Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals 2026/2027: Historical Reference for Fully Funded Master's Study in Sweden

Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals 2026/2027: Historical Reference for Fully Funded Master’s Study in Sweden

This page is a historical reference for the Swedish Institute (Svenska institutet) Scholarship for Global Professionals academic year 2026/2027. The official Swedish Institute page currently publishes the 2026/2027 call, including its completed application timetable and eligibility rules. It does not publish a later call, so there is no confirmed future deadline to list here. Do not treat the dates below as an open application window. Wait for the Swedish Institute to publish a new call before preparing an application for a later academic year.

The closed round was a major scholarship for professionals who wanted to study a full-time, one- or two-year master’s programme in Sweden and use that education to contribute to sustainable development in their home country and region. It was not a general award for any international student. Applicants needed citizenship from one of 34 specified countries, admission to an eligible master’s programme, liability for Swedish tuition fees, work experience, and leadership experience. The award was competitive and the Swedish Institute required applicants to follow two connected application processes: University Admissions first, followed by the separate SI scholarship application.

Key details from the closed 2026/2027 call

The official page describes the award as fully funded for the awarded master’s programme, but “fully funded” does not mean that every cost is covered. The scholarship does not include insurance, additional grants for family members, or the University Admissions application fee. It also does not allow a scholar to change to another master’s programme or extend or change the awarded scholarship period. Those exclusions matter when comparing the scholarship with personal savings or other funding.

What the scholarship covered

The largest benefit was full tuition fee coverage. The Swedish Institute paid the fee directly to the Swedish university each semester. A successful applicant therefore did not receive a tuition reimbursement in their personal bank account; the award was tied to the admitted and awarded master’s programme.

The monthly allowance was SEK 12,000 for living expenses throughout the study period. Applicants still needed to plan for the costs that the allowance might not cover in their city, including housing deposits, local transport, study materials, and personal expenses. SI did not promise a separate family allowance, so anyone relocating with dependants needed an independent financial plan.

The travel grant was a one-time payment of SEK 15,000. The official rule reduced that amount to SEK 10,000 for scholars from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The travel grant did not apply to students already living in Sweden. It was therefore not a universal relocation budget and should not have been treated as a recurring benefit.

Awardees also joined the SI Network for Global Professionals, which supports professional development, learning, and connections with other scholarship holders. After the scholarship period, recipients became members of the Sweden Alumni Network. These networks were part of the programme’s longer-term professional offer, but they did not replace the formal academic and financial conditions of the scholarship.

Who was eligible in 2026/2027

The citizenship list for the closed call contained 34 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. Applicants did not have to reside in their country of citizenship when applying. A person with two eligible citizenships had to choose only one; using both to submit more than one application could disqualify all applications.

Citizenship alone was not enough. The applicant had to apply for a master’s programme on SI’s eligible-programme list and be liable to pay tuition fees at Swedish universities. The programme had to be an eligible English-taught master’s programme. An applicant also had to complete the University Admissions process, pay the application fee on time, and be admitted or conditionally admitted to an eligible programme on the admissions announcement day. A programme for which the applicant was only a reserve could not be considered, and SI did not offer scholarships for late admissions.

Work experience had two different rules in the 2026/2027 call. Applicants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine had to provide proof of work experience, but SI stated that there was no minimum number of hours for this group. Applicants from Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia needed at least 3,000 hours of work experience before February 2026. Those 3,000 hours could come from no more than three employers. Valid experience could include full-time or part-time employment, freelancing, or running a business, and the applicant did not need to be employed at the time of application. Experience related to the chosen field was prioritised.

Leadership experience was also required. SI described it as experience leading colleagues or organisations, influencing an organisation’s development strategy, allocating tasks, or participating in decision-making. It could come from employment or from involvement in civil society organisations and networks. There was no minimum number of leadership hours, but strong and relevant leadership from employment was prioritised. A job title by itself was not the same as evidence of leadership; the application needed to show responsibility, decisions, and results.

The official criteria excluded people currently enrolled in or holding a degree from a Swedish university or university college, people who had already received a Swedish Institute scholarship for studies in Sweden, and people who had lived in Sweden for a cumulative two years or more before the scholarship period. Swedish or EU/EEA citizenship, a Swedish permanent residence permit, and certain Swedish or EU/EEA family-ties or work-based permits also made an applicant ineligible. SI also excluded applicants with dual citizenship in countries outside the DAC List of ODA Recipients 2025. The official page noted an exception for Ukrainian applicants living in Sweden under the Temporary Protection Directive.

How the 2026/2027 application process worked

The first step was the University Admissions application, not the SI scholarship form. The official overview gave the master’s application period as 16 October 2025 to 15 January 2026, while the detailed “How to apply” section printed 15 October 2025 to 15 January 2026. In either presentation, 15 January 2026 was the important closing date for the university application stage. Applicants had to apply through University Admissions, pay the application fee on time, and submit the documents required for their master’s applications. SI did not administer those university admissions questions; its FAQ directs applicants to University Admissions for application numbers, fees, and university documents.

SI published the scholarship application documents and the eligible master’s-programme list on its page in mid-November 2025. Applicants needed to check that the programmes they had applied for were on that list. Choosing an attractive master’s programme that was not eligible for SI funding did not create scholarship eligibility.

The second step was the SI Scholarship for Global Professionals application. The portal opened from 9 February 2026 through 25 February 2026 and closed at 14:59 CET on the final day. Applicants added the eligible master’s programmes they had applied for through University Admissions and followed the instructions in the call. Work-experience certification had to be prepared using the SI template forms available during the application period. Applicants also needed to demonstrate leadership experience and explain how the chosen education would contribute to sustainable development in their home country and region.

After the scholarship portal closed, SI screening and evaluation ran from 25 February 2026 to 25 March 2026. University Admissions published the admissions announcement on 26 March 2026. That admissions result mattered because SI could only consider the eligible programme to which the applicant was admitted or conditionally admitted on the relevant admissions day; a reserve place or late admission could not be used for the scholarship.

The final evaluation and scholarship-recipient announcement followed. The official SI timeline lists final evaluation from 26 March 2026 to 23 April 2026 and identifies 23 April 2026 as the scholarship announcement date. Applicants therefore had to complete the university application and the SI application in the correct order. Missing the first stage could not be repaired by submitting an SI form later.

Documents and preparation points

For the University Admissions stage, applicants needed to follow the document, payment, and programme instructions issued by University Admissions. SI’s role began with the scholarship requirements, but an incomplete university application could prevent scholarship consideration. Applicants should have kept copies of their submitted application, payment confirmation, programme ranking, and any admissions correspondence.

For the SI stage, the most important preparation was evidence. Applicants from the six-country work-experience group needed proof of their work experience even though no minimum number of hours applied to them. Applicants subject to the 3,000-hour rule needed records that demonstrated the hours and the maximum of three employers. SI directed applicants to its certification templates, so informal descriptions without the requested certification were risky. Leadership evidence should have shown what the applicant led, what authority they had, and what changed as a result.

The motivation should have connected the applicant’s professional record, the selected master’s programme, and a practical development objective. SI’s criteria emphasised sustainable development in the home country and region. A general wish to study abroad was not the same as a credible plan to apply the education after graduation. Applicants also needed to check the call itself because SI stated that requirements and instructions could be subject to change.

What readers should do now

The 2026/2027 round is closed. The date in this page’s deadline field is the real closed scholarship deadline, 25 February 2026, so the page can remain a useful archive without appearing to offer an expired opportunity as if it were open. There is no confirmed later deadline in the official material reviewed for this update. Do not submit a late application for the closed round and do not rely on the 2026/2027 programme list for a later cycle.

For a future application, monitor the official Swedish Institute programme page linked below and wait for the new call, eligible-programme list, country list, work-experience rules, document templates, and exact dates. The annual structure may be similar, but the dates and eligibility conditions are not guaranteed to remain unchanged. Recheck whether the programme is still eligible, whether your citizenship is still listed, whether you are liable for tuition, and whether the experience rules have changed before investing time in the application.

Official source

The Swedish Institute’s official page for the Scholarship for Global Professionals is si.se/en/apply/scholarships/swedish-institute-scholarships-for-global-professionals/. It is the source to use for any future call. The official page names the Swedish Institute as the administrator, publishes the funding terms, lists eligible countries and programmes, and sets the application sequence. Because no later round is published there, this entry remains a historical reference to 2026/2027 rather than an open listing.