The VU Fellowship Programme 2023-24 for International Master students, VU Amsterdam University

by Samrach · November 4, 2022

Deadline for applications: December 1, 2023

The VU Fellowship Programme (VUFP) offers talented prospective non- EU/ EEA students the unique opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. VU Amsterdam has committed to providing approximately 1 million euros towards attracting highly motivated and excellent students.

Eligible candidates

You hold a non- EU/ EEA passport and you are not eligible for the lower tuition fee.
You do not have the Dutch nationality.
You can prove your academic excellence (GPA equivalent to a Dutch 8).
You are conditionally or unconditionally admitted to the first year of a full-time English-taught Master’s programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam starting per September 2023. Please note that:
- students starting in February cannot apply,
- joint programmes where VU Amsterdam does not administer the admission process are excluded from VUFP.
The degree with which you are seeking admission has not been obtained in the Netherlands.
You do not need to complete a preparatory programme before the start of your Master.
Diversity is one of our core values. That is why we hope that many students from the countries that are underrepresented on our campus (less than 10 students enrolled) will apply for the VUFP.

VUFP and 2 year study programmes

The VUFP scholarship can be granted for a one or two-year Master’s programme. The scholarship will only be extended for the second year of a two-year Master’s programme if 100% of the ECTS of the first year have been achieved.

Students already enrolled in a two-year Master’s programme who have not been awarded the VUFP scholarship in 2022/2023 are not eligible to apply for the VUFP scholarship for 2023/2024.

Scholarship amount

The VUFP scholarship covers the tuition fees only. It does not provide any additional allowance towards study or living costs, like rent, food, insurances. Be aware that you must be able to finance these living expenses by yourself.

Combining the VUFP with the Holland Scholarship Programme (HSP)

When applying for the VUFP scholarship, you automatically also apply for the HSP. No separate application is necessary.

HSP is a contribution towards the costs of living. It is 5.000 EUR or 10.000 EUR for the entire duration of your study period. Please note:

The HSP scholarship is awarded only for the first year of your study programme. You will not receive the HSP scholarship for the second year of your studies even if you are following a two-year study programme.
We have around 20- 25 HSP scholarships available. Only a few of the VUFP awardees will get the HSP scholarship.

Application procedure

Step 1: Register for a Master’s programme (from 1 October 2022)
Register for a Master’s programme in Studielink and after that in your personal dashboard on vu.nl. Here you can find more information on how to apply for one of our English-taught Master’s programmes. Please note that you must have been already conditionally admitted to the Master’s programme before you can apply for the VUFP scholarship.
Advised deadline Master’s programme application: 1 December 2022

It is essential that you submit your programme application in time if you wish to apply for the scholarships. Realistically, you should aim to submit your programme application no later than 1 December. And if your programme’s admission procedure includes an intake/assessment, we advise you to submit your complete programme application even earlier.

Step 2: Submit VUFP application (from 1 November 2022)
Submit your VUFP application in your personal VU dashboard.
Deadline VUFP application: 1 February 2023 (23:59 CET)

To apply please fill out this form and at the end of it paste the GPA proof/ programme transcript and a grading scale explanation. Once done, save it as a one file in .PDF format and upload it in the Scholarship section of your personal dashboard on vu.nl (located on the Complete Registration page).

Answer all questions and include the GPA proof/ programme transcript. Not answering one or more questions or not including the GPA proof/ programme transcript will result in your application being considered incomplete.

Please note that you can submit your application only once. Make sure to double check if your application is complete and sufficient before submitting it. You will not be allowed to submit it again!

Extra information regarding proof of excellence (programme transcript or a GPA proof) and a grading scale
Please upload the transcript and grading scale of your bachelor’s degree with a clear explanation of the GPA calculation. Excellence in previous (bachelor) education is proven if the grade point average achieved is at least equivalent to the Dutch grade of an 8.0 on the Dutch grading scale 1 – 10.

You do not need to convert your grades to the Dutch ones. The VUFP Scholarship Committee will do that by deciding on the local grade equivalents for the Dutch grade of an 8.0.

Please note:

– Even if you have already completed a Master’s degree, for VUFP application purposes, we will look only at your GPA from your bachelor’s degree. This is to ensure that all applicants have a fair chance.

– If you haven’t yet officially graduated, please provide us with the GPA proof/ programme transcript showing your most up- to- date grades.

Step 3: Decision
The Central VUFP Committee decides which students will be offered a VUFP scholarship. All VUFP applications received by Wednesday 1 February 2023 (23:59 CET) will be reviewed by the faculty of the applied for Master’s programme. Faculties will then nominate applicants to the Central Scholarship Committee, which will subsequently award scholarships to the most talented students. The results will be based on the academic performance and motivation.

Step 4: Results
All students will receive an e-mail/ notification informing them of the Central Scholarship Committee’s decision concerning their application. Expected date: mid-March 2023 (6 weeks after the deadline).

Step 5: Acceptance of VUFP or HSP offer
Selected candidates accept/decline the VUFP and HSP offer in their personal VU dashboard. Deadline: end of March 2023 (2 weeks after the results have been published).

Kindly note the following:

– You can accept/decline the offer in your personal VU dashboard on vu.nl.
– If you do not take action within 2 weeks after receiving the results, the offer will be withdrawn.
– There are fewer HSP scholarships than VUFP. This means that not all VUFP recipients will receive HSP.
– If you have not been awarded VUFP, you also have not been awarded HSP.
– A scholarship granted for one academic year cannot be postponed to another academic year.

VUFP and Semester in Amsterdam

One VUFP scholarship will be reserved for an applicant who previously completed a semester or full academic year abroad at VU Amsterdam via the Semester in Amsterdam programme and who is now applying for a full-time Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam. If you are applying as a Semester in Amsterdam alumnus or alumna, please complete the regular application procedure and then email semesterinamsterdam@vu.nl to inform the staff that you applied for a VUFP scholarship.

Conditions VUFP Scholarship Programme

The conditions for the VUFP Scholarship Programme can be found here.

Current VUFP scholars

VUFP scholars enrolled in a two year Master’s programme do not need to re-apply for the VUFP scholarship for the second year. Their VUFP will be extended for the second year if they have obtained 100% of the ECTS of the first year. We will email you around July- August to let you know if your scholarship will be extended or not. If you have not obtained 100% of the required ECTS due to circumstances outside of your control, please contact us as soon as possible.

Complaint procedure

If you do not agree with the decision of the Scholarship Committee, you may file a written complaint to vufp@vu.nl. Complaints regarding the application procedure (not the results!) should be addressed to the student ombudsman by e-mail and must include:

• Your name and full address.
• Details of the selection procedure that you do not agree with.
• The grounds for complaint: why are you unable to accept the selection procedure?
• Date and signature.

For pressing questions regarding the VUFP scholarship, please email: vufp@vu.nl.

The VU Fellowship Programme (VUFP) is financially supported by VUvereniging: a social network of people who are connected to Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Source / More information: Official Website HERE.