Scholarships for Sweden
Swedish-American Heritage Spawns Strong Private Funding
Students heading off to study in Sweden may not be as plentiful as those packing for Italy or Germany, but Sweden is an increasingly popular destination. The country is, in Nordic fashion, highly advanced particularly educationally, socially and politically. Sweden is committed to its institutions of higher education, is a premier location for high-level European research and offers a surprisingly diverse political scene.
Federal Scholarships
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships are reserved for those undergraduate students who have no other financial means to pay for a study abroad program in Sweden. The program is a creation of the federal government whose ulterior motive is to create a more highly educated and internationally savvy crowd of business and industry leaders prepared to compete in the Twenty-First Century. Applicants must be Pell Grant recipients and demonstrate a high caliber of academic motivation. The more innovative the proposed program of study the better. Awards are competitive and widely known. Gilman Scholars may earn $5,000.
Private Funding
The American-Scandinavian Foundation is instrumental in providing well-endowed funding for students who are pursuing research in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. Eligible fellowship candidates must at least have their four-year undergraduate degree out of the way and be launching research associated with graduate or post-graduate studies. Proposals must be complete and the necessity to be in Sweden must be directly relative to the research project. Fellowships may be up to $20,000 depending on financial needs.
The American Women’s Club of Stockholm, Sweden funds an annual scholarship that provides a $1,500 stipend to a female student who would like to study in Sweden. The ideal applicant has an outstanding academic record and a well-defined reason for choosing Sweden: it could be a destination required for research or an ancestral home. Students are chosen from a range of disciplines.
The Birgit Baldwin Fellowship is sponsored and administered by the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study. These very generous fellowships are doled out to the most promising graduate or doctoral students whose research must take them to Sweden. The fellowship covers expenses and travel for a year and candidates are considered on the applicability of the project to Scandinavian literature. Awards are $20,000.
Students wishing to study in Sweden at a university also have the option to apply for the Guest Scholarship Program administered by the Swedish Institute. Applicants must be pursuing a Masters degree or higher and may be engaged in any discipline. Students should have a working knowledge of Swedish.
The American Swedish Institute in Minnesota celebrates the region’s strong Scandinavian heritage by funding a number of educational programs intended to expose members or others to Sweden. ASI awards the following scholarships to students participating in a program of study in Sweden:
- Malmberg Scholarship and Fellowship Program offers a generous scholarship and fellowship for undergraduate and graduate students, respectively. Applicants must have a well-defined research project relative to Sweden to qualify.
- Lilly Lorenzen Scholarships are awarded to resident students of Minnesota whose studies require travel to Sweden. Applicants must be able to speak Swedish to be considered.
College Scholarships
Students enrolled at almost any college or university in the U.S. may apply for inclusion in Michigan State University’s program in Sweden. This is a niche-specific abroad program that is suited to students in industrial engineering or manufacturing. Participants will spend an intensive term experiencing first-hand Sweden’s unique “logistical packaging” system. MSU students who are enrolled through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and who are accepted to the abroad program will automatically be awarded a scholarship through the department.
University of Texas-Austin students have the advantage of the Swedish Studies Excellence Endowment Scholarship. The scholarship is open to students from all disciplines as long as they have a formal plan of study and institution in Sweden. Candidates are required to demonstrate knowledge of the Swedish language and prove financial need.