Minor Field Studies - MFS | Student Portal

What is Minor Field Studies? (MFS)

Minor Field Studies (MFS) is a scholarship programme funded by Sida (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency). It offers you the the opportunity to conduct field studies in in a low- or middle-income country in order to collect data for your bachelor’s or master’s thesis. The fieldwork must take place in one of Sida’s designated partner countries. The programme is open to students on bachelor- and master level.

The scholarship consists of a travel grant of 35 000 SEK. Your field study must last for a minimum of eight weeks (56 days in the field). This sum will typically not cover the entire cost of the trip but the grant can be combined with CSN.

Since the application process can take time, we recommend that you read through the requirements and instructions carefully and start preparing your application before the application period opens.

Am I eligible to apply?

To be eligible you need to be a Swedish citizen or have been registered in the Swedish population register for at least one year at the time of your application

You need to be a registered and active student at GU. The field study needs to be a part of your thesis project on bachelor- or master level. You need to have been assigned a supervisor at your department at the time of the application, and you also need to have a contact person in the host country (read more about this under “Application”). Students who have started doctoral studies are not eligible to apply.

The MFS-scholarship is personal and cannot be split between two or more students. Students who plan to collaborate on their thesis (regulated by the department) will have to apply for one scholarship each. If you have any questions on writing your thesis with a fellow student, please contact your study counsellor.

Host countries

You will carry out your MFS study in a country where Sweden has ongoing development cooperation. There must be an active strategy for development cooperation with the country you plan to visit. The entire field study must be conducted in one and the same country.

You can find the list of all eligible host countries here: openaid.se

The strategies outline which countries and thematic areas are prioritized within Swedish development cooperation, as well as the objectives to be achieved.

There are two types of strategies:

Geographic strategies: applicable to individual countries or regions.
Thematic strategies: focused on specific areas such as human rights, democracy, or justice sector reform.

Useful resources for finding Sweden’s development cooperation strategies: (in Swedish)

Explore current strategies on the Swedish Government’s website: Regeringens strategier - Regeringen.se
View strategies by country or region: Länder och regioner − Openaid.se
Read current bilateral, regional, and thematic strategies at Sida: Så styrs Sida − Sida.se

Travel advisory from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD)

Before choosing a host country for your field study you need to consult the issued travel advice from UD, as this may impact your choice. MFS cannot be granted to a country or region that UD advice against travel to. For this reason, planning your field study and preparing your application needs to include making sure you know what the security situation looks like in your intended host country.

Link to UD travel advice here (in Swedish): Länder som UD avråder från resa till

The following advisory information from UD will mean that an MFS field study cannot be granted to a certain country or region:

general advice to refrain from non-essential travel to a country or region
general advice to refrain from all travel to a country or region
call for all Swedish citizens to leave a country or region

In a situation where UD issues advice against travel to a certain region in a country but not to the country as a whole, it is possible to carry out an MFS field study in another part of that country. To get such an application approved you will need to describe how your planning and preparations will make sure you stay well clear from the unadvisable region throughout the duration of your stay.

Should UD issue advice to refrain from non-essential travel to your host country or region once you have arrived there, you will decide whether to stay or return to Sweden in discussion with your contacts at GU.

Should UD issue advice to refrain from all travel to your host country or region once you have arrived there, you will need to return to Sweden within 30 days.

Should UD issue a call for all Swedish citizens to leave your host country or region once you have arrived there, you will need to contact Falck Global Assistance for help to leave the country or region immediately.

If you need to cancel your MFS field study for any of the reasons above, your scholarship will not be affected. Should you cancel the field study for other reasons you may have to return some or all of the scholarship funds. Please consult the “Allmänna villkor för MFS”-document (in Swedish) to learn more about what rules apply. .

Conditions

To be eligible for funding, the field study must:

Maintain academic quality and be relevant to your programme or field of study
Be conducted in a country where Sweden has ongoing development cooperation and align with one or more of Sweden’s development strategies for that country
Be supported by a local contact person who is connected to your study and can assist with its implementation
Be supervised by an academic supervisor at the University of Gothenburg
Result in a thesis or degree project written in English

You are encouraged to connect your field study to ongoing research or international activities at the University of Gothenburg.

Additional requirements – after your field study

After completing your fieldwork, you are required to:

Fill out and submit a participant report
Present your project to fellow students and your course instructor, either in person or by producing a video presentation that may be used as informational material, no later than three months after returning home
Participate in the knowledge-sharing process coordinated by the University of Gothenburg (more information will be provided to selected grantees)
Publish your thesis or degree project in the MFS database (launching in 2025) no later than one year after your return

You are also encouraged to make your study available in the host country, in the local language if possible—for example, as a summary or article.

Application

In autumn 2025, the University of Gothenburg will award 25 MFS scholarships.

The application period is 15 September – 15 October, and applications must be submitted digitally via the link provided further down on this page (the link is only visible when the application is open).

The full application needs to be written in English. You apply in two steps, where the first one asks you to register an account with your personal data, and the second involves logging in to the application portal via a link sent to you by email. You will be asked to provide additional personal data and upload the required documents. The documents need to be in PDF or Word format.

Please note that all required documents need to be submitted before the deadline. You will not be able to send in additional documentation after the deadline has passed.

Your application should include the following mandatory documents:

Project plan

The project plan corresponds to a minor “PM”. The maximum length is 2000 words, not counting references. It should be written in English, and include the following sections:

A background to your chosen topic and field study, including a motivation for your choice of host country,
A theoretical section that recounts the previous- and most recent research on the topic,
Purpose of the field study,
Main research question(s), Be sure to explain how your study relates to one or more of Sweden’s development cooperation strategies. You must specify: The country or regional strategy relevant to the project, the goal within the thematic area that the project addresses, and - if applicable - the thematic strategy providing the background
Your chosen methods for data collection and analysis.
Your timetable, including preparations before travel. Describe how you intend to section and spend the period in the field, which should be at least 8 weeks (56 days, not counting travel days),
Visa regulations, required permits, vaccinations and restrictions: you need to show that you are sufficiently informed about the formal prerequisites for carrying our your field study in the intended host country in terms of visas, permits, vaccinations, and restrictions, and that you have allowed sufficient time and budget to allow for these,
Budget: including costs for travel to, from, and within the host country, cost of living for the intended period, visas and permits, vaccinations, housing, etc. Also include any planned costs for equipment or materials, technical assistance, translation, or other services,
Risk analysis for your field study: what risks can you foresee that might mean that you have to make changes to your original plan for the study, and how do you plan to adapt to these? Describe what circumstances on site that may have an impact on the study you wish to carry out regarding topic or methodology and show that you can anticipate obstacles and plan for how to overcome them,
Safety and security precautions, and ethical considerations: you need to show that you have reflected on the possible risks that this study might put you or those connected to you in, as well as how you plan to mitigate these and avoid putting yourself or anyone else in danger or discomfort (translators, respondents, anyone who will help you on site). Also: what other ethical considerations do you need to be aware of or navigate in relation to the setup or topic of your study?
References

Supervisor and contact person in the field

CV

Copy of passport or other documentation

Apply here

Assessment of applications

When the deadline for the application has passed, your application will be checked to make sure it is complete and that you meet the eligibility requirements. If your application is not approved for further assessment, we will let you know via email.

Applications that pass screening will be assessed in accordance with:

standards for academic relevance
relation to the global sustainability goals and the reform agenda for international development collaboration
general feasibility in scope and planning

The assessment will be made by the MFS-coordinator at GU and subject experts at your department. Scholarships are then awarded based on the results of the assessment. The goal is to distribute scholarships as evenly as possible across the University of Gothenburg's faculties and departments.

The assessment process takes place in the 4-5 weeks following the application deadline. Once the assessment is complete, you will receive the final decision via email. The final decision cannot be overruled.

Preparatory course and payment of scholarship

In order receive the funds for your scholarship, you will need to attend a mandatory preparatory course for field studies. The date will be announced here before the call for applications opens. The scholarship funds will be made available 1-2 weeks following this course.

Questions?

Contact the MFS-coordinator at GU by sending an email to mfs@gu.se