MFS - Minor Field Studies

Minor Field Studies, MFS, is a Sida-funded scholarship programme. This gives students the opportunity to be in a developing country to collect material for an essay or degree project for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

The purpose of the programme is to prepare students for working in a global context and to give the higher educational institution an opportunity to enhance and establish international contacts. As a student you can, for at least eight (8) consecutive weeks (a minimum of 56 days), investigate questions of importance to the economic, social, political or educational development in the country you go to. You will develop and formulate the study yourself, together with your supervisor at MDU.

Please note that it is not possible to combine field studies in several host countries.

Possible host countries

The field study/project must align with one or more of Sweden's strategies for development cooperation. In these strategies, the countries and thematic areas prioritized by Swedish development cooperation and the goals to be achieved are described.

Valid countries and regions where Sweden conducts development cooperation are listed on the webpage Openaid:

Countries and Regions - Openaid.se External link.

There are two types of strategies:

• Geograhical strategies - refer to individual countries or regions
• Thematic strategies - refer to specific areas such as climate, gender equality, and health.

Read more about the Swedish strategies for development cooperation on the following webpages:

The Swedish government's strategies External link.

Strategies - Openaid External link.

Strategies - Sida External link.

Amount and budget

The MFS scholarship amounts to 35 000 SEK per student. Please note that the grant is not intended to cover all expenses during the field study period/project. The grant usually needs to be supplemented with for example a student loan.

Eligibility requirements for MFS

For you to be able to receive an MFS scholarship you must fulfil certain requirements:

• You must undertake a field study as part of a course or a degree project at Bachelor’s or Master’s level relevant to your programme or subject/topic. You may not have initiated doctoral studies.
• You may not have previously been granted an MFS scholarship or other Sida-funded scholarship for the same type of study as for this application.
• You must be a Swedish citizen or registered in Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, as a recident in Sweden for at least one year at the time of the application for the scholarship.
• You must have a good knowledge of English. It is beneficial to have language proficency in the host county’s official language. A condition of being granted an MFS scholarship is that the thesis/degree project is written in English.
• The field study is conducted in a valid host country.
• Please note that MFS scholarship will not be granted to a country or region that the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utrikesdepartementet) advises against travelling to.

Countries the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against travelling to External link. (in Swedish)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Travel Information External link. (in Swedish)

Keep in mind that even if the Foreign Ministry has not issued any advice against travel, Mälardalen University can deny students from undertaking field studies to a valid host country or region if it is deemed to pose a risk to personal safety and health of students.

Contact person and supervisor

As a student you are responsible for:

• Informing your academic supervisor at MDU about MFS. The Swedish supervisor has the prime responsibility for the project work and the content of the thesis.
• Finding and contacting a contact person in the host country and informing this person of what is expected of them. The contact person may be associated to a university, authority in the country, company, private organisation, or to a Sida- or UN-supported project. The contact person is a support who is there to assist you with practical arrangements, contacts, tips about accommodation, transport, safety etc. Describe in your application what role your contact person has.
• Please bear in mind that the contact person does not receive any compensation for this work, neither from Sida nor from the University. Therefore it is important that you reimburse the person for expenses which you have agreed on beforehand. Take these costs into account when calculating your budget for the project.

Instructions for supervisors and contact persons in the field Pdf, 571 kB.

Before you apply for a scholarship

• It is important to apply well in advance, as preparations for a field study can be quite extensive.
• Read up on MFS and the Swedish strategies for development cooperation.
• Consider how your thesis/degree project can connect to one or more strategies for development cooperation and which ethical issues are relevant to your study.
• Check that you meet the eligibility requirements for a scholarship.
• Contact your International Coordinator at your School if there are any specific requirements regarding MFS for your programme/course, and which semester is suitable for conducting a field study.
• Agree in advance with your academic supervisor on how your cooperation will look like when you are on site in the host country, especially if time difference and/or access to the internet can affect the way you can stay in touch.
• In some countries, a research permit is required to carry out a field study. Therefore, look into whether you need a special permit and be aware that it may take time to apply for and have such a permit granted. In a possible permit application, you should avoid words such as research, assignment or work and instead state that you will do a study.

Mälardalen University does not accept applications from students from other universities.

This is how to apply for an MFS scholarship

The application call for the fall semester 2025 is open between 5 May and 5 June. Decisions on scholarships will be announced no later than 4 July. The decision cannot be appealed.

At the end of August 2025, information about the application call for the spring semester 2026 will be published.

For your application to be processed it must be complete and contain:

1. An application form - please contact either the MFS Executive Officer or the International Coordinator at your School to obtain the form.
2. A description of the project including - choice of host country (note that an MFS scholarship is not granted for going to a country that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, UD, advises against, see links above) - a time plan for the field work/study of at least eight weeks’ (56 days’) continuous stay in a host country - arrangements for the work, method, accommodation, purpose, description of the subject, and connection to one or more strategies for Swedish development cooperation for the host country. You should also specify which strategy or strategies the study/project relates to and describe how you believe it does so. Furthermore, alternative arrangements (back-up plan) for both the date of the trip but also for the method for the field study needs to be included. The alternative arrangements shall account for how you plan to deal with changes if/when they arise, both before and during the field study.
3. A plan for the budget including travel cost, part of living expenses, any trips within the host country, vaccinations, costs for equipment, printing of the thesis.
4. Transcript of records.
5. Certificate from supervisor at MDU insuring the relevance and academic quality of the field study.
6. Certificate in English from the contact person in the host country proving that he/she can support you before and during the field study. If submitting an email exchange, make sure to include both your initial email requesting a contact person and the contact person’s reply confirming the request.
7. Copy of your passport or birth certificate showing citizenship. For non-Swedish citizens a population registration certificate is required showing that you have been a Swedish resident for at least 12 months.
   
8. In cases where two students are writing the thesis/degree project together, it must be clear from the project description who is doing what during the field study. Please bear in mind that all MFS applications are individual. If there are two of you writing the thesis together you apply and are assessed separately.

Selection and decisions

Each application is assessed on the basis of Sida's guidelines for the scholarship programme and concerns academic relevance, feasibility, connection to one or more strategies for Swedish development cooperation for the host country, budget, language level, security situation, and more.

What happens if I am granted a scholarship?

• You will receive a letter to your email with practical information, an insurance contract and payment form. The insurance contract and payment form are to be signed and sent to the MFS Executive Officer. Only when both forms have been submitted by you, will the grant be paid out.
• MDU will draw up an insurance policy for you with Kammarkollegiet (the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency), a Student UT insurance. A supplementary insurance may be needed. Please read the insurance terms for Student UT Insurance during education abroad (Student OUT) - Kammarkollegiet External link. to decide whether the insurance is sufficient or not.
  
• Keep yourself updated on the travel recommendations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs External link.(in Swedish).

Final report and thesis

Upon your return you will need to do the following:

• Submit the compulsory questionnaire, which will be emailed to you.
• Participate in a follow-up meeting with the MFS Executive Officer.
• Write a thesis/degree project in English, equivalent to Bachelor's or Master's level and send a copy of your work to the MFS Executive Officer.
  
• Submit your travel documents and a short travel report/diary about your experiences to the MFS Executive Officer.

Sida Alumni

Please note that Sida Alumni is temporarily paused. The activities are planned to resume in 2025.

Is a project to get more students to spread their various experiences from their own stays abroad and increase the public’s knowledge of global development issues.

Read more about Sida Alumni here: Sida alumni External link. (in Swedish)