Do you have ambition, leadership experience and a strong professional background? You could study for a master’s degree in Sweden on a fully-funded Swedish Institute scholarship. Find out if you can apply.

Information on this page is only about the previous call for applications. Information about next call will be available on 1 December 2018 for master’s studies starting in the autumn semester 2019. The eligibility criteria as well as the application procedure and key dates may differ from this year.

The recipients of the Swedish Institute Study Scholarships for master’s studies 2018/2019 have been determined.

We will publish a list of eligible master’s programmes for the academic year 2019/2020 here by 1 December 2018. Only the master’s programmes that are in the list are eligible for SISS.

1. To begin with, apply for up to four master’s programmes at universityadmissions.se, between 16 October 2017 – 15 January 2018.
2. Then apply for an SI scholarship between 2-9 February 2018, follow the instructions below.

An estimated 180 scholarships will be available for full-time master’s studies in Sweden starting in the autumn semester 2018. Usually 1-2 % of the applicants can be awarded a SISS scholarship.

The scholarship does not cover:

• Additional grants for family members.
• Application fee to University Admissions.

1. Apply for a master’s programme at universityadmissions.se

• To begin with, apply for up to four eligible master’s programmes at universityadmissions.se by 15 January 2018.
• University Admissions is the national online application service which handles admissions to universities in Sweden. It is an independent agency not related to the Swedish Institute (SI). The eligibility and application procedure for SI scholarships and for university admissions are different.
• Only the master’s programmes that are in the list of eligible master’s programmes are eligible for SISS. We will publish a list of eligible master’s programmes for the academic year 2019/2020 here by 1 December 2018.
• Once you have submitted your application to the master’s programme(s) at universityadmissions.se, you will get a personal application number consisting of seven or eight digits. Save the number as you will need it when applying to SISS.
• 1 February 2018: deadline for receipt of application fee and supporting documents that are required by University Admissions. The application fee is non-refundable.
• If you missed the deadlines or failed to follow the application procedure at University Admissions, you will not be eligible for an SI scholarship.

2. Apply for a SISS scholarship

• Apply for an SI scholarship after you have completed your application to master’s programme(s). See more information about required documents and templates below.
• During the application period 2-9 February 2018, submit the required documents digitally through our online application portal.
• The online application portal is open from 00:00 CET 2 February 2018 to 24:00 CET 9 February 2018. Link to the online application portal will be available on this page below during the application period.

Due to the high volume of applications, the online application portal may be under heavy pressure at the end of the application period. We strongly urge all applicants not to wait until the last day to apply.

Citizens of South Africa should apply within the Swedish Institute Study Scholarships for South Africa.

3. Notifications from University Admissions

• By 6 April 2018, you will receive your notification of selection results from University Admissions. SI will receive the admission results directly from University Admissions.
• Only applicants who are admitted, including conditionally admitted, to one of the eligible master’s programmes by 6 April 2018, will be considered for an SI scholarship.
• If you are only listed as a reserve/placed on waiting list and are not admitted to any of the eligible master’s programmes, you will not be considered for an SI scholarship.
• There are no scholarships available for late admissions.
• You can only be awarded a scholarship for the master’s programme you are admitted to by 6 April. Master’s programme to which you are listed as reserve, will not be considered. If you are admitted to an eligible programme by 6 April, and meanwhile are put on a waiting list for a programme you ranked higher, only the programme you got admitted to by 6 April will be considered by the selection committee. Therefore it is important that you make sure to decline reserve places in time so that your admission will not be changed. 

4. Announcement of 180 successful SI scholarship recipients

• About 180 successful SI scholarship recipients of SISS 2018/2019 are announced at si.se at 16:00 CEST on 27 April 2018.
• Each successful scholarship recipient receives an official scholarship offer by email in the late afternoon on 27 April 2018.
• If you receive a scholarship offer, you are required to accept or decline this offer by the deadline indicated in the offer. It is your responsibility to make sure that the email address you filled in your application is correct to be able to be notified about the offer.
• Due to the large number of applicants, only those who are offered a scholarship will be notified.

Scholarship period

The scholarship is intended for full-time one-year or two-year master’s programmes, and is only awarded for programmes starting in the autumn semester. The scholarship is granted for one academic year (two semesters) at a time. It will be extended for programmes longer than two semesters, provided that the student has passed his/her courses/credits.

The scholarship period cannot be changed or extended beyond the awarded scholarship period, nor can the scholarship be transferred to a study programme other than the awarded master’s programme.

The competition for SI scholarships is very fierce. We recommend that you also look for other scholarship opportunities from your Government or from other organisations in your country, as well as scholarship opportunities from Swedish universities.

Country of citizenship

The eligibility criteria for country of citizenship will differ in the coming call for applications. A new list of eligible countries will be published on 1 December 2018.

• Citizens of other countries: citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine cannot apply to SISS, but are eligible to other SI scholarship programmes. Citizens of countries not listed above or on the DAC list of ODA recipients are unfortunately not eligible for any SI scholarships for master’s studies. We suggest that you look for other scholarship opportunities.
• Dual citizenships: if you have dual citizenships and both are eligible for SI scholarship programmes, you should choose only one of the citizenships when applying for SI scholarships. This means you can only apply to one SI scholarship programme or one category/initiative within SISS. Applicants who apply for more than one SI scholarship/category using more than one citizenship will be disqualified.
• Citizens of Somali: Sweden does not accept Somali passports which have been issued or extended after 31 January 1991. Somalian citizens who only hold such Somalia passport cannot be granted for a residence permit by the Swedish Migration Agency. If you also hold a passport from another country listed on the DAC list of ODA recipients, you are welcome to apply; and if you identify yourself as a Somalian, you are suggested to apply as a citizen of Somalia when applying to SISS, while you need to use the other passport when applying for residence permit at the Swedish Migration Agency, if you are awarded an SI scholarship.