do their degree project at KAUST, fully financed, via the KAUST Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP) internship. The projects can be done within the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE). This exchange is only available if you go in your 4th semester and do your research project. No courses are available at KAUST.

Singapore

Spain

Switzerland

Switzerland is not participating in the Erasmus+ Programme, but student exchange is continued within the Swiss-European Mobility Programme.

  • Students can find supervisors/projects in Pharmaceutical Sciences, or other areas if no projects can be found within this area.
  • Students should contact ETH for further instructions if they are applying for projects that are not within Pharmaceutical Sciences (only Pharmaceutical Sciences will appear in the application system).
  • Students should look for a suitable project on the website of the Department or Institute the student is interested in joining, and contact respective professors or senior scientists directly.
  • Some projects offered at ETH Zurich are also published by SiROP

The Netherlands

Study in Holland provides ample information about studying in Holland and practical matters relating to the study experience.

Options for exchange studies within the Master’s Programme in Biomedicine

Students apply for exchange studies in competition, where the students are ranked and nominated according to their ranking and choice of exchange university. Nominated students that are accepted by their exchange university can apply for a stipend from KI or Erasmus, depending on the location of the university, and will not pay any tuition fees. Students must have studied for one year at KI prior to their exchange, and exchange studies are only allowed for one semester.

Exchange options for the Master’s Programme in Biomedicine at KI are as follows:

  • Exchange studies during the third semester
  • Exchange studies during the fourth semester

Here is the list of universities with which the Master's programme in Biomedicine has an agreement.

Exchange studies during the third semester

Frontiers in Biomedicine Research Project 2 (15 credits) (10 weeks). Data is collected at a university of choice in Europe and a stipend is applied for via the Erasmus+ Traineeship from KI.

The course will be examined and graded at KI, and the student is registered for the research project course at KI and not formally as an exchange student in Ladok.  Students who select this option receive no additional support beyond that which is given to students who collect their data at KI.

Important! The student must communicate with the course leader for the 15 credits research project course Velmurugesan Aralampalam and send in a project plan together with the supervisor according to the instructions for the course before going abroad.

The first courses in semester 3 must be taken at KI. The courses are:

  • Biomedical Research Literacy, (6 credits),
  • Bioentrepreneurship, (3 credits), and
  • Elective courses, (6 credits).

The research project must start on the first day of the research project course, i.e. students who wish to collect data and perform research for this course abroad must travel during the weekend immediately after their elective course in order to be able to start their research project on the following Monday.

Since the research project course is 15 credits (10 weeks), the student is expected to be in the lab until a few days before the exam in mid-January (which is held at KI). Thus, the formal requirement is to stay in the city where the project is performed for the full period of the project. This is in order to comply with the requirements for an Erasmus + Traineeship stipend, which stipulate that the applicant must stay abroad where the project takes place for a minimum of 60 days. However, the student may agree with the supervisor to perform part of the project at distance (writing etc.) over the Christmas period.

Students who take the research project course abroad may stay in that lab and continue with their degree project course, if agreed upon with the supervisor and with the course director of the degree project course.

Exchange studies during the fourth semester

In semester 4 you can go on exchange to one of our partners through a formal exchange agreement.

The Master’s thesis will then be examined and graded at KI and the student is registered for the degree project course at KI and not formally as an exchange student in Ladok. The student will not be entitled to additional loans from CSN for studies abroad, but will receive the usual stipend from KI (the sum is dependent on the location of the exchange university).
The student must comply with the requirements for the degree project (which are documented on the course web page) and submit a project plan etc. to the course leader (Ivan Nalvarte) according to the instructions.
While at the exchange university the student studies within a KI agreement, tuition fees are waived and in the majority of cases help is provided with finding accommodation.

  • Officially no credits are taken as an exchange student (the full semester is examined at KI).
  • The student is entitled to an exchange stipend from KI and does not need to pay tuition fees at the exchange university, and will in the majority of cases receive help in finding accommodation, but will have no right to additional loans from CSN.
  • At some exchange universities the student will perform a project that will also be assessed at the exchange university (this is a requirement for becoming an exchange student at some universities) and will receive formal credits from the exchange university, in addition to the assessment and credits awarded at KI.

Eligibility for exchange studies in semester 3 and 4:

Please note that you need to fulfill the following course requirements to be eligible for exchange studies. To be admitted for studies in the third semester you must have completed the first semester of the Master’s Programme in Biomedicine and passed all the component exams/assignments etc by April 15th, as well as having taken (participated in) all the courses in the second semester of the programme. In order to be eligible for exchange studies in the fourth semester you need to have passed all courses in semesters 1 and 2 by September 15th, and to have taken all the courses in the third semester. If you do not fulfill these requirements by the stated deadlines you will not be eligible for exchange studies.

Please contact the Programme Administrator, Malin Sandell, if you have any questions regarding accreditation.

Freemover

Student registered at KI for their degree project can also collect data for their Master’s thesis at another university or company abroad (outside our bilateral exchange study agreements). If a student selects this option, it is not a formal exchange, meaning that there is no additional support beyond that which is provided to students who collect their data at KI. If students collect data for their Master’s thesis in this fashion, they must have a supervisor on site, and in addition, they are also required to have a mentor/supervisor at KI.

If you do not want to apply for the exchange places on offer, you can apply independently for a place as a ”freemover” at a university abroad. There are no formal restrictions on this, although you must expect to put in quite a lot of work in finding a university place abroad and arranging the exchange on your own. The advantages of applying for exchange places through BIONK are many: you normally do not have to pay the often high tuition fees that almost all universities charge and you will be studying at a university at which BIONK has good contacts and there is less paperwork. A student who applies independently must send all the application forms and information and has to organize everything on his/her own. The International Coordinator can help with certain certificates but unfortunately cannot assist with the application itself. Any costs involved with this kind of internship are the student's responsibility.

Studying abroad as a freemover

Best Travel Report 

Every student going abroad as officially nominated is requested to write a travel report. All students allowing us to publish their travel reports with their name and email address compete for the Best Travel Report of the Year award which includes a monetary prize. Read about the latest winners.

NEWS

2024-10-24

Drop-in hours 

For questions regarding exchange studies, please visit us during our drop-in hours.

  • November 6: 11.00-14.00
  • December 4:  11.00-14.00
  • January 16: 11.00-13.00
  • January 22: 11.00-13.00 

Address: Berzelius väg 3, 5th floor, Solna

Here you can find the Powerpoint presentation from International Day, October 1, 2024.

GG
Content reviewer:
Giulia Grillo Mikrut
Åsa Landes
16-12-2024