If you know Swedish and are a Swedish citizen, this does not apply to you.
The reason why this blog is written exclusively in Swedish (with the exception of this post, that is), is because the Medicine undergraduate program at Karolinska Institutet is given only in Swedish. Therefore you must have a good knowledge of Swedish. In fact, all Medicine undergraduate programs in Sweden are given only in Swedish, because Sweden’s Medicine program is quite different from other countries’:
- The Medicine program is 5 and a half years long or 11 semesters. In comparison, most other EU countries’ Medicine programs are 6 years long. It is an undergraduate program, so you can begin fresh out of high school. In the US and Canada, you need a bachelor’s degree before attending the graduate Med School.
- However, when you graduate in Sweden you do not yet have a doctor’s license. The license is earned through an internship of 1 and a half to 2 years at a Swedish hospital, which is called allmäntjänstgöring. The internship is paid and you are stationed at different departments during it. Once the internship is completed you have earned your doctor’s license.
- Doctors with an international education usually have to do the allmäntjänstgöring-internship to be able to practice here in Sweden, no matter how much experience they have. Some even have to begin studying Medicine at a Swedish university again.
- The education is free for Swedish, Nordic and EU citizens although the cost of a Medicine student is estimated to be roughly 1 million Swedish Kronor per academic year, discounting the government financial support and loans. Actually, every academic program in Sweden is free for the citizens listed above, as long as they are offered at a public university (like Karolinska Institutet!).
If you are an international student who would like to study at Karolinska Institutet, the Biomedicine Bachelor program is offered entirely in English. All of KI’s Master programs are also in English, as well as the PhDs. These programs also have blogs, written in English, that you can find here. If you have further questions surrounding international admissions at Karolinska Institutet – DO NOT ASK ME! Instead, e-mail antagning@ki.se.
My name is Yaqeen and I am living in UAE. I finished my secondary school in juni this year and would like to study medicine program in Sweden. Can you help me with my request please.
thank you.
Hi Yaqeen
I suggest you have a look at my tag #informationinenglish where I have explained the possibilities for non-Swedes to study Medicine in Sweden (which are, long story short, slim): https://blog.ki.se/kistudentenisabelle/tag/english/
Hej,
Could you please mention the tuition fee for international students to pay for Medicine program at KI (or generally in Sweden). Is the tuition fee is 1 million/yer?
Best
Hello
For students that are EU-citizens, essentially every education program (including the Medical program at Karolinska Institutet) is entirely free of tuition. You can find more detailed info on whether you have to pay tuition or not in Sweden here: https://www.universityadmissions.se/en/All-you-need-to-know1/Applying-for-studies/Fees-and-scholarships/Am-I-required-to-pay/
This KI page answers your question in detail: https://education.ki.se/faq-medical-programme?_ga=2.258816778.1870377843.1566558276-1462844470.1563886205
That is to say, the ENTIRE tuition fee for the Medical program (that covers 5,5 years) is 1,4 million SEK. This is comparatively low, as the entire tuition fee for the Medical program in the UK is 2,4 million SEK (source: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/course-fees?wssl=1).
Best regards Isabelle
hej,
what level of swedish would you say is required? i’m pretty good at the basics in swedish and know most of the latin medical terms. i’d obviously improve my swedish the best way i can before i’d even *consider* studying in sweden, but i’d like to know how good you guys think someone should be. 🙂
Hej!
The requirement is proficiency in Swedish equivalent to a Swedish high school graduate – fluent, that is. According to the CEFR-scale that’d be C2. You can read more about the Medical program for international students here: https://education.ki.se/faq-medical-programme.
Best regards
Isabelle
Hi, I am a swedish citizen living in the UK i currently have a bachelors in life sciences. I wanted to know if i can study for free and apply for the medicine course at karolinska institutet with my current degree which a first class honours. Also what steps would I have to take.
The Medical program in Sweden is an undergraduate program.
Tack
Hello,
I graduated this year with a B. S. in biology (pre-med program), is it possible to transfer my courses into the those of the medical courses at Karolinska institut.
Best.
Hi Nora
No. If you wonder why, read this very post.
Best regards Isabelle
Hi, I am a Swedish citizen but currently live in the UK. I would like to study medicine course but in English. Is this possible? Also, I have a law degree with a postgraduate master. What steps do I need to take? Do I have to do a foundation course?
Many thanks,
Ally
Hi Ally
Try reading this post again. I’ve already answered your questions in it.
Best regards Isabelle
hi! I am in the USA, would I be able to get my bachelors here and then get my medical school/ masters degree in Sweden (like at K.I.)?
Hi Katina
Read my blog post (this one) again.
Best regards
Isabelle
Hi, I have completed 7 years at a medical school in Cameroon and is now a medical doctor with 2 years experiences. How to check my studies equivalence with the Swedish medical education and know if I there are some course that I should take to align my education with the swedish one.
Thanks,
Stephan
Check socialstyrelsen.se
Hi. I am A level student. I want to study with medicine. I want to become a doctor. I live in Italy. Can you please help me to say, is it possible in sweden? And how?
Hi, I have done my graduation in Bachelors of Dental surgery in India…can you please help me out to find the post graduation or dental hygienist courses i can opt for in English language in Kl.Thanks
Hello.. I am Swedish person and I have Swedish passport and I am studying medicine in Iraq first stage but I want to study medicine in this university what should I do for that to study at this university and will it cost or not because I am Swedish
I am from India I have completed my +2 that is 12th standard I want to study in Sweden . What is the fee structure for doing MBBS
Hello! My name’s Alessandra and I am a medical student at my 3rd year out of six in Milan, Italy. Would it be possible for me to move to a swedish university and complete my degree without starting all over again and with no knowledge of Swedish language?
No
Hi.. I live and work in Sweden but from India, with my family.
My daughter want to join medical doctors bachelors in Sweden after her gymnasium and would prefer to take the bachelors in English. Is there any university in Sweden that gives bachelors of doctor program ( clinical medicine) in English? And what is the validity of the doctors licence gained in Sweden in other countries? Can they practice in other countries with Swedish doctors licence?
Hello . I’m from Greece and I am a student of the last grade of High School. As I understood I don’t have to pay fee tuitions in the Department of medicine. I want to be occupied in pathological anatomy or
medical biochemistry. Can I study in Karolinska? How can I do the procedure in order to study there ?
How to prepare for the medical entrance test if the student studies in sweden and meets swedish requirement?
We don’t have a medical entrance test per se in Sweden – we only have Högskoleprovet which tests English, Swedish and Mathematics. Karolinska Institutet offers a special admission quota, which is based on Högskoleprovet, an ”Intelligence” test, a personal statement and an interview. The ”Intelligence” test is not really something you can study for. There is plenty of advice online for Högskoleprovet.
Hi my name is Maria Tahir and i am living in Pakistan i finished my bachelor’s in Medical subjects now i want to take MBBS Admission in Sweden but i don’t know how to apply what are their requirements like entry test,marks etc can u please guide me!!
Please read the post you commented on
hi, im Dulina, im studying my Advanced levels in my school, here in sri lanka, and my wish is to come to sweden to study medicine, so do i need to have a bachelors degree before i attend the bachelor of medicine? or can i go straight into medical school with my Advanced Level results
No, you don’t need to have completed a Bachelor’s degree before Medical school in Sweden – it’s an undergraduate program.
hi i have done masters in business administration. i want to do mbbs from sweden .is their any requirement of science subjects in previous studies for taking admission in mbbs.kindly reply me.
Hello.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology major and Chemistry minor. I am currently studying Medicine in Ukraine and I would like to transfer to Karolinska Institute next year as a third year student. Is that possible? How can I apply please?
Hy,
I’m currently on my fourth ( out of six) year on medicine in Croatia and I would like to continue my studies in Sweden. So I would like to know if it is possible to transfer without starting from the first year? Also, I am open to learning swedish in order to meet the entry conditions.
Thank you.
It wouldn’t be impossible to convert and account for at least some of your previous courses, however, what courses would be accepted would be judged on a case-to-case basis. For more information, please contact antagning@ki.se.
Hi,
I’m graduating high school from a Turkish international school, receiving an international diploma. I’m also a Norwegian citizen and have a level of understanding of Swedish. I know that you are obligated to finish 13 years of school in Sweden before applying for university. As an international student, I graduate after 12 years, will I still be able to apply? And even if my high school certificate isn’t Norwegian, but I have citizenship will the education be free?