Before you start following these step by step procedures, it’s good to know a bit about Sweden, Swedish universities and their ranking, and Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals (SISGP) scholarship. If you already have some idea about Sweden and world-renowned Swedish universities, you can directly move to step by step guidelines. It is important to remember that you don’t need to apply via any agencies to study in Sweden, you can do it yourself. All you need is just to spend a few hours in front of the computer (with internet access), and follow this step by step guideline, and apply for master’s program of your interest and SI scholarship in Sweden.
Sweden is one of the Scandinavian countries with around 10 million inhabitants. Sweden shares the border both with Norway and Finland and is close to Denmark (it takes only around 35 minutes by train to go to Copenhagen from Lund). Peoples in Sweden are nice, peace-loving, open minded and love to spend time with their families. Swedish is the native language here, but almost everyone can speak English well. Read more about Sweden here.
Sweden is an amazing destination for international students with access to world-class research facilities. Based on the world university ranking, Sweden hosts a few world-renowned universities. Some of the most popular ones among international students are: Lund University (in Lund), Karolinska Institute (in Stockholm), Uppsala University (in Uppsala), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences – SLU (in Uppsala), Gothenburg University (in Gothenburg), Chalmers University of Technology (in Gothenburg), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (in Stockholm), Umeå University (in Umeå), Linköping University (in Linköping), Örebro University (Örebro), and Luleå University of Technology (Luleå). Read more about best universities in Sweden here.
SI (Swedish Institute) scholarship is the scholarship offered by the Swedish government agency named Swedish Institute (SI). Swedish Institute offers this scholarship to international students and researchers coming to Sweden. This is a fully-funded scholarship meaning that it covers both tuition fees and living expenses. This is the most prestigious scholarship in Sweden.
Here comes step by step guidelines to applying for master’s studies in Sweden and application procedure to SI scholarship. Remember, you must apply for university admission and scholarship separately. University admission and SI scholarship application are two different things and are processed by two different offices.
- First, check your eligibility for SI Scholarship here. It’s a good idea to check the eligibility for the scholarship first so you won’t spend time going through the procedures if you are not eligible for this SI scholarship. But, if you think you can afford all your expenses without a scholarship, then skip step 1 and 2, and start from step 3.
- Then, check master’s program covered by SI scholarship and find around 4-5 programs of your interest. You will find the full list of master’s program covered by SI scholarship here.
- Check both general and master’s program (the program you have selected in step two) specific entry requirements. For, general entry requirements visit this link. For, master’s program-specific entry requirements, visit this link, type your master’s program on the search option and see the requirements here.
- Now, if you feel that you are eligible for both master’s program (at least one), then first apply for university admission for that (or those) master’s program(s). This university admission website is the only official website/platform to apply for master’s studies in Sweden. You need to create an account here and follow their instructions. Have a look at their application process here. Remember that you are applying for autumn semester and the last date for online application is around mid or early-January.
- Then, the next task is to apply for SI Scholarship separately. They (university admission and SI Scholarship application) are two different things and thus you must apply separately. You will be considered for SI Scholarship only if you get admitted in one of the master’s programs covered by SI Scholarship. You will find the SI Scholarship procedure here. Application for the scholarship will be open from 04-14 February (usually the first two weeks of February).
Also, it is good to know that some universities offer scholarships and you have to apply for those scholarships separately. These scholarships offered by the universities cover just the tuition fees or part of tuition fees. For example, Lund University offers some scholarships like Lund University Global Scholarship to students and researchers with highest academic excellence.
One useful tip: Don’t copy and paste motivation letter (and reference letter). Try to be creative, write your own, demonstrate your confidence that you are the best candidate and you can make most out of this scholarship opportunity. Then, make it checked for corrections by someone you can trust (who won’t copy it!) and of course, he/she must be good at English (i.e. your friend or teacher or supervisor).
Good luck with your application!
