Frequently Asked Questions

What is a scholarship?

It is a gift, most often a financial gift that is awarded to a person for e.g. studies, travel or a specific research topic. A scholarship is personal and is handed out in order to cover foreseen costs. Some scholarships are awarded to individuals for extraordinary achievements (grant of friendship, scholarship medals).

What is a KTH affiliated foundation?

A KTH affiliated foundation is established by a donor/founder (a person, a company, an organisation) who deposits a sum of money for a foundation that KTH has agreed to manage. In most cases this is initiated by a will or a gift deed. Usually, only the returns on capital is used for awarding scholarships.

The foundation charter stipulates how the foundation can act and is established in the statues etc. The founder can set terms and conditions for the donation by determining the purpose of the foundation. KTH commits to the will of the founder as defined in the foundation charter. This could be e.g. that the scholarship is only to be awarded to:

• a gifted student as support for further studies
• a recipient who is from Värmland (region)
• as a travel grant for a teacher / researcher / doctoral student
• a recipient who is a Swedish citizen
• a recipient who has a degree from KTH
• a person studying a a certain school or specialisation

A foundation is a legal entity. Hence, KTH does not decide how and to whom the scholarships are awarded as this is defined by the foundation charter. The activities of a foundation is covered mainly by the Foundation Act (Stiftelselagen) but also by laws and regulations for accounting and auditing. It is not an exercise of public authority and is thus not covered by the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (Offentlighetsprincipen).

The supervision of the foundations is conducted by the County government (Länsstyrelsen). Donations directly to KTH and donations for establishing a foundation managed by KTH have different terms and conditions.  

What assets can a foundation distribute? 

The majority of the KTH-related foundations are set up to distribute a certain percentage of the return-on-investment portfolio. Others are set up with the ambition to distribute the entire capital fund within a certain time frame and then be terminated.

Can anyone apply for scholarships awarded by KTH affiliated foundations ?

Only students, researchers and teachers at KTH can apply for these scholarships (with very rare exceptions).

Can I apply for a scholarship anytime of the year?

You can only apply for a scholarship during a current applicaiton period. More information and application forms are published here: Current announcement of Scholarships.

Application form?

Almost all applications for scholarships awarded by the KTH affiliated foundations can be filled in online. A link to the relevant application form is published with the call description. Read the provided information and instructions thoroughly. Please observe that only completed applications will be processed.

If there is no form provided you will have to write your own application. Make sure to include all data that is required such as an email address and a personal number.

How do I provide my account number in the online application?

If you are required to provide an account number please make sure that you get it right. Read the following instruction as guidance. If you don't have a Swedish bank account, please send an email to stipendier@kth.se for support.

Instruction how the account number must be stated in the application system (pdf 70 kB)

What attachments should I provide?

You should only attach attachments that are specifically required. When you apply for a travel grant you should provide a budget and a document that verifies the costs of the budget. It can be a screen print of tickets, hotel costs, conference fees, invitation etc. You are not obliged to have purchased the ticket or paid other travelling costs at the time of application.

Do I pay taxes for a scholarship / grant?

As a general rule you do not have to pay taxes in Sweden for an awarded scholarship.

Can I receive per diem?

Per diem (daily allowance) is a reimbursement paid by an employer to an employee for work related travel. The KTH affiliated foundations have no employees and thus per diem is not applicable.  

Will I be notified that my application has been registered?

Confirmations are sent automatically as you send in the application online from the web. In the rare cases where applications are sent to the registrar there will be no confirmation sent to you.

When should I file a requisition form to receive the scholarship and to whom do I send it?  

When you apply online you will provide your account details if this is required.

Sometimes the payment can only be processed after you have filed a form (provided with a letter notifying you about the scholarship award) and sent it in. Return the original with your bank details and your signature. If the scholarship sum is not requisited within a year the amount is returned to the foundation.

The requisition should be sent to:

Postal address: KTH, VS/RSO, Stiftelsefunktionen, 100 44 STOCKHOLM
or Internal KTH mailing system: VS/RSO, Stiftelsefunktionen, TR1

Exception: Scholarships from ”Jubileumsanslaget”, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs stiftelse. The amount is sent to the school who is the entity that needs to file a requisition form (not an invoice and not an SEB-requisition) to VS/EUA ( ekonomi-vs@kth.se ). The requisition can be filed at the earliest a week after the decision has been announced. The amount must be requisited within six months from the date of the announcement.

How and when will I be notified if I have been awarded a scholarship?

Everyone, both those who are awarded and those who are not awarded, gets a notification sent to the email address provided in the application. We prefer that you use your KTH email address.

The notification about the general travel grants are usually sent in the end of May. Some weeks later, before midsummer, the notifications about the general student scholarships and Stiftelsen Henrik Göranssons Sandviken stipendiefond are sent. All other foundations send their notifications approximately two to three months after the application deadline.

When do I receive the scholarship?

Payments are usually handled within one month after the decision is announced.

Can I get a pre-confirmation?

No, you will not be able to get any confirmation before the decision is announced.

How are applications processed?

The application period is normally three weeks. The next step is processing all the application data, checking details and requirements in Ladok etc. The processing time is determined by the number of applications and the required conditions to be met. In some cases the applications are sent to the schools for prioritisation. Nominations are then provided to the scholarship committee or board who makes the decision. Notifications on who is awarded are then sent to the recipients, to those not awarded and to the schools.

What happens if I cannot attend the conference that I got a scholarship for?

A travel grant is awarded for a specific purpose. If you can't fulfill what you specified in your application, the general rule is that the scholarship should be returned to the foundation. Due to current situation regarding Covid-19 there are to some extent changed rules. Please do always contact stipendier@kth.se  if your planned trip has to be cancelled or in any case of uncertainty about changed circumstances regarding the granted purpose.

In most travel grants you can change the purpose of the approved grant (not Jubileumsanslaget, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs stiftelse or Olle Erikssons stiftelse för materialteknik). An application must then be sent within a year from the date of the grant decision. In the application you should state the reason for changing which conference to attend, motivating why the first choice no longer is relevant. You should also provide a new budget for the change of destination and a letter of approval from your supervisor. Only applications with all these data will be processed. A decision to approve or reject the change application will be made and a notification sent to the email address you have provided in the application.

How do I write a report after the activity granted?

There are report forms available both in Swedish and English. Report form (English version) , report form (Swedish version) .

Start by stating from which foundation you have been awarded a scholarship, the reference number and your name.

The report does not have to be extensive, a single page describing what you have done is sufficient (I travelled to the conference x and presented my research or other outcome), what you gained from it (interest from other participants, new contacts etc). Provide information on where the conference took place and during which dates.

Summary; what have you (as an individual) and KTH research commuity gained from the scholarship that the foundation awarded you with?

In case you did not spend the whole sum of your scholarship, the remainder must be repaid.  

According to the Academic tradition you should include an appreciation to the foundation for providing the means for the travel grant.

How do I send the report?

By using following form for report .