New student
Welcome to our new students! We are thrilled to have you join us for your biology studies. Here, you’ll explore fascinating topics, work with dedicated faculty, and gain skills that will shape your future success. We look forward to being part of your academic journey and helping you achieve your goals.
On this page, you'll find everything you need for a smooth and successful start with us. Explore the key information and resources to kick off your journey with confidence.
Also read the university's checklists for a smooth start
If you still have questions after reading this please don't hesitate to contact us.
Registration is required
You must register in order to be able to participate in the course. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are registered on the correct course(s).
How do I register on my course?
First check if you have any condition on your admission, see "Are you admitted with condition" on this page.
If you don't have any conditions then you will be able to register, but only within the registration period (see below if you applied for a traineeship or degree project). A letter is sent to all admitted students which includes information about the current registration period (Note! see "Important e-mails" on this page).
If you have problems registering you must contact our student office latest on the last day of registration!
If you do not register, your place on the course may go to a reserve. However, it is important that you only register for courses you really plan to take, otherwise you will take a place for another student, see "Declining your place" on this page.
Are you admitted with condition?
It is stated in your admission letter from Universityadmissions.se if you have conditions. If you are eligible with conditions, you will not be able to register until our student office has confirmed that you have fulfilled the condition.
If you have conditions, check the eligibility requirement under "Eligibility" on the education page in the course catalogue (for tuition fees see below). As soon as you believe that you meet all the requirements, send a message to our student office with the following information:
- Subject line: Conditions
- Your name
- Which course(s)/program you are admitted to that you now meet the conditions
If you have questions about your condition, you can contact our student office.
Tuition fees
The condition remains in the system after the fee is paid but does not hinder registration.
Research traineeship, traineeship and degree projects
If you have applied for either research traineeship, traineeship or degree project then you are only admitted to the course when we have approved the work plan or research idea respectively.
I am admitted, what do I do now
This means that your work plan or research idea has been approved. You need to check if you have any conditions on your admission (see "Are you admitted with condition" on this page. When no conditions remain you will be able to register within the registration period. You will recieve a letter stating the current registration period shortly after admission (Note! See "Important e-mails" on this page).
I am placed as reserve, what should I do
If you have already submitted your work plan or research idea and had this approved then you will be admitted after the second admission results (note that you will still be listed as reserve in the second result but should receive an admission a day or so after). If you have not yet submitted your work plan or research idea, you should carefully read the information on the course page in the online catalogue, and then submit it according to instructions in the e-mail you receive from us shortly after the admissions result (Note! See "Important e-mails" on this page).
Read about work plans and research ideas on the courses page in the online catalogue
Study with disability
If you have medically documented long-term disability you can apply for study support. You should apply as soon as possible after you have been admitted in order to receive the best possible support.
When you have your Nais certificate, contact the study counsellor for a meeting where we go through those adjustments. After the meeting, you should contact the course coordinators for the courses you will attend and inform them that you have been granted support, to allow them to prepare.
Declining your place
If you no longer want your place, it is important that you decline your place so that another applicant can get the place. By declining your place you also secure your ability to reapply for the course another time.
Please note that declining the place via Universityadmissions.se is only possible before the registration period for the course opens. After the course has opened for registration and up to three weeks after the start of the course, terminations can be submitted in Ladok.
If you terminate later than three weeks after the start of the course you will not be able to apply to the course or programme again. You can only reregister on a course that you have terminated late if there are places left after reserve students have been admitted.
Decline your place at Universityadmissions.se
Deferring the start of studies
If you have special reasons for not being able to start the education, you can apply to delay the studies, so-called deferral, until the next time the education is given, normally the following year.
Reserve place
If you have been given a reserve place you may be admitted if someone declines their place. In which case you must confirm that you want the place by attending the reserve roll call for each course. In some cases reserves may be offered a place before the reserve roll call (Note! see "Important emails" on this page). For traineeships, research traineeships and degree projects see relevant information on this page.
Course information
Course-specific information can be found on each page in the course catalogue. There you can, among other things, find who is course coordinator, the schedule and course literature.
Important e-mails
Important information is sometimes sent by e-mail to the address listed in Ladok (student registry) and University admissions. We therefore recommend that you check that the e-mail address listed in Ladok and University admissions is one that you actively use.
We also recommend that you whitelist info.big@su.se, so that our e-mails do not get caught in your spam filter. But it is also good to regularly check your spam folder, just in case!
Computer
Many of our courses assume that you have access to a computer. There is access to some computers in the university library, but if possible we recommend that you have a computer of your own. It does not need to be particularly powerful, but you should be able to download and install certain software such as the R-statistics packages. In other words, tablet computers generally are not sufficient. Please check the course page in the online catalogue for requirements.
Learning platform
Most of our courses use the learning platform Athena to communicate about the course. To access the course page in Athena, your university account must be activated and you must be registered for the course.
Attendance
Our courses normally have a high proportion of scheduled teaching, in many courses you are expected to be on campus most of the day, Monday through Friday.
Because the pace of study is high, even occasional absences can make it more difficult to follow the remaining teaching. It is the course coordinator who decides on a case-by-case basis whether absence can be accepted or not, and decides on any compensation assignment.
If you are forced to miss compulsory parts due to illness or other reasons, you should contact the course leader as soon as possible.
Longer absence
If you can no longer follow the teaching on the course, for example due to a longer sick leave, it may be necessary to take a break.
Field studies
Several of our courses include field studies. It can be shorter excursions in the local area, or longer field stays at one of our field stations. It is stated under Course structure on the respective page in the course catalogue if field studies are included. For field stays, you pay for the food yourself, but we are responsible for the accommodation and in some cases travel to and from the field station.
Laboratory studies
It is of the utmost importance that you follow the rules and instructions when staying in the laboratory premises. If you are unsure, ask. Students who do not follow the instructions and thereby cause material damage or personal injury may be liable for damages and be rejected from the premises. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior can lead to disciplinary action.
It is not allowed to eat or drink in the laboratories. You may need to identify yourself in order to participate in the laboratory teaching. There may be safety and / or sanitary reasons why a certain type of clothing or decorations cannot be worn. In connection with laboratory teaching, you must change into a lab coat which are loaned from BIG, according to instructions from the course coordinator, and must be used throughout the study period if necessary.
Find us
Our department is located on the Frescati campus, in the middle of the national city park. You will find us in the Arrhenius Laboratory in the north part of the campus.
Directions to get to the department
Contact details for the student office

Halls
The halls are numbered according to which house and which floor the hall is located. Room E306 is thus located in the E-house on the 3rd floor, which is the entrance floor.
Note that there are houses A-F also in the blue houses in the south part of the campus. Biology teaching, however, takes place with few exceptions in the Arrhenius laboratory (see map).
Map of halls (1038 Kb)
Access hours
The front doors to the biology houses in the Arrhenius Laboratory are usually open between 8 am and 6 pm on weekdays. Outside these hours, as a student, you are not normally expected to stay on the university's premises.
Lockers
As a student at BIG, you can use one of the lockers that are in house D, floor 3, and between houses E and F on floor 2. You bring a padlock that fits and then report which lockers you have taken by scanning the QR-code and filling in the relevant form (see notices in the corridor). Locked and unannounced lockers are emptied every summer and any contents are thrown away after three months.
Lunch
There are three eating areas with the possibility to heat brought food:
- The Albatross, in the space between houses E and F on the 4th floor
- The P-building on level 2
- The student council room on the 2nd floor between houses E and F
At the Albatross and in the P-building there are also vending machines where you can buy coffee and snacks.
Contact
If you have questions about starting studies with us that are not answered on this page we also recommend that you study the following pages:
More information on the university's pages for new students
If you do not find the information you are looking for, do not hesitate to contact us.
Last updated: January 21, 2025
Source: Department of Biology Education