Course requirements and choice of courses for doctoral students
After admission to doctoral education, you as a doctoral student write your individual study plan (ISP) together with your supervisor. The starting point is the general syllabus and the individual conditions.
To help you, we present on this page courses that are compulsory for all or for some doctoral students. There are also other general science and generic courses here that are not compulsory but can nevertheless be important. The purpose is to give you as a doctoral student a better overview when choosing courses and drawing up your individual study plan.
Course requirements within doctoral education
The general syllabus describes the course requirement and when during the doctoral education it must be fulfilled. As a doctoral student, you usually follow (unless you have changed to a later version during your education) the general study plan version that was in force at the time of admission to doctoral education, which means that it may look somewhat different for different doctoral students. The requirement also differs depending on your educational background and research focus.
The introduction to doctoral education at Karolinska Institutet is part of the course requirement for all doctoral students. About the introduction and how to register.
Planning of courses in the individual study plan
In the individual study plan you plan, together with your supervisor, what courses (and other activities) you need to accomplish during the doctoral education. You can see what courses are available at KI as follows:
- Current course syllabi can be found in our system for doctoral courses, Fubas. In a syllabus there is however no information about the frequency of the courses. Therefore, we have compiled overviews for the planned courses of the doctoral programmes as well as of the general science and compulsory doctoral courses offered (see below).
- Courses that will be given the coming semester are presented in the course catalogue. The catalogue is published once every semester and is open for application during three weeks. Application is done directly in the course catalogue. See applying for doctoral courses.
Doctoral students within our research schools are following each school’s course package but may need to take additional courses.
Courses within doctoral programmes
Project-specific courses are given within our thematic postgraduate programmes. The courses are open to all doctoral students and are searched for via the course catalogue.
For the programmes' course offerings within their respective research field, see the overview planned courses within the doctoral programmes.
Compulsory and general science/generic doctoral courses
Below, we present courses that are compulsory for all or some doctoral students and that are announced via the course catalogue, as well as how often these courses are usually given. Other general science/generic courses are also listed here which are not compulsory but can nevertheless be important. The purpose is to give you as a doctoral student a better overview when choosing courses and drawing up your individual study plan.
Abbreviations
- HEC is the abbreviation of Higher Education Credits (Hp in Swedish). They are compatible with the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).
- "VT", "HT" or "VT and HT" is an indication of how often (and which semester) a course is normaly offered. VT stands for spring semester and HT for autumn semester.
Statistics
The aim of the statistics courses is to provide you, as a doctoral student, with a basic understanding of the subject and how statistics are used in medical research, or (with more advanced courses) to develop your knowledge of how to use statistics in your research area.
The courses can also help you to achieve the degree outcome for knowledge and understanding:
“Demonstrate familiarity with research methodology in general and the methods of the specific field of research in particular.”
KI also offers courses in the use of popular statistics programmes, such as Stata, SAS and R.
See the individual syllabi for information on which statistics programme the course uses.
If you have any queries concerning credit transfers from other statistics courses, your departmental director of studies can contact the course providers of the following courses for help assessing whether the minimum requirements are met.
Basic Statistics (no prerequisites)
3134 Basic Course in Medical Statistics, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: medstat@ki.se
2609 Basic Course in Medical Statistics - a distance course, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: medstat@ki.se
3042 Biostatistics I: Introduction for epidemiologists, 3 HEC, VT. Contact: johanna.bergman@ki.se
Courses 3134, 2609 and 3042 have similar content. Course 3042, however, focuses on epidemiological studies.
Intermediary and Advanced Statistics (with prerequisites)
2738 Intermediate Medical Statistics: Regression models, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: medstat@ki.se
Prerequisites: Basis Course in Medical Statistics, or the equivalent.
2858 Longitudinal Data Analysis - Classical and Modern Statistical Methods, 3 HEC, VT. Contact: medstat@ki.se
Prerequisites: see syllabus.
5314 Biostatistics II: Logistic regression for epidemiologists, 1,5 HEC, HT. Contact: fu-adm.gph@ki.se
Prerequisites: Epidemiology I, Biostatistics I, or the equivalent.
5519 Biostatistics II: Logistic Regression for Epidemiologists, 1,5 HEC, VT. Contact: gunilla.nilsson.roos@ki.se
Prerequisites: Epidemiology I, Biostatistics I, or the equivalent.
3142 Biostatistics III: Survival analysis for epidemiologists (using Stata), 1,5 HEC, VT. Contact: gunilla.nilsson.roos@ki.se
Prerequisites: Epidemiology I, Biostatistics I, Biostatistics II, or the equivalent.
2992 Biostatistics III: Survival analysis for epidemiologists (using R), 1,5 HEC, HT. Contact: gunilla.nilsson.roos@ki.se
Prerequisites: Epidemiology I, Biostatistics I, Biostatistics II, or the equivalent
5531 Practical Introduction to Multilevel Data Analysis: From Data Collection to Results Interpretation, 3 HEC, VT. Contact: aleksandra.bujacz@ki.se
Prerequisites: see syllabus.
Courses 5314 and 5519 have similar content. Course 3142 uses Stata statistics software while 2992 uses R, otherwise, they have similar content.
Note that the course catalogue contains several advanced statistics courses, which are primarily held under the doctoral programme in epidemiology, although they are also offered by for example the Medical Statistics Unit (MedStat, LIME).
Courses in software for statistical analysis
The courses below focus on specific statistical software.
Note: It can be vital for your research to be able to make the best use of such tools for statistical analysis, but the course credits for such a course do not count to fulfil the course requirements for statistics specified in the general syllabus for doctoral education. This because the focus of software courses is on syntax and programming (for your statistical analysis of your research data) rather than on learning statistical thinking, which is what one is supposed to learn from the courses about statistics.
Regarding the courses in R: courses 2953, 2958, 2971 and 5300 are all at the same (basic) level, with a slightly different focus, while course 6003 is an in-depth course with prerequisites.
2953 Statistics with R - from data to publication figure, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: alen.lovric@ki.se
2958 Introduction to R, 1,5 HEC, HT. Contact: gunilla.nilsson.roos@ki.se
2971 Introduction to R - data management, analysis and graphical presentation, 2,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: marine.andersson@ki.se
5300 Get started with R – Programming Basics, Data Analysis and Visualisation, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: billy.langlet@ki.se
6003 Intermediate R –Data Science and Visualization Techniques Beyond Base R, 3 HEC, HT (Prerequisites: see syllabus). Contact: billy.langlet@ki.se
3143 Introductory course in SAS programming, 1,5 HEC, VT. Contact: fu-adm.gph@ki.se
2868 Advanced course in SAS programming for health care data, 1,5 HEC, HT. Contact: thomas.frisell@ki.se
5315 Fundamentals of Stata Language, 1,5, HT. Contact: fu-adm.gph@ki.se
3028 Grundkurs i SPSS, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: olivia.ekberg@ki.se
Facilities at KI that offer professional statistical services
Consult the experts for advice on which statistics programmes to choose. Facilities at KI offering professional statistical services are:
- The Medical Statistics Unit (MedStat)
- Biostat Core
Research Ethics
Purpose and requirements for doctoral courses in research ethics.
If you will be working with laboratory animals, you will also need the relevant education and training, see below.
See also:
The following doctoral courses in research ethics fulfil the course requirement stated in the general syllabus:
3118 Forskningsetik, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: nicoletta.raic@ki.se
2964 Medicinsk forskningsetik/Medical research ethics, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: annelie.jonsson@ki.se
In addition to these courses are complementary courses that can be of interest to you (if, for example, you are engaged in registry research).
If you are taking a course in research ethics at another university and want to transfer the credits, remember that it must meet KI’s own requirements. See Purpose and requirements for doctoral courses in research ethics.
To Communicate Science
Good skill in communicating one's research to different target groups and in different contexts is of great importance to the success of the individual researcher, for the research community and for society in general.
The courses in scientific communication aim at facilitating for you as a doctoral student to achieve the degree outcome concerning skills and abilities:
"Demonstrate the ability in both national and international contexts to present and discuss research and research findings authoritatively in speech and writing and in dialogue with the academic community and society in general."
All doctoral students admitted from 1 January 2018 must be able to demonstrate at least 1.5 credits in communicating science. This includes courses in writing science / popular science, oral presentation of science and presentation techniques. These courses are counted as general science for doctoral students admitted before 1 January 2018.
Being good at communicating science requires constant training in writing and presenting as well as recurring feedback of, among others, the supervisors and other research group members.
Courses in oral scientific communication:
2787 Present your research!, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: anna.hildenbrand.michelman@ki.se
5231 Oral Presentation of Own Research, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: anna.hildenbrand.michelman@ki.se
5747 Mastering Science Communication and Public Engagement: From Research To Resonance, 3 HEC, VT and HT (previously with course number 3147). Contact: liisa.olsson@ki.se
Courses in written scientific communication:
2561 Writing science and information literacy (online), 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: jenny.simeus@ki.se
2618 Write your research results and get them published, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: anna.hildenbrand.michelman@ki.se
5227 Advanced Scientific Writing, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: anna.hildenbrand.michelman@ki.se
Courses in oral and written scientific communication:
5506 Research Communication in Health Science, 1,5 HEC, VT (every second year). Contact: per.palmgren@ki.se
Resources at the KI library in the field of written scientific communication
Workshops, courses and seminars
Strategic publishing
Support for writing systematic reviews
Copyright
Reference management software
Laboratory Animal Science
If you are to use animals in your doctoral research, you are obliged to take the course in laboratory animal science.
See the Comparative Medicine website for further information on compulsory and other courses in laboratory animal science.
Laboratory Safety
If you are to spend part of all of your study time in a laboratory and lack a basic education in laboratory safety, you must acquire the relevant knowledge equivalent to at least 1.5 credits. KI arranges the following course:
2690 Basic Laboratory Safety, 1,8 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: christina.johansson.1@ki.se
If you wish to transfer credits earned from an equivalent education at another university, it must correspond to the above course. Directors of studies are advised to contact the course coordinator for guidance.
Quality Assurance of Clinical Research
Doctoral students admitted from 1 January 2018:
For doctoral students who participate in intervention studies with physical and/or psychological effect, or with sensitive personal data that is directly identifiable or traceable to a living individual (pseudonymized), for example via a code list, it is compulsory to acquire knowledge of quality assurance of clinical research equivalent to at least 1 credit before halftime. The location of the code list and whether the doctoral student has access to the code list or not is irrelevant. For students conducting research on human biological material only, this course is recommended but not obligatory.
For doctoral students as defined above, admitted by December 2017 this is a recommended course, but not mandatory.
The following courses that meet the requirement can be found in the course catalogue:
2621 Klinisk forskning och Good Clinical Practice: protokoll, informerat samtycke och ansökan i enlighet med lagar/regler, 1,5 HEC, VT. Contact: olivia.ekberg@ki.se
5274 Introductory Course in Clinical Studies: From Idea to Archiving, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: helen.eriksson@ki.se
5580 Quality Assurance of Clinical Research, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: pierre.lafolie@ki.se
5740 Quality Assurance in Research From a Global Perspective, 3 HEC. Contact: claudia.hanson@ki.se
5743 Fundamentals of Quality Assurance in Medical Science and Public Health Research, 1,5 HEC, VT. Contact: fu-adm.gph@ki.se
In addition, several of KI's clinical research schools organize courses of 1-1.5 credits in the subject that meet the requirement.
Human Biology or Pathology
If you are lacking a medical higher education, you are obliged to acquire the equivalent of 3 credits in human biology or pathology (or similar).
The following doctoral courses are held regularly at KI:
2644 Human physiology - an overview, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: stefan.reitzner@ki.se
5253 Human Physiology - distance course, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: stefan.reitzner@ki.se
3109 Pathology, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: timea.szekerczes@ki.se
The following course, offered in parallel with the Medicine programme, does also meet the requirements for those without a higher medical education:
3220 Basic Human Neuroscience, 10 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: Lennart.Brodin@ki.se
Teaching and Learning
3181 Introduction to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 1,5 HEC, VT. Contact: per.palmgren@ki.se
6002 Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: An Online Doctoral Course, 3 HEC, HT). Contact: per.palmgren@ki.se
If you are interested in a course in educational research, please contact the subject manager for research in Medical Education at LIME.
Philisophy of Science
3073 Philosophy of science and the concept of health, 1,5 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: annelie.jonsson@ki.se
Bioinformatics
5235 Basic Bioinformatics, 2,5 HEC, VT/HT. Contact: lina.diaz@ki.se or ping.chen@ki.se
5633 Bioinformatics Analysis and Visualisation of Medical Genomics Data, 3 HEC, VT. Contact: Carsten.Daub@ki.se
Open Science and Reproducible Research
2963 Open Science and Reproducible Research, 3 HEC, VT and HT (new syllabus planned). Contact: Gustav.Nilsonne@ki.se
Scientific Illustration and Data Visualisation
5642 Scientific Illustration and Data Visualisation, 3 HEC, VT and HT. Contact: Gustav.Nilsonne@ki.se