Guidelines for scholarships at Karolinska Institutet
Scholarships are an established form of funding within the university and higher education sector for students, doctoral students, and postdoctoral researchers. Scholarships may be paid out at KI as so-called internal scholarships or directly from an external organisation to the scholarship holder, so-called external scholarships.
- Diary number: 1-1367/2025
- Dnr preg. version: 1-174/2018
- Decision date:
- Validity period: From 2026-10-01 until further notice
- Decision: President
- Document type: Guidelines
- Handled by department/unit: GVS.HRA.Arbetsrätt och arbetsmiljö
- Preparation with: Office of Research Support and External Relations, International Relations Office, Education Support Office, Faculty Unit for Education
- Revision with respect to: Update in accordance with the Swedish Higher Education Authority’s (UKÄ) new interpretation of Chapter 5, Section 4a of the Higher Education Act regarding the possibility of scholarship funding throughout the entire doctoral program. Other sections have been reviewed in terms of language and structure, but no other changes to the content have been made beyond those mentioned above.
Summary of the guidelines
The guidelines clarify the regulatory framework and other conditions for scholarships.
The changes introduced as of 1 October 2026 include clarifications of exceptions from the requirement to employ doctoral students when three years of full-time study remain until the dissertation. There are also clarifications regarding EU-funded programmes or other collaborations, reasonable scholarship conditions, and aid and capacity-building programmes. These clarifications mean that fewer collaborations and countries on the OECD’s DAC list will allow for exemptions. KI must also have greater insight into scholarship conditions in order to assess whether they are reasonable.
Guidelines in full
Scholarship rules at Karolinska Institutet
These rules are valid from 28 August 2018 to September 30 2026.
Scholarships are an established form of funding within the university and higher education sector for students, doctoral students, and postdoctoral researchers. Scholarships may be paid out at KI as so-called internal scholarships or directly from an external organisation to the scholarship holder, so-called external scholarships. The guidelines clarify the regulatory framework and other conditions for scholarships.