International opportunities abroad – scholarship and grant tips for doctoral students and postdocs

Lund University travel and research grants
This is an overview of the travel and research grants available at LU.

Lund University faculty travel and research grants
Grants for purposes such as research and conference travel. You can apply for faculty travel and research grants twice a year, in February and September. The grants are intended for researchers, doctoral students and teachers.

Other grants and scholarships at Lund University
A collection of foundations that have separate application periods spread throughout the year with a concentration at the beginning of each semester.

Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM)
ICM is a programme that basically constitutes Erasmus+ outside of Europe. However, you cannot apply on your own. Your department must apply for and be awarded funding for multiple mobilities. If this occurs, you can apply internally for travelling. Calls for ICM funding take place once a year, in the autumn (usually in October). The requirements are a clear purpose, at least one partner university outside of Europe, and planned mobilities for both incoming and outgoing teachers, doctoral students and Master's students. Collaboration with universities in developing countries is prioritised, as well as countries in the immediate vicinity of the EU.

You can read more about ICM on the website of the Swedish Council for Higher Education.

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
There are two ways to apply for funding:

• General announcement for the humanities: doctoral students are invited to apply for funds for conference, archive and field travel.
• P E Lindahls stipendiefond: Scholarships are awarded for scientific studies or continuing practical training within or outside of Sweden. The amount applied for must be exactly SEK 250,000 per application. “In exceptional cases a research student who has an established plan for doctoral thesis defence during the application year may be considered”.

Application period: 15 October to 15 January

Swedish Institute
Keep an eye on SI's varied scholarship and grant programme.

EURAXESS
The EURAXESS network aims to support European researchers who want to travel and network. Their website contains a lot of useful information about different countries and regions in terms of opportunities, funds and employment – not only within Europe but also beyond.

Berit Wallenberg Foundation
The foundation promotes scientific research mainly in archaeology and art history. Grants are primarily awarded for research on Swedish and Nordic material. Smaller grants may also be awarded for research, research travel, symposia, fieldwork, analyses and publications. Grants for travel and symposia are primarily awarded when applicants present their own lecture or poster. Doctoral students are eligible to apply for smaller grants (grants for research travel, symposia, fieldwork, analyses and publication of the doctoral thesis).
Application period: 1 May to 1 June

Gunvor och Josef Anérs Stiftelse (in Swedish)
The application amount can be a maximum of SEK 150,000 and relates to both funding for new research and publication grants for relevant research grants and internationalisation in the form of travel grants for research stays abroad. Grants are awarded for participation in conferences, provided that the applicant has been invited to organise sessions or present their own research reports (max SEK 20,000). Research students must submit a supervisor's certificate.
Application period for conferences: 1 April to 1 May
Application period for research: 15 April to 15 June

Stiftelsen Längmanska kulturfonden (in Swedish)
Grants for projects in the humanities, natural sciences, art and literature, and popular adult education. Grants between SEK 10,000 and 50,000.
Application period: 1 October to 15 January each year

Gerda Boëthius Memorial Foundation
Each year the Foundation awards one or more grants for scientific research in art history, ethnology and handicraft. The work for which a grant is applied for must normally be made public in the form of a publication. In recent years, grants have generally been awarded to doctoral students or postdoc researchers. However, there are no specific requirements.
Application deadline: 10 April

Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation (in Swedish)
The Foundation accepts applications from individual researchers for projects in all subject areas. The grants usually range in size from SEK 10,000 to 50,000. A statement from the supervisor is required.
Application period: 15 August to 1 October

Helge Ax:son Johnsons stiftelse (in Swedish)
The Foundation promotes scientific research. Applications may be for e.g. research or conference travel. A supervisor's certificate is required.
Application period: 1 December to 1 February

Forskraftstiftelsen (in Swedish)
The purpose of the Foundation is to promote studies that develop young people's knowledge of international relations, international organisations and/or international collaboration by providing financial assistance to students at universities/ colleges in Sweden in subject areas related to international organisations and/or international collaboration, especially in the fields of peacekeeping and conflict resolution, human rights, energy and environmental issues. Applications must be doctoral (third-cycle) students at a university or college in Sweden who wish to conduct field studies in another country in connection with their doctoral thesis (max SEK 100,000). Grants are also available to doctoral (third-cycle) students who wish to receive financial support for a stint as a visiting researcher at a foreign university (max SEK 100,000).
Application period: 15 June to 15 September

Fulbright Graduate Student Program
The application is for funding for a research stay at a US university (minimum 10 months). Applications open 18 months before departure. Swedish citizenship is a requirement.
Application period: January to April each year

Japan Foundation
Travel scholarships for studies of Japanese community life. Only Swedish citizens can apply.
Application deadline: 31 October

Pivot-RP
A database providing information on scholarships, services and research grants, especially abroad. Log in with your LUCAT ID.

Global Grant
Large database of grants and funds of various kinds. It costs money to subscribe to updates.

Naturally, there is a plethora of funds and foundations that offer funding for scientific research and publication, but perhaps not primarily travel grants. You can find an updated list on the HT Faculties' intranet (Research resources) (in Swedish).
 

Lund University travel and research grants
This is an overview of the travel and research grants available at LU.

Lund University faculty travel and research grants
Grants for purposes such as research and conference travel.
You can apply for faculty travel and research grants twice a year, in February and September. The grants are intended for researchers, doctoral students and teachers.

Other grants and scholarships at Lund University
A collection of foundations that have separate application periods spread throughout the year with a concentration at the beginning of each semester.

Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM)
ICM is a programme that basically constitutes Erasmus+ outside of Europe. However, you cannot apply on your own. Your department must apply for and be awarded funding for multiple mobilities. If this occurs, you can apply internally for travelling. Calls for ICM funding take place once a year, in the autumn (usually in October). The requirements are a clear purpose, at least one partner university outside of Europe, and planned mobilities for both incoming and outgoing researchers, doctoral students and Master's students. Collaboration with universities in developing countries is prioritised, as well as countries in the immediate vicinity of the EU.

You can read more about ICM on the website of the Swedish Council for Higher Education.

The New Society of Letters at Lund
Grants of up to SEK 10,000 are awarded to active researchers for research and conference travel, for conference fees at digital conferences or for proofreading of scientific work. Only applicants who claim participation with their own research report can be considered for support for conference travel.
Application deadline: 15 May

The Crafoord Foundation
Grants are mainly for one-year projects (conference travel with active participation, researcher exchange and research stays).
Grants for one-year research projects: the Foundation favours younger applicants.
Grants for two- and four-year research projects: the Foundation prioritises applications from younger researchers whose activities are under development.
Application period: Mid-December to the first Thursday of February

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities
To stimulate international contacts, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities announces travel grants for postdoc researchers in the humanities, social sciences, law and theology faculties twice a year (max SEK 25,000).
Application periods: April to May and December to January

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
There are two ways to apply for funding:

• General announcement for the humanities: researchers who recently earned their PhD (no more than 5 years after graduation) are prioritised when applying for funding for conference, archive and field travel.
• P E Lindahls stipendiefond: Scholarships are awarded for scientific studies or continuing practical training within or outside of Sweden. The amount applied for must be exactly SEK 250,000 per application. “When awarding grants, priority will be given to applicants who have recently completed a PhD and are seeking funding for continued research at the postdoc level at another university, within or outside of Sweden. In this context, recently means the student has obtained their PhD within the last five years”.

Application period: 15 October to 15 January

STINT (Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education)
International Postdoc: For internationalisation of young researchers.
Teaching Sabbatical: For the internationalisation of higher education, in particular teaching.
Initiation Grants: One-year mobility projects targeting the building of new and strategically interesting international relationships.
External programmes: Scholarship for research stays in Japan.

Swedish Institute
Keep an eye on SI's varied scholarship and grant programme.

Riksbankens jubileumsfond
RJ announces research grants once a year aimed at individual researchers and small or large research groups. Researchers can also apply for funding for conferences, scientific networks and the like throughout the year. RJ also carries out targeted initiatives that can develop and strengthen Swedish research in the humanities and social sciences.

Swedish Research Council
Keep an eye on the Swedish Research Council's calls for international postdoc grants.

EURAXESS
The EURAXESS network aims to support European researchers who would like to travel and network. Their website contains a lot of useful information about different countries and regions in terms of opportunities, funds and employment – not only within Europe but also beyond.

Berit Wallenberg Foundation
The foundation promotes scientific research mainly in archaeology and art history. Grants are primarily awarded for research on Swedish and Nordic material. Postdoc researchers can apply for funding for large-scale scientific projects (with a budget of at least SEK 2 million) and small-scale scientific projects (research, research travel, symposia, fieldwork, analyses and publication). Grants for travel and symposia are primarily awarded when applicants present their own lecture or poster.
Application period: 1 May to 1 June

Gunvor och Josef Anérs Stiftelse (in Swedish)
The application amount can be a maximum of SEK 150,000 and relates to both funding for new research and publication grants for relevant research grants and internationalisation in the form of travel grants for research stays abroad. Grants are awarded for participation in conferences, provided that the applicant has been invited to organise sessions or present their own research reports (max SEK 20,000).
Application period for research: 15 April to 15 June
Application period for conferences: 1 April to 1 May

Stiftelsen Längmanska kulturfonden (in Swedish)
Grants for projects in the humanities, natural sciences, art and literature, and popular adult education. Grants between SEK 10,000 and 50,000.
Application period: 1 October to 15 January each year

Gyllenstiernska Krapperupsstiftelsen (in Swedish)
The purpose of the Foundation is to support science and research. The greatest priority is given to researchers who have a connection to the Kulla region personally or in their research. However, other qualified researchers are considered. The Foundation would like to see younger applicants in the earlier part of their career.
Application period: 15 January to 15 February

Gerda Boëthius Memorial Foundation
Each year the Foundation awards one or more grants for scientific research in art history, ethnology and handicraft. The work for which a grant is applied for must normally be made public in the form of a publication. In recent years, grants have generally been awarded to doctoral students or postdoc researchers. However, there are no specific requirements.
Application deadline: 10 April

Magn. Bergvalls stiftelse (in Swedish)
Grants of SEK 5,000–150,000 are awarded to postdoc researchers for research purposes. Grants are preferably given to researchers who have recently developed an independent line of research. Grants for congress travel costs are only granted in exceptional cases.
Application deadline: 15 September

Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation (in Swedish)
The Foundation accepts applications from individual researchers for projects in all subject areas. The grants normally range in size from SEK 10,000 to 50,000.
Application period: 15 August to 1 October

Wenner-Gren Foundations
The grants are intended for short-term visits abroad for active participation in international congresses, symposia, workshops and courses. Funds are not provided for longer research stays abroad. Applicants must hold a PhD and be under 40 years of age. The grants can be applied for twice a year.
Application deadlines: 10 March and 1 October

Fulbright Scholar Program
The application is for funding for a research stay at a US university (3 to 12 months). Swedish citizenship is a requirement.
Application period: August to January each year

The Wallenberg Foundation Postdoctoral Scholarship at Stanford University
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation gives promising young Swedish researchers the opportunity to spend one to two years at Stanford University on a postdoc fellowship. The programme is open to all subject areas and can be applied for within two years of thesis defence.
Application period: 18 October to 15 November

Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS)
Each year PIIRS invites five international scholars to Princeton for a year of visiting research and collaboration. This is called “The Fung Global Fellows Program at Princeton University”. The theme for 2023–2024 was “Sustainable Futures”.
Application deadline: 18 November

EU research and innovation funding programme Horizon Europe (2021–2027)

The consulting firm Catalyze provides a guide on how best to apply for money from the programme.

Japan Foundation
Travel scholarships for studies of Japanese community life. Only Swedish citizens can apply.
Application deadline: 31 October

Pivot-RP
A database providing information on scholarships, services and research grants, especially abroad. Log in with your LUCAT ID.

University Positions
University positions abroad.

Global Grant
Large database of grants and funds of various kinds. It costs money to subscribe to updates.

Naturally, there is a plethora of funds and foundations that offer funding for scientific research and publication, but perhaps not primarily travel grants. You can find an updated list on the HT Faculties' intranet (Research resources) (in Swedish).
 

The Swedish Research Institutes offer appropriate and dynamic environments for research abroad. The Institutes advertise some grants in areas relevant to them.

The Swedish Institute in Rome
Read more about researchers Lovisa Brännstedt and Elisabet Göransson, who spent research periods at the Swedish Institute in Rome.

The Swedish Institute at Athens
The Swedish Institute at Athens opened up for activities in 1948 and its main objective is to pursue research and education about the ancient Greek culture and its adjacent areas, in addition to stimulate and support cultural exchange between Sweden and Greece. The institute is centrally located, in a beautiful neo-classical building, on the south slopes of the Acropolis – right beside the new Acropolis Museum. The institute offers housing for up to six researchers, in addition to a lecture hall with technical equipment supporting digital meetings and hybrid conferences. The Nordic Library, situated right beside the institute, offers research facilities and excellent literary resources covering areas such as classical art and archaeology, ancient history, and Greek philology (www.norlib.gr). Visiting researchers can also – by way of the Institute – get access to a large number of other large research libraries, archives, archaeological sites, and museum collections in Athens and in Greece in general.

The Swedish House in Kavala

The Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul
The institute is situated within the Swedish Consulate General, in the very heart of Istanbul. It offers guest housing and research facilities at a decent price. It is also possible to rent the auditorium and seminar rooms, and the institutet provides service for workshops and conferences. There is a small library and a larger collection of books on Central Asia that once belonged to Turkologist and diplomat Gunnar Jarring. The institute can assist with contacts with various universities, research centres, libraries, musems, and archives in Istanbul. The institute offers scholarships for research stays (one to three months), normally twice a year.

Researchers who contact the institute are normally active within the following subject areas: history and archaeology, languages and linguistics, philology and literature, arts and architecture, political science and sociology, and theology and religious studies. However, the institute is open to any researcher in need of a base in Istanbul/Turkey. 

Villa San Michele, Capri
Villa San Michele is the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe's (1857-1949) life's work in Capri. The property was donated by the founder to the Swedish government in 1949 in order to be displayed as a museum and a garden for the public. Part of the property functions as a guest house for Swedish researchers, cultural workers, journalists, and people with a particular interest for "Italy and Classical culture". No particular age groups are prioritised. The quality of the application is more important than the length of the curriculum vitae.

Villa San Michele welcomes 80-90 scholarship holders each year from the middle of March until the middle of November. The scholarship lasts for three weeks and entails access to a residence at the premises at a low cost. The application is made to the Foundation San Michele. The link for application is published on 1 June on the web page of the Villa, under the heading Scholarship, in the Swedish pages. The deadline for application is 30 September.

Apart from the guest residences, Villa San Michele has a library and other meeting rooms and a beautiful garden for the scholarship holders only. From the middle of June until the end of October the Villa San Michele offers an ambitious cultural program with a film festival, classical concerts, and a culture- and art festival, the main purpose of which is to build bridges between Swedish and Italian culture.

The Swedish Institute in Paris
Guest accommodation can be rented in the Institute's 16th century building, Hôtel de Marle, in central Paris.
Application periods: Apply by 15 April for the autumn and by 15 October for the spring.

La cité internationale universitaire de Paris
Apply to live in one of the buildings as a “passing guest”.
Read more about doctoral student Katja Heldt who gives tips on La cité internationale universitaire de Paris.