Utrecht Excellence Scholarships for International Masters Students 2018/2019 – Netherlands

Application Deadline: Before 1st February 2018. In some cases you may need to apply before 1st December, 2017.

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: International

To be taken at (country): Utrecht University, Netherlands

Accepted Subject Areas? The Utrecht Excellence Scholarship offers a number of highly talented prospective students the opportunity to pursue a degree in a selected number of fields at Utrecht University:

• Graduate School of Geosciences
• Graduate School of Humanities
• Graduate School of Law, Economics and Governance
• Graduate School of Life Sciences
• Graduate School of Natural Sciences
• Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

About Scholarship: The Utrecht Excellence Scholarship offers a number of graduate scholarship awards to highly talented prospective international students, with the opportunity to pursue a degree in a selected number of fields at Utrecht University. The scholarship programme is highly selective. Only candidates showing the highest achievement and promise may receive a scholarship. Selected students receive a scholarship for the duration of the degree programme, which is a maximum of two years for a Master’s degree. Approximately 20 to 25 scholarships will be awarded for 2018/2019.

Type: Masters and Undergraduate taught

Eligibility: To be eligible for the Utrecht Excellence Scholarships, candidate must

• Belong to the top 10% of your graduating class
• Hold a non-EU/EEA passport and not be eligible for support under the Dutch system of study grants and loans
• Have completed your secondary school and/or Bachelor degree outside the Netherlands
• Have applied for an international master’s programme with a start date of September 2018.

Selection Criteria: Eligible candidates are selected for a scholarship on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Academic excellence and promise in the proposed field of study;
2. The academic quality and results of preceding qualifications, as evidenced by proof of belonging to the top 10% of the class, grades, test scores, a writing sample, letters of recommendation;
3. The quality and relevance of the motivation letter for the Master’s programme (academic content, intercultural and communication skills, personal motivation);
4. The quality of the application for the Master’s programme itself (completeness, accuracy, consistency)
5. Your application for a scholarship will only be processed if you have submitted an application for a Master’s programme as well.

Number of Scholarships: 20-25 scholarships are available for 2018/2019, divided over the 6 Graduate Schools.

Scholarship Value: The Utrecht Excellence scholarships can be awarded as:

• tuition fees
  or
• tuition fees plus 11.000 euro living expenses

As the grant is not automatically a full scholarship, it may be necessary to find additional funding to be able to finance your studies and stay completely. Students requiring a residence permit in the Netherlands must prove to the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Office) that they have sufficient financial means.

Duration of Scholarship: The scholarship is awarded for the duration of the degree programme, which is one or two years, depending on the degree programme. The scholarship will only be renewed for the second year if the student is making satisfactory progress towards the degree.

How to Apply: Your application for a scholarship will only be processed if you have submitted an application for a Master’s programme as well. After submitting an application for the Master’s programme, non-EU/EEA students will have the option to submit an application for an Utrecht Excellence Scholarship.

Prospective students who wish to be considered for the scholarship must apply before 1 February. Please note that in some cases you may need to apply before 1 December; check the ‘When to apply’ section under Admission and application of your master’s programme.

Visit Scholarship webpage for Details

Sponsors: Utrecht Excellence Scholarship Fund, established by Utrecht University and from contributions by Utrecht University alumni.

Important Notes: Please note that in some cases you may need to apply before December 1; check the ‘When to apply’ section under Admission and application of your master’s programme.