Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - Minor Field Studies

Minor Field Studies (MFS) scholarship

You will receive a sum of one-off grant of SEK 25,000 (about 2,200 EUR) to spend on collecting data abroad for your Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis for a period of 6 to 20 weeks. Use this sum to cover flights, accommodation, vaccinations and visas. As this does not cover all costs, you will need to supplement it with your regular student finance (CSN). You will be travelling to a low- or middle-income country where Sweden is engaged in development cooperation, and your project will tie in with one of Sweden’s local development strategies. Sida (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) funds the scholarship, and Stockholm University coordinates it at national level.

Who can apply

• Your studies: You are enrolled at a Swedish university or university of applied sciences that participates in the MFS programme, and are writing a dissertation or undertaking a study project at Bachelor’s or Master’s level.
• Nationality or residence: You are a Swedish national or have been registered as resident in Sweden for at least one year at the time of applying.
• Not yet a doctoral student: You have never previously undertaken a PhD programme. Furthermore, you have not previously received an MFS scholarship at the same level of study.
• Field of study: Any topic is suitable, provided your project ties in with one of Sweden’s development cooperation strategies in the country you are visiting.
• Where you go: A single low- or middle-income country in which Sweden is active. It must not be a country for which the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs advises against all travel.
• Support on the ground: You have a contact person in the host country (at a government agency, a university, a non-governmental organisation, a company or a project) and an academic supervisor at your Swedish higher education institution.
• Output: Your field study ends in a thesis or course project written in English.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via your own higher education institution, not centrally to Stockholm University or Sida. Each participating higher education institution conducts its own MFS procedure and sets its own application deadline. Please therefore check the MFS page on your university’s website. As a rule, you will need to submit a project description, a budget, and letters of confirmation from your supervisor and your contact person in the host country.