SI Scholarship for Global Professionals

Do you want to contribute to the sustainable development of your home country and region? Are you looking for an international experience? The Swedish Institute awards academic scholarships for master’s studies in Sweden, to global professionals from a selection of countries. Read through the call for applications carefully.
Si Scholarship students sitting on chairs in a classroom

Opens for applications in February

Overview

The SI Scholarship for Global Professionals is an academic scholarship provided for full-time, one- or two-year, master’s studies at several universities in Sweden.

The scholarship covers a wide range of study fields and over 700 of the around 1000 English-taught master’s programmes in Sweden.

Through the scholarship, the Swedish Institute (SI) aim to develop a network of global leaders commited to advancing Sustainable Development Goals and drive the development of their home countries forward.   

The scholarship is open for applications once every year, for master’s studies beginning in the autumn semester. In order to apply you must: 

  • Be a citizen of one of the eligible countries for the SI Scholarship for Global Professionals (will be announced shortly); 
  • Apply for a master’s programme that is eligible for the SI scholarship;  
  • Be liable to pay tuition fees at University Admissions;  
  • Have demonstrated work experience; 
  • Have demonstrated leadership experience from current or previous employer, or from civil society engagement.  

Key dates:

  • October 2024 – January 2025: Apply to Swedish master’s programmes through University Admissions before the deadline in January. 
  • November 2024: SI Scholarship application documents and eligible master programmes are published.
  • February 2025: Application portal for the SI Scholarship is open.
  • March 2025 – University admissions announcement day.
  • April 2025: SI Scholarship announcement day.

Below you can find more information of our requirements and instructions for applying to the SI scholarship for Global Professionals. Note! The information may be subjected to changes.

What's included

The Scholarship for Global Professionals is a competitive fully-funded scholarship that includes: 

  • Full tuition fee coverage. The fee is paid directly by SI to your Swedish university each semester.
  • A monthly allowance of SEK 12,000 to cover your living expenses throughout the study period.
  • A travel grant of SEK 15,000 (*10,000 for scholars from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). This is a one-time payment and does not apply for students already living in Sweden.
  • Membership in the SI Network for Future Global Professionals (NFGP) – a platform to help you grow professionally and build a network while in Sweden.
  • After your scholarship period has ended, you become a member of the SI Alumni Network. As a member, you get a unique opportunity for continued networking and professional development.

The scholarship does not…

  • Provide additional grants for family members.
  • Cover the application fee to University Admissions.
  • Allow changes to the study programme. We are only able to support you through the awarded master’s programme.
  • Allow extensions or changes to the awarded scholarship period.

Criteria

Country of citizenship

You must be a citizen of a country that is eligible for the SI scholarship. However, you do not need to reside in the country at the time of the application.

Master's programmes

The master's programmes you apply for must be eligible for the SI scholarship. Over 750+ English-taught master's programmes are eligible. Find them in the list below on 1 November 2024.

University admission

You must be liable to pay tuition fees to Swedish universities, have followed the steps of University Admissions and be admitted to one of the eligible master's programmes on the day of admissions announcements.

Previous experience

You must have demonstrated work experience (conditions apply to certain regions). In addition, you must have demonstrated leadership experience from your current or previous employer, or from civil society engagement.

Country of Citizenship

Citizens of the following countries are eligible to apply to the SI Scholarship for Global Professionals:

(Will be announced shortly)

You must be a citizen of one of the eligible countries, however, you do not need to reside in the country at the time of the application. If your country of citizenship is not listed below, we suggest that you look for other scholarships on Study in Sweden’s scholarship database.

If you have dual citizenship and all are eligible for SI scholarship, you should choose only one citizenship when applying for the scholarship. Applicants who use their dual citizenship to submit more than one application will have all applications disqualified.

Eligible programmes

About 700 English-taught master’s programmes are eligible for the SI scholarship for Global Professionals, covering programmes in all fields. 

Here you will find the list of eligible master’s programmes for the academic year 2025/2026. The programmes will be published on 1 November 2024. 

To have a successful application, you should have a clear idea of how your education will contribute to the sustainable development of your home country and region; It is up to you to motivate in your scholarship application if/how your chosen programmes are related to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

University Admissions

Admissions to Swedish university and colleges are managed by the Swedish Council for Higher Education through their portal University Admissions. For any questions or inquiries related to your university application, tuition fees or admittance, please contact University Admissions.

In order to be eligible for the SI scholarship you must:

  • be liable to pay tuition fees to Swedish universities. Find out if you are liable for tuition fees here.
  • have paid the application fee for master’s programmes on time. The payment is made to University Admissions. Find all the key dates here.
  • be admitted (or conditionally admitted) to one of the eligible master’s programmes on the day of admissions announcements. You can only be awarded a scholarship for the master’s programme you are admitted to on 27 March 2025. Master’s programmes to which you are listed as a reserve cannot be considered. There are no scholarships available for late admissions.

Read more about the SI selection process under the section ‘How to Apply – SI Screening and Evaluation’.

Previous Experience


Work Experience
To be eligible for the SI Scholarship you must have work experience.  However you do not have to be employed at the time of application.

Valid work experience includes both full-time and part-time employment, for instance as an employee, freelancer or employer.

You must be able to prove certification for your work experience by using our template forms which can be found under the section ‘How to Apply – Applying for the SI Scholarship’. Work experience in line with areas of the Sustainable Development Goals will be prioritised.

Work experience requirements:

Applicants from (will be announced shortly) – must be able to provide proof of work experience. There is no requirement of number of hours, however applicants with more experience will be prioritised.

Applicants from (will be announced shortly) – must have at least 3,000 hours of work experience prior to February 2025. You do not have to meet the requirement within one period of employment. The 3,000 hours must have been accumulated from a maximum of three employers.

Note! If you are currently employed, we advised that you discuss your application with your employer. It is your responsibility to ensure that you will be granted leave of absence or be released from your work in time for the beginning of your studies. SI will not intervene in this matter.

Leadership Experience
Leadership experience involves the experience to lead other colleagues/organisations, mandate to influence the development strategy for the organisation you work at, allocate tasks to colleagues and/or have familiarity with decision-making processes.

In addition to your work experience, you must be able to demonstrate your leadership experience. The experience may be demonstrated through, for instance, previous work experience or involvement in civil society organisations or networks.

The leadership experience has no requirement regarding a minimum number of hours. However, priority will be given to applicants with demonstrated strong and relevant leadership experience from employment.

You are not eligible for the SI Scholarship for Global Professionals if you….

  • are currently enrolled in or hold a degree from a Swedish university/university college;
  • have already resided in Sweden for cumulatively two years or more, prior to the scholarship period (starting August 2025)*;
  • have previously been awarded a Swedish Institute scholarship. Previous participants of the SI Summer Academy for Young Professionals. Students who have attended SI summer courses in Swedish language or the Swedish Institute Summer University (SISU) may still apply;
  • have a Swedish or EU/EEA citizenship*, a Swedish permanent residence permit or a temporary work- and residence permit based on work or on family ties with a citizen of Sweden/EU/EEA country who has a temporary or permanent right of residence in Sweden
  • have dual citizenship in countries not listed on the DAC list of ODA recipients 2024-2025.*

*Exceptions:
1. Ukrainian applicants who reside in Sweden under the Temporary Protection Directive are still eligible to apply to the SI Scholarship.
2. Moldovan applicants with dual citizenship in Romania may apply for a scholarship even though they are EU citizens and must state the citizenship that is eligible for the scholarship when applying to the SI Scholarship.

Find more information about the steps of application and required documents in the section ‘How to apply’.

Opens in February

The application portal is now closed. Open call for the academic year 2025/2026 will be published on this web page in October 2024.

FAQ

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