2006:44 R

Survey of the use of scholarships to fund postgraduate study - report on a government assignment

In 2005 a total of 1,918 postgraduate students were funded for some period by scholarships. Just over 500 of these were scholarships established by the higher education institutions themselves. The number using donated funds was just under 300, while 1,100 scholarships were awarded externally.

It is mainly the older universities and the specialist institutions that use scholarships to fund postgraduate studies. Scholarships established by the higher education institutions themselves were most frequently found in 2006 in the area of the technological sciences, whereas those funded by donations are most common in the humanities and social science areas.

A number of higher education institutions have amended their guidelines and no longer set up scholarships as a means of funding postgraduate study. The number of scholarships established by the institutions themselves has declined from 515 in 2005 to 350 during the current year. Replacing these 350 scholarships by study grants would not involve any major increase in overall expenditure. Study grants would mean that on the whole the students´ net incomes would decrease considerably but their social security benefits would be considerably better. If instead the scholarships were replaced by appointments to postgraduate studentships, expenditure would rise from SEK 22 million to SEK 50 million per year, i.e. it would more than double. However, this would provide the postgraduate students with a sound financial and social situation.

In general, funds donated to the higher education institutions are specifically earmarked for scholarships and cannot therefore be used to defray the costs of study grants or appointments. However, in many cases it appears that these funds could be used for purposes other than funding studies, for instance for travel and participation in conferences. Some higher education institutions award scholarships in undergraduate programmes to prepare students for research programmes.

To enhance the legal status of postgraduate students who are funded through scholarships the National Agency for Higher Education considers that

• a standard insurance scheme should be created to cover scholarship holders,
• a stipulation should be included in the Higher Education Ordinance requiring higher education institutions to have a funding plan,
• the use of scholarships by the higher education institutions should be regulated.