The first step in applying for this scholarship is to obtain a letter of invitation from a Swedish university department willing to accept you. In addition your application must be supported by a contact person at your home university. Applications must be submitted online with enclosures as digital documents.

Scholarship categories

You must register as one of the following categories in your application:

• Part of PhD. You must be enrolled as a PhD student at your home university.

• Research for holders of a PhD-degree.

Supporting documents

Please note that the supporting documents may not exceed the prescribed number of pages stated below. As a public authority, the Swedish Institute (SI) follows the Swedish Principle of Public Access to Information. This means that any data registered in our systems will be treated as a public document. In accordance with this, information about your application and qualifications will be accessible to the public on request.

Letter of invitation. Mandatory.
— Signed by a professor or head of department at the inviting Swedish university, stating that you are invited as a student/researcher as well as informing on ongoing or planned cooperation between the host institution and your home institution.
 Maximum 2 pages.

Two letters of recommendation. Mandatory.
— From professors/academic supervisors, describing the interest of cooperation and long term impact of a study/research visit to Sweden as well as confirming the applicant’s status (holder of a PhD-degree, registered PhD-student or year Swedish language/literature student. The letter should also evaluate the applicant’s English language proficiency (not valid for students/researchers within Swedish language). The letters of recommendation are mandatory. We prefer that the letters of recommendations are submitted with this online application. If that is not possible, they can be sent in a sealed envelope instead. The envelope should be sent to the Swedish Institute (Box 7434, 103 91 Stockholm, Sweden).  In this case all documents or the envelope should be marked with the reference number of your confirmed application.
 Maximum 2 pages.

Copies of university degrees. Mandatory.
— Copies of the highest obtained degree, translated into English and certified by the university.

Research proposal. Mandatory.
— A research proposal describing the scientific quality of the project as well as its originality, methodological approach and relevance.
 Maximum 5 pages.

CV of the applicant. Mandatory.
— Outlining your previous studies, degrees and English language proficiency.
 Maximum 2 pages.

CV of the intended supervisor/contact person in Sweden. Mandatory.
Maximum 2 pages.

List of publications. Optional.
— Maximum 2 pages.

Personal motivation. Mandatory.
— Expected long term impact and goals, choice of Sweden as your study/research destination and reasons for seeking financial support.
 Maximum 1 page.

Application form
SI uses online application forms only. The deadline for academic year 2010/2011 was February 1. The next application round will commence December 2010.

How are the applications processed?

Once the application is completed and submitted on-line, it will be registered in the Swedish Institute online application system. Please be patient as this procedure may take some time (only submit the application once) until a confirmation with your reference number appears on the screen. An e-mail will also be sent to you with a copy to the contact person at the Swedish university.

Applications are evaluated by an academic board. The primary evaluation of the application takes into account the applicant's academic background and personal motivation, the research quality and expertise in the project field of the host department and the strength of the research proposal; its scientific quality, originality, methodological approach and relevance. In the final selection of candidates, academic fields, study levels, countries and gender will also be considered.

Decisions are finalized within 4 months and a confirmation is sent to the appointed scholarship holder and to the supervisor/contact person at the Swedish University. Please note that all decisions are sent by e-mail only.