MFS is a Sida-funded scholarship program for field studies abroad in an underdeveloped country where the Swedish government has active strategies for development cooperation. 

The overarching goal of Swedish development cooperation is to ensure that people living in poverty and oppression have the opportunity to improve their living conditions. Swedish development cooperation and humanitarian aid are governed by government strategies that specify goals and priorities. Sida, which functions as both an administrative authority and an expert authority, is responsible for implementing the strategies together with other authorities and determining how the work is to be carried out.

Through the scholarship, you get the opportunity to travel to an underdeveloped country to gather material for your essay or your degree project. Your field study must last for at least eight consecutive weeks (56 days) and during your field study you need to have a supervisor at your institution and a contact person in the host country.

• You need to be a Swedish citizen, have a permanent residence permit (PUT), or be a citizen of another Nordic country but registered in Sweden for at least one year. 
• You need to be a registered and active student at the University of Borås. The field study must be part of your degree project at undergraduate or advanced level. You need to have a supervisor for your thesis at HB and a contact person in the host country at the time of application. Students who have started postgraduate studies cannot apply for the scholarship.
• The MFS scholarship is a personal scholarship that you apply for and is awarded to an individual student. If you are going to complete your thesis or your degree project with another student, both students apply for their own MFS scholarship. 

Important:  You cannot apply for an MFS scholarship if you have been granted another Sida-financed scholarship for the current field study period. If you apply for another scholarship for the same field study period, this must be stated in your application.

The MFS scholarship is SEK 35,000 and must cover accommodation, travel and other costs such as vaccinations and visas.  The scholarship does not cover the entire cost of the trip but can be supplemented with CSN.

In order for your application for MFS to be approved, the field study must relate to Agenda 2030, one of the 17 global goals for sustainable development, as well as to one of the seven priorities that the government has established for Swedish development cooperation.

• The field study must relate to one or more of the UN's global goals for sustainable development, which the member states adopted through Agenda 2030.

The UN's global goals for sustainable development

• The thesis/degree project must also be linked to the government's reform agenda for Swedish aid which. In this there are seven priorities, and your field study must relate to at least one of these:
  - Poverty alleviation through job creation, trade and education
  - Improved health for the most vulnerable
  - Promote freedom and fight oppression
  - Expanded and streamlined climate assistance
  - Strengthen the freedom and empowerment of women and girls
  - Strengthen synergies between aid and migration policy
  - Strengthened humanitarian support to save lives and alleviate distress

You can find more information here:

Sida's international work in thematic areas

The government's reform agenda for aid

• The thesis/dissertation must be written in English.
• The field study must be done in an underdeveloped country, over a continuous 8-week period.
• MFS cannot be granted to a country/region that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against going to.

The MFS scholarship allows students to carry out their field studies in countries where the Swedish government has active strategies for development cooperation.

You will find a list of these countries and regions on Openaid

There are two types of strategies that you can choose as a starting point for your field study:

• Geographic strategies: These focus on specific countries or regions.
• Thematic strategies: These address specific issues, such as human rights, democracy or the development of the legal sector.

Important:
MFS cannot be granted to a country or region to which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travel. When preparing your MFS application, you therefore need to inform yourself about the security situation in the area and country you plan to visit. You must compare the list of possible host countries with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' advice when preparing your application.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' list of countries where there is an advisory (in Swedish)

A new call for 8 MFS scholarships will take place in the autumn of 2025. The goal is that the field work will be carried out in the spring of 2026. 

Information about the application period, etc. will be updated here shortly.