Field studies abroad – Minor Field Studies (MFS)

The MFS prepares students for work in global contexts and organisations through a fieldwork scholarship.

The scholarship provides the opportunity to collect data for a master's or bachelor's thesis in a low- or middle-income country. The fieldwork is carried out for at least 8 weeks with the help of a supervisor at the Department of Human Geography and a contact person in the fieldwork country.

From fieldwork in Etiophia. Photo: Peter KInlund, Stockholm University.

If you are studying on one of the Department's master's programmes, you can do the fieldwork in the third (or second) semester of the programme within Field Studies in Geography, 15 credits, Field Studies in Human Geography, 15 credits, or Field Studies in Urban and Regional Planning, 15 credits.

The alternative is to do the MFS as part of a thesis for a master's or bachelor's degree. However, it can be difficult to spend at least 8 weeks in the field, as the total time for the thesis is 20 and 10 weeks respectively.

Regardless of which course you do MFS in, you are insured through Kammarkollegiet's Student UT.

Minor Field Studies

Examples of fieldwork carried out by the Department's students with the support of MFS grants

Burial space evolvement in rapid growing city, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Consequences of relocation of street vendors in Nairobi, Kenya
Crossing borders, creating boundaries, Rundu, Namibia
Fuelwood and protected areas, Borjomi-Kharagauli, Georgia
Impacts and feasibility of solar water heaters, Cape Town, South Africa
Landscape changes in southern Ukraine since land reform
Local dynamics and external drivers of agro-ecological change in Southwestern Ethiopia
Processes of Namibian identity making and ethnicity in Namibia
Rural livelihoods in change, Efuti, Ghana
Small scale farmer’s tree planting practices, Thuti, Kenya
Socio-economic effect of tourism and nature conservation in Namibia
Socio-economic impact of flower plantations in Kenya
Solid waste management in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Traffic planning in Bangalore, India
Vulnerability to storm related flooding in Nicaragua

Last updated: 2025-12-18

Source: Department of Human Geograpghy