-Automatic translation

The conditions for obtaining a specialist licence in biomedical science are set out in Article 6 of Regulation No. 1132/2012, which covers the education, rights, and obligations of biomedical scientists and the criteria for granting of licences and specialist licences. According to this regulation, the applicant's specialist training must be pertinent to the specific field or specialisation for which they are applying for a licence. Furthermore, the applicant must hold a master's or doctoral degree in biomedical science from a recognised university or have equivalent qualifications.

According to the aforementioned regulation, the condition for granting a licence to practise as a biomedical scientist is that the applicant has completed a BSc degree in biomedical science and an additional year culminating in a diploma in biomedical science from the biomedical science programme at the Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland.

After completing a BSc in biomedical science, students can either start a 120 ECTS credit MSc programme in biomedical science immediately or pursue a 60 ECTS credit diploma. Those who complete the 60 ECTS diploma can then apply for a license to practise, cf. the above. If they opt to pursue an MSc in biomedical science, their previous 60 ECTS credits will be recognised. They will add these credits to their existing qualifications, which entitle them to a licence to practise, and, upon completion, they will obtain a master's degree. Students who proceed directly to a 120 ECTS credit master's programme, where the final project can be either 60 or 90 ECTS credits, generally apply for a licence to practise after finishing the programme.

Until now, biomedical scientists who complete an MS degree in biomedical science through either of the routes described here have been regarded as meeting the conditions outlined in Article 6 of the regulation regarding studies that can form the basis for a specialist licence. The main consideration has been whether the individual's final project was in the field of specialisation to which their application pertains.

Following a thorough review of the conditions for specialist licences and with reference to recent rulings by the Ministry of Health, the Directorate of Health has determined that the aforementioned regulation requires applicants for a specialist licence to have completed a full master's or doctoral degree, or equivalent studies, in addition to the studies that granted the individual the right to practise. In the Directorate of Health's view, studies in which half of the programme forms the basis for a biomedical scientist's licence to practise cannot, therefore, be regarded as satisfying the regulation's requirements regarding the studies that can constitute the basis for a specialist licence.

With reference to the above, the Directorate of Health announces that henceforth, the requirement will be that the applicant has completed a full master's or doctoral programme, or comparable studies, in a specialised field of biomedical science, and that the studies on which the applicant bases their application for a specialist licence began after completing the studies that granted the individual the right to a licence to practise. As before, other conditions of Article 6 for the granting of a specialist licence must also be met.

According to the aforementioned regulation, a biomedical scientist must have worked in their specialised field for 2 full-time years after completing their specialist training to apply for a specialist licence. To accommodate biomedical scientists who have already started a master's programme in biomedical science—additional to the studies that qualify them for a practising licence—their applications for a specialist licence will be processed in accordance with the previous practice until 31 December 2029, allowing reasonable flexibility and the opportunity to obtain a specialist licence based on their studies.

Operating Licence Team