Connecting Master’s students in Biostatistics and Data Science with research opportunities.
Discover research opportunities and connect with academics for your Master's thesis.
Share your thesis projects and
collaborate with students.
Students are expected to identify a suitable project and supervisor by contacting potential supervisors. Once the student and supervisor has come to an agreement, the student submits a project proposal to the course leadership (see the course web site). You do not have to select a project/supervisor from those in the portal; you are free to contact researchers and ask about opportunities. If you contact supervisors who have not listed projects in the portal, we suggest you provide them a link to the "information for supervisors" section of the portal. Note that uploading a project does not imply any obligation on the part of the supervisor.
See the course web site.
Every student must have a main supervisor with a doctoral degree, an employment or affiliation at KI, SU, or KTH, and the knowledge and skills required to supervise the project in question. The supervisor may, however, delegate some of the practical supervision to other members of the research group who do not have a PhD and/or a university position. Students who conduct the practical project work in industry, a government authority, or a university other than KI/SU/KTH will typically have a main supervisor with a position at KI/KTH/SU as well as one or more practical supervisors in the research environment where they perform the practical project work.
See the course web site.
Yes, may accept payment if it is offered. It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of any implications for, for example, financial support, residence permits, and taxation. We recommend that any payment be agreed upon between the student and the host organisation before the project begins. Any such agreement is outside the responsibilities of Karolinska Institutet (who are responsible for the course).
Yes. See this page.
The degree project is a 30-credit course that runs during the entire Spring term. Students are expected to plan and prepare for the course (e.g., identify a suitable project and supervisor) prior to the course start but are not expected to commence the practical project work until the official start of the course.
If a student does perform practical project work before the start of the course (e.g., as a research intern) then this may be presented as part of the examination. It is important to recognise, however, that if practical project work is performed before the start of the course then that is separate and independent to the course. The student is not a student in the course until the official course starting date so is not, for example, covered by student insurance.
For technical issues with the portal, please contact bds-project-portal-meb@ki.se.
For questions about the course, programme administration, or supervision, please contact the course director or course administrator.
The primary aim of this portal is to enable researchers to advertise their interest in recruiting a degree project student from the master's programme in biostatistics and data science. Many students are interested in research internships (working within a research group outside their studies) and you may be contacted by students interested in such opportunities. Some students work as research interns within a research group during term 2 and/or 3 of their studies and then perform the degree project within the same group during term 4.
Everyone is able to browse/search the project database although supervisors must apply for an account in order to upload project proposals. Uploading a project does not imply any obligation on the part of the supervisor. Interested students will contact supervisors and it is then up to the student and supervisor to determine if they wish to proceed to the next step (submitting a project proposal). If a supervisor is contacted by multiple students, then the supervisor is free to choose if they wish to offer an opportunity to any of them. The supervisor does not have to have an affiliation to a university, although only supervisors with an affiliation to KI, KTH, or SU are eligible for financial reimbursement (see below).
The two-year programme, with 30 students commencing each year, is offered jointly by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Karolinska Institutet, and Stockholm University. Teaching is shared equally between the three universities and graduating students receive a joint degree. The programme provides students with backgrounds in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or related disciplines with the skills to solve problems in biology, medicine, and public health. The programme includes both mathematically rigorous training in biostatistics and data science along with training that focuses on how to apply the theoretical knowledge to address problems in medical science.
In order to start the programme, students are expected to have completed a minimum of 60 credits (1 year) of courses in mathematics, statistics, and programming, including courses in univariate calculus, multivariate calculus, numerical methods, probability theory and statistics, and programming in a general-purpose programming language such as C++, Python, or Java. The programme is taught in English and approximately 90% of the students are from outside Sweden. Entry to the programme is highly competitive; we receive over 650 applications for 30 places, so those students accepted to the programme have outstanding merits. The two-year programme consists of four terms, starting in the Autumn. The entire final term (in the Spring) is devoted to the degree project course. Further details about the programme can be found on the programme webpage.
Every student must have a main supervisor with a doctoral degree, an employment or affiliation at KI, SU, or KTH, and the knowledge and skills required to supervise the project in question. The supervisor may, however, delegate some of the practical supervision to other members of the research group who do not have a PhD and/or a university position. Students who conduct the practical project work in industry, a government authority, or a university other than KI/SU/KTH will typically have a formal supervisor with a position at KI/KTH/SU as well as one or more practical supervisors in the research environment where they perform the practical project work.
Supervisors from other universities (including outside Sweden), industry, or government authorities are welcome to upload project proposals. If you have a collaborator/main supervisor from KI/SU/KTH then please mention it in the project description. If not, the course leadership will help you identify a suitable collaborator/co-supervisor from KI/KTH/SU.
We welcome project proposals from biomedical researchers without strong backgrounds in biostatistics and data science that focus on the biomedical research question; the course leadership can work with you to identify a suitable methodological component and, if needed, identify co-supervisors with methodological expertise with whom you can collaborate.
The role of the main supervisor is to advise the student throughout the process, from planning to examination. This include providing support in keeping up with deadlines, recommend relevant conceptual, methodological, and empirical literature, provide guidance on the field of study and methods during the project implementation and supporting the student in preparing for the examination (e.g., written report and oral presentation). The supervisor is not the examiner.
All students, once they have identified a potential project and supervisor, will submit a project proposal form to the course director 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 project. Following are some general guidelines for projects.
The project must:
We hope that this 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 research 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.
We welcome project proposals from biomedical researchers without strong backgrounds in biostatistics and data science that focus on the biomedical research question; the course leadership can work with you to identify a suitable methodological component and, if needed, identify co-supervisors with methodological expertise with whom you can collaborate.
Yes, a supervisor may simultaneously supervise multiple students (although no more than 3 is recommended) who may collaborate on related projects. However, each student will be examined independently so must, for example, submit an individual written report that addresses a research question or questions unique to the student. Students may use the same empirical data or explore different properties of the same method, provided each student addresses unique research questions.
The examination for the course consists of the following components:
Further details can be found in the course syllabus. Many supervisors and students, in addition, write articles for submission to scientific journals or present results at scientific meetings. You are welcome to do this, but it is not expected as part of the course.
Yes. Each student is required to submit a written report as part of the examination. All such written reports are published, primarily in KI Open Archive. Karolinska Institutet is a government agency and, as such, subject to the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act. Note that, in the absence of other agreements, the student holds the copyright to the written report. Supervisors who have concerns about data or proprietary information being published should contact the course director to discuss how the student can be examined without proprietary information being made public.
NOTE: The course budget has not been finalised so the information below is preliminary.
Only one payment is made for each student.
Yes, you may pay students a stipend or salary, but the degree project is part of the student's education so this this is not necessary or expected. We recommend that any payment be agreed upon between the student and the host organisation before the project begins. Any such agreement is outside the responsibilities of Karolinska Institutet (who are responsible for the course).
The degree project is a 30-credit course that runs during the entire Spring term (from 2026-01-19 until 2026-06-07 for the 2026 Spring term). Students are expected to plan and prepare for the course (e.g., identify a suitable project and supervisor) prior to the course start but are not expected to commence the practical project work until the official start of the course.
If a student does perform practical project work before the start of the course (e.g., as a research intern) then this may be presented as part of the examination. It is important to recognise, however, that if practical project work is performed before the start of the course then that is separate and independent to the course. The student is not a student in the course until the official course starting date so is not covered by student insurance.
The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet is responsible for the course. The course director is Professor Paul Dickman, who is also the KI programme director for the master's programme in biostatistics and data science. Details of the course, including contact information, can be found on the course web page.
For technical issues with the portal, please contact bds-project-portal-meb@ki.se.
For questions about the course, programme administration, or supervision, please visit the course contact page.