OPEN NOW! Maastricht University, Holland-High Potential scholarship, Netherlands

The Maastricht University (UM) Holland-High Potential Scholarship program offers 24 full scholarships of €29.000 (including tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) every year for highly talented international (non-EU) students who have been admitted to a Master’s program at the University of Maastricht.

The Scholarship program consists of both the High Potential Scholarship (funded by the Maastricht University Scholarship Fund), and the Holland Scholarship (Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in conjunction with Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences). It is for international (non-EU) who wish to follow a full degree program in the Netherlands.

Eligibility

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

• You hold nationality in a country outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam and meet the requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands.
• You do not hold a double nationality from an EU/EEA country.
• You have applied for admission to a full-time Master’s programme at Maastricht University for the 2021-2022 academic year. Please click here (link will be available in September) for a full list of the Master’s programmes participating in this scholarship programme.
• You meet the specific admission requirements of the UM Master’s programme to which you have applied.
• 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 2021.
• You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript or certified by academic excellence. If several applicants are equally qualified, UM will give preference to applicants whose academic transcript or certified letter of academic excellence demonstrate that they are among the top 5% of the 2021-2022 scholarship programme applicants.

Application deadline
The application procedure opens in October 2020. The deadline for applying is up to and including 1 February 2021.

Duration of the scholarship

• 13 months for a one-year Master’s programme
• 25 months for a two-year Master’s programme

Amount of the Scholarship program 2021-2022

Living expenses	€ 11,400* (12 months) or € 22,800* (24 months)	Paid to students by the UM International Services Desk
Health & liability insurance	€ 700*	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Visa application costs	€ 174*	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Tuition fees	€ 13,800*;  € 15,500* or € 16,800* depending on the tuition of your study programme	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

*These amounts are subject to change for academic year 2021-2022

Application process

Step 1: Register for one of the relevant Master’s programs at Maastricht University. For more details on how to register for a Master’s program, please see your program’s webpage. After you have submitted your application via Studielink, you will receive a student ID number for Maastricht University. This student number is needed in order to complete and submit the Scholarship Application Form (see Step 2 below).

Remarks:

• Only the Master’s programs in the list above are eligible for this scholarship.
• You can apply for the Master’s program at UM and the scholarship simultaneously, but you must be conditionally approved for admission to your Master’s program to be awarded a scholarship.
• If your study program requires the payment of a handling fee as part of your program’s admissions procedure, note that UM International Services Desk does not cover these fees. You are responsible for paying any handling fee required by your program by 1 February 2021.

Step 2: Fill in the application form (the form will open in October 2020), upload the following documents in .doc, .docx, or PDF format, and submit your application. You will only be able to submit your application one time, so please make sure that all your documents and referee contact details are correct. If you have applied for multiple UM study programs, the UM International Services Desk will make sure that your complete scholarship application is considered for all eligible programs for which you have a conditionally approved or approved admissions status.

• Curriculum vitae. Your CV should be up-to-date, contain relevant information about your education and (work) experience – no longer than two A4 pages.
• Letter of motivation. Your letter of motivation should be up-to-date and specifically written for this scholarship program. Generic letters of admission that do not directly address your motivation for UM Holland-High Potential scholarship selection will be rejected. Your letter of motivation should be no longer than one A4 page. Be sure to argue why this scholarship is important to you, why you should be selected, and what your role as an ambassador of Maastricht University would be during your scholarship period, and during the upcoming years after you finish your studies at UM.
• Proof of academic excellence. You may upload one of the following documents in order to prove your academic excellence:
  1. Your University transcript that explicitly states your grade point average or class ranking (i.e. first class honors) for your entire study program; or,
  2. A letter signed by your institution’s Head of Department stating that you are among the top 20 students in the graduating year of your study program. Please make sure that the letter contains the contact details of your Head of Department.
• The contact details of one referee. We check the authenticity of your referee by contacting your referee. Make sure 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 professor, thesis supervisor, 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.

Read more about the Holland Scholarship  

More information on Official Website.