National Institutes of Health
The KI-NIH Doctoral Partnership Programme in Neuroscience provides the possibility for doctoral students, from either the United States or Sweden, to divide their training for a doctoral degree between the two participating institutes.
The students spend a minimum of 18 months of the project in an NIH laboratory or at KI and benefit from a broad scientific experience. The rest of the training period is spent at KI or NIH respectively, and it is KI that confers the doctoral degree after four years of study.
The aim is to promote ground-breaking research in fundamental areas of neuroscience and psychiatry that could lead to a better understanding of brain function, neurological diseases, neuropsychiatric disorders and new medical diagnostics and treatments. The programme additionally addresses the advancement of methodology for human brain imaging.
The 2023 announcement of funding for financing of doctoral students in Neuroscience within the KI-NIH doctoral programme is now open. Deadline September 21 2023. Read more at Staff Portal.
To apply for KI funding within the KI-NIH doctoral programme, the application should include a neuroscience project developed in collaboration with a co-supervisor based at NIH.
Please use the following links if you as a KI researcher are trying to find a new collaborator at NIH.
Intramural Investigators at NIMH
Admission
Once every second year, announcements for projects grants are made and PIs and group leaders at KI are invited to apply. The group leaders awarded the project grants and are responsible for the recruitment of suitable students. Students already registered as doctoral students at KI cannot be recruited to the program. Students are admitted according to the admission process at KI.
Knowledge of Swedish is not required. English is the official scientific language.
For the NIH-intake pathway, read more at NIH intake Process
Incoming doctoral students to KI
Courses at KI
As a PhD student you need to attain a certain number of course credits. As most courses have a limited number of places, remember to apply in time for a course. The department giving the course is responsible for entering credit points in LADOK. Each department has a LADOK administrator. (LADOK is a national system to document presence and results of students in higher education.)
External courses
External courses might be considered for course credits at KI. Please contact the study director (studierektor) at your KI department. The director decides what courses can be considered equivalent to courses accepted at KI, and will in turn give the information to the LADOK administrator at the department.
Housing
Incoming students should apply for housing as early as possible. Please contact the Karolinska Institutet Housing for more information.
General info for international staff at KI
More info on support service for international researchers and doctoral students, with all kinds of necessary information for your stay in Sweden and Karolinska Institutet can be found at International staff.
Outgoing doctoral students from KI
Visa for outgoing doctoral students to NIH
Applicants should first complete an on-line GPP application. The NIH mentor must then get a copy of that application and collect additional documents (copy of passport, letter of good standing) from the applicant and assemble a request to approve a Pre-doctoral Visiting Fellow (this is the job title of the GPP students). After that request is assembled, it goes through an approval process at NIH, and is then sent to the Division of International Services (DIS). An Immigration Specialist at the DIS mails out a form called "DS-2019" to the applicant, along with general instructions on how to apply for the visa. Applicants must then contact the US embassy located in Stockholm in order to schedule a visa interview. It generally takes anywhere from 1-8 weeks to schedule a visa interview, depending on the embassy's workload at that particular time
Information from the Stockholm Consular office
NIH asks for 4 months lead time so that applicants have enough time to secure a visa.
The general guidance is that applicants should apply through the US embassy that is located in their home country, so that background checks and police checks can be performed quicker (the immigration rule governing this is called 214B).
Applicants from third country
Some embassies will allow applicants from third countries to apply for a visa, and others will not. If third country applicants have some kind of proof that they are students at the Karolinska Institutet, the embassy might not have a problem with them applying for the visa there. Or the consulate might ask them to apply for the visa in their home country. Always contact the embassy to ask if a citizen of a third country (specify which country) can apply for a J-1 visa at the US embassy in Sweden?
GPP Summer Housing Options in DC Metropolitan Area
Nationwide Apartment Search Tools, by city
Cityleases
Washington DC
Roommates
Local Housing Postings
Washington City Paper
Washington Post
Feel free to contact Caroline Duffy, duffyca@mail.nih.gov or 301-594-9605, for further assistance.