Maastricht University Global Studies Scholarship in the Netherlands 2023-2024
The Global Studies bachelor-level study programme trains students to understand and develop solutions for complex global issues, crossing disciplinary and geographical boundaries. The study programme is unique in the Netherlands for having six faculties, each with their disciplinary expertise, contribute equally to the educational content of the programme.
The study programme offers students the opportunity to perform a field study in the global south, develop an intervention for a societal problem presented by a NGO, government, agency, firm or a school and write an interdisciplinary bachelor thesis.
The UM Global Studies Scholarship offers one full coverage scholarship (including a tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) per academic year for a selected number of top-performing bachelor students from the Global South with personal development potential who have been (conditionally) admitted to the Global Studies study programme.
Target group: bachelor students with proven academic excellence and personal development potential, that have been (conditionally) admitted to the Global Studies study programme.
Who is eligible?
All candidates must meet the following requirements:
- You hold the nationality of a country in the Global South, here defined as countries in Africa, Asia (including the Middle-East), Latin-America and the Caribbean based on the definition of the OECD in column 1; least developed, column 2;low income , column 3 lower middle-income or Venezuela and meet the requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands
- You do not hold a double nationality from a country in the Global North
- You have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands. Students who have completed exchange programmes in the Netherlands are welcome to apply
- You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2023
- You agree to become an active Global Studies and UM ambassador during and after your studies, by committing to share your experiences during at least one (information) session for students and/or other stakeholders
- You have have been (conditionally) admitted to the Global Studies study programme
Duration of the UM Global Studies Scholarship
- 36 months for the bachelor’s programme in Global Studies
Amount of the UM Global Studies Scholarship programme 2023-2024
| Living expenses | € 11,400 per academic year | Paid to students by the UM International Services Desk |
| Health & liability insurance | At cost | Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk |
| Visa application costs | € 207* | Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk |
| Tuition fees | € 13,000 per academic year* | Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk |
| Pre-Academic Training costs | At cost | Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk |
*This amount is subject to change for academic year 2023-2024
Application procedure
Step 1: Register for the Global Studies programme at Maastricht University
For further details on how to register for a bachelor programme at UM, please see the website of Global Studies. Once you have submitted your application via Studielink, you will receive a student ID number for UM. You will need a student number in order to complete and submit the Scholarship Application Form.
- Please note: you can apply for the bachelor programme at UM and the scholarship simultaneously. However, you must be conditionally approved for admission to the bachelor programme in order to be awarded a scholarship.
- Please note: if you have to pay a handling fee as part of the programme’s admissions procedure, the UM International Services Desk does not cover handling fees. You are responsible for paying any handling fee your programme may require by 1 March 2023. To check whether the programme requires the payment of a handling fee, please check here.
Step 2: Please fill in the application form, you need to log in with your UM account
You can find the application form here. Upload the following documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format, and submit your application. Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date.
- Curriculum Vitae
Your CV should be up-to-date; contain relevant information about your education and (job) experience; include proven previous extracurricular engagement with your previous (academic) organisation/high school and active citizenship in your community; and should not be longer than two A4 pages. - Letter of motivationn
Please use the template for the motivation letter. This template will focus on your motivation for the scholarship. - Proof of academic excellence
Continuous good to excellent results during your prior (high school) education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript. - Personal statement of financial needs
Please explain why you would benefit from being awarded a scholarship and describe your personal circumstances such as financial difficulty, sole parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status, et cetera. - A reference letter
We have prepared scholarship reference letter guidelines; please print these out or forward them to your referee, as they will help your referee to write a good reference letter on your behalf. Please note that the referee must be a (former) professor, teacher, principal, college counsellor, lecturer, or employer, and not a family member. Recommendation letters should be dated and written no earlier than 1 February 2022. Letters that do not adhere to the guidelines are not taken into account, which means your application is incomplete. - The contact details of one referee
Please note that we might check the authenticity of your referee by contacting your referee. Therefore, ensure that you take the following steps when choosing a referee and submitting their details:
– Relationship to applicant; indicate your referee’s connection to you. Is this your (former) professor, teacher, principal, college counsellor, lecturer, or employer? Please remember that family members may not function as referees.
– Work telephone number of your referee; be sure to include the applicable country calling code.
– Work or institutional email address of your referee. Letters referencing only a personal email address will be rejected, unless a valid reason is provided.
Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date.