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Traineeship in Biology

During this advanced course you work as a trainee at a workplace outside of Stockholm University, where you use biological knowledge and skills that you have acquired during your education.

Information for admitted students spring 2025

Congratulations! You have been admitted at Stockholm University and we hope that you will enjoy your studies with us.

In order to ensure that your studies begin as smoothly as possible we have compiled a short checklist for the beginning of the semester.

Follow the instructions on whether you have to reply to your offer or not.
universityadmissions.se

 

Checklist for admitted students

  1. Activate your university account

    The first step in being able to register and gain access to all the university's IT services.

  2. Register at your department

    Registration can be done in different ways. Read the instructions from your department below.

  3. Read all the information on this page

    Here you will find what you need to know before your course or programme starts.

IMPORTANT

Your seat may be withdrawn if you do not register according to the instructions provided by your department.

Information from the department - courses

Welcome to spring term 2025 at BIG! Open here, read and let us know if you have any questions.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are registered on the correct course. If you do not register then your place can go to a reserve. However, it is important that you only register on courses that you do intend to take, or you are taking a place from another student.

Registration period for spring 2025

Note! In order for us to efficiently be able to help all students, before registering make sure to carefully read our information to admitted students.

  • Registration for all courses opens 7th January and closes Sunday just over a week before the course starts.
  • Traineeships, research traineeships and degree projects are open for registration throughout the semester (see more information in the link above).

If you have trouble registering, please contact our student office latest on the last registration day. Otherwise you will loose your place on the course.

Register online

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. The exception is traineeships, research traineeships and degre projects where an apporved work plan is required to be admitted, for more information see the link below.

Read about reserve roll call

Read about admission to special courses under "Research traineeship, traineeship and degree projects"

More information about your studies with us

On our website you will find more information about your studies with us.

su.se/big/english/

Welcome activities

Stockholm University organises a series of welcome activities that stretch over a few weeks at the beginning of each semester. The programme is voluntary (attendance is optional) and includes Arrival Service at the airport and an Orientation Day, see more details about these events below.
Your department may also organise activities for welcoming international students. More information will be provided by your specific department. 

su.se/welcomeactivities 


Find your way on campus

Stockholm University's main campus is in the Frescati area, north of the city centre. While most of our departments and offices are located here, there are also campus areas in other parts of the city.

Find your way on campus


Read more

New student

During your studies

Student unions


For new international students

Pre-departure information

New in Sweden

Applying your skills and knowledge at a workplace of biological relevance is a great way to gain work life experience. Traineeship in biology allow you the possibility to test your own abilities, try out a workplace and grow your professional network.

If you are not sure what you want to do next traineeship in biology is a way to spend some weeks in a workplace and find out if it is right for you. If you know exactly where you want to go next a traineeship is a way to get a foot in the door and to prove yourself to them.

Course evaluations show that students appreciate the opportunity to gain insight into a workplace. Overall satisfaction with the course is 4-5 (on 1-5 scale). Feedback also suggests that the format of the course means that you feel part of the group, not just a visitor, which gives you a good impression of what working there would be like.

Course aims

The aim of traineeship in biology is for you to gain both experience of working life in general, and experience in particular of a workplace in which biological knowledge is used. You are expected to apply the knowledge and skills that you have acquired during your education. The aim is also that you learn how work with biological aspects is organised and carried out at, for example, a company or an authority.

  • Course structure

    Before you apply you should read under the heading More information to find out where you can do the traineeship, how you find a work place and what to think about when you write the work plan.

    Teaching format

    Traineeship means that you take part, under supervision, in the work a company, authority or other work place. You should work the same hours as employees at the work place. What your work assignments are during the traineeship should be clear in your work plan. It is important that you interact with other parts of the work and other employees than just your supervisor. If this changes during the traineeship this must be approved by the examiner.

    Each day you will summarise and reflect on your day in your traineeship journal. At the end of the first week you submit the journal to the course coordinator for feedback. This way we are able to see that your journal meet the expectations and that the traineeship has got off to a good start.

    Assessment

    You present your traineeship in writing (the journal) and orally at a seminar. About three seminars are held each semester and teachers and students are invited to listen.

    The course is assessed by a committee which consists of the examiner and the study councellor. The course is graded as either pass or fail.

    Examiner

    Cecilia Kullberg
    E-mail: cecilia.kullberg@zoologi.su.se
    Phone: +46 8 16 4713
    Room: D550c

  • Schedule

    The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.

    Traineeship in biology 15 credits should be equivalent to 9 full time work weeks. The course does not have set start and end dates, but you should apply for the course the period that best fits when you plan to do the traineeship. Which weeks you will work and what workhours you should keep is an agreement you make with your supervisor, these are then specified in the work plan which must be approved by the examiner.

    In the schedule below, you will find planned presentaitons of completed traineeships.

  • Course literature

    Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.

    Traineeship in Biology does not have any official literature. Depending on your traineeship you may be expected to read different forms of literature, if so, this is something that you will discuss with your supervisor.

  • Course reports

    Collated answers are for the full year (not only spring term)

  • More information

    Traineeship in Biology is offered as 7.5 and 15 credits. You can take both courses (7.5and 15 credits) but you have to be at different workplaces, and you can only count a total of 15 credits toward your degree (including Research traineeships).

    Traineeship in Biology 7.5 hp (BL8006)

    Traineeship in Biology can be conducted in Sweden or abroad. As a student at Stockholm University, you can apply for funding through Erasmus+ to complete a work placement/traineeship at a company or organisation in a country participating in the Erasmus+ programme.

    How to apply

    Before you start your internship, you must follow all these steps:

    • Apply at Antagning.se for the period that best matches your plans (see "Schedule" above).
    • When the application is closed, you will receive an e-mail with a link to a form where you fill in your work plan (see "the work plan" below). The deadline for submitting the work plan is normally about one month after the application closes.
    • Once the work plan has been approved by the examiner, you will be admitted (assuming you are eligible) and you can register online. You can not start the internship until you have registered for the course! This is important because you are not insured by the university in the workplace until you are registered.

    The workplace

    The traineeship in biology is conducted at a workplace where biological knowledge is relevant but where research is not the main work, ff you prefer to do a traineeship at a biological institution, then you should take one of our research traineeship courses. If you are unsure whether your intended workplace can be approved for an internship in biology, or if you are unsure of which course you should apply for, you should contact the examiner (see "Course structure").

    Read more about the difference between our traineeship courses

    Finding a traineeship position

    It is your responsibility to find a workplace and a supervisor, BIG does not provide details of traineeship opportunities. Although you might wish that we supplied a list of traineeship places, there are very good reasons why we choose not to. This is an excellent opportunity to practice job-hunting skills. And students that have completed the course agree, they feel it encourages them to get involved and take responsibility for their career.

    To get the most out of the course, you need to think hard about what your personal aims are with the course, and what workplace might help you achieve those goals. As well as how to contact your workplace, is there a traineeship position you can apply for (see for example Mycareer eller Sustainergies), someone in your network that can support you, or make direct contact with you intended supervisor?

    Get in touch early with the workplaces where you would like to do the traineeship, preferably before you apply for the course, some workplaces need good time margins to be able to schedule a traineeship.

    If you do not really know where you want to work in the future, and want to discuss you future career; get in contact with our study counsellors.

    The work plan

    The work plan is an agreement between you, your supervisor and the examiner, to ensure that your work during the traineeship is relevant to the course. Writing the workplan is an opportunity for you to acquaint yourself with the workplace, your supervisor as well as their expectations of your work. It is, therefore, important that you draw up the work plan in consultation with your supervisor, while you write the plan independently.

    When you have applied for the course, and the application round has closed, you will receive a link to a form where you fill in and submit your work plan. In order for you to be admitted to the course, the work plan must be approved by the examiner (see "How to apply" above). The following points must be included in the work plan:

    • Supervisor's name, position and e-mail address
    • Preliminary start date
    • Description of the workplace (max 150 words)
    • Job assignments (max 150 words)
    • Expectations and own learning objectives (max 150 words)
    • Time plan where you specify approximately how many days/weeks you will spend on each task
  • Contact

    Student office
    Study counsellor for advanced level