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Entry requirements for Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology

To be eligible for the master's programme in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, you must meet the listed admission requirements and submit the documents required in your application. We will assess your application according to the selection criteria set for the programme. The same process applies to students with a bachelor's degree from a Swedish university.

Admission requirements

Bachelor's degree

Academic qualifications from an internationally recognised university equivalent to a Swedish bachelor's degree.

Students in their final year of bachelor's studies can meet the requirement if they follow the instructions from University Admissions . Final-year students at Swedish universities  must have completed 150 ECTS credits in their programme by 3 February.

English proficiency

English proficiency equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

You can meet the requirement with an English test, for example an overall IELTS score of 6.5 or a TOEFL score of 90. Depending on your country of previuous studies you could also meet the requirement through completed upper secondary or university studies. Visit University Admissions  to see all recognised English tests and what applies to your country of previous studies.

​Specific requirements for Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology

A bachelor's degree, corresponding to 180 ECTS credits, including completed courses in:

  • Life Sciences, corresponding to a total of at least 20 ECTS, preferably cell biology, biochemistry, microbiology and gene technology/molecular biology.
  • Chemistry, corresponding to at least 30 ECTS credits, preferably organic chemistry, analytical chemistry and physical chemistry.
  • Mathematics and computer programming corresponding to a total of at least 20 ECTS credits.

Application documents

You need to submit all of the following documents according to the instructions from University Admissions .

General document

Degree certificates

Official certificates of your completed degrees. The documentation requirements vary between countries. Visit University Admissions  to see what applies to your country.

General document

Transcript

Official transcript of courses and grades completed in your degree. Students from Swedish universities that use Ladok do not need to submit degree certificates or transcripts. 

General document

Proof of English proficiency

What proof you need depends on whether you meet the requirement through a test or previous studies. Visit University Admissions  to see what applies to you.

General document

Identification

A copy of passport with personal data and photograph, or other identification document.

Programme document

CV

KTH does not require a standard template, but the CV should clearly and concisely outline your education, work experience, computer literacy, qualifications and achievements (awards, publications, expertise knowledge and skills, etc.). It must be written in English.

Programme document

Letter of motivation

The letter of motivation explains why you have chosen this programme at KTH, what you hope to gain from it and how your interests and skills will help you succeed in your studies. Include an autobiography with the development and relevance of your academic and professional pursuits, extra-curricular activities and related experiences. KTH does not require a standard template, but it must be in English and less than 500 words. If you apply to multiple programmes that require a letter of motivation, you should submit one for each and state which programme each letter applies to at the top of the page.

programme document

Summary sheet

Submit the summary sheet for Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology , available via the link when the application is open. If you do not submit a complete summary sheet, it will negatively affect your evaluation score. Fill out all of the required information before submitting the form. For questions regarding the summary sheet, please contact the programme coordinator directly.

Selection criteria

The selection process is based on the following criteria: study results (e.g. grades, specific subjects and English), motivation for the studies (e.g. letter of motivation, references, courses and relevant work experience) and previous education. Previous education is assessed on the quality the previous education is considered to have in the topics relevant for the applied education. To assess this, the Swedish Higher Education Authority quality evaluation is used for Swedish universities. For foreign universities, university ranking is used. The rating of each student is made on a scale of 1-75.

Acceptance rate

The acceptance rate for the master's programme in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology for 2024 was 63 %. We admitted 32 students out of the 51 applicants that met the admission requirements. To increase your chances of getting admitted to KTH, we advise you to select more than one programme when applying. You can apply for up to four programmes and rank them in your order of preference.

Recognition of prior learning

Suppose you entirely or partially lack a formal requirement for a course or programme, but you believe you have the necessary knowledge to meet the requirement. In that case, you can apply for recognition of prior learning .