Applications are invited from suitably qualified international students for the Fully Funded Maastricht University NL-High Potential Scholarship 2025/2026 which will provide 21 full scholarships each academic year for students outside the EU.
The scholarship comprises both the High Potential Scholarship (funded by Maastricht University) and the NL Scholarship financed by the Dutch Government aimed at international students from outside the EU/EEA who wish to undertake a full degree program in the Netherlands.
SUMMARY:
- Scholarship Sponsor(s): Maastricht University and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
- Host Institution(s): Maastricht University, Netherlands.
- Scholarship Type: Fully Funded
- Scholarship Worth: € 34,000
- Number of Awards: Several
- Study Level: Masters
- Nationality: International students
Eligibility Criteria for the Maastricht University NL-High Potential Scholarship 2025/2026
To be considered for the Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship 2025/2026, applicants must meet the following eligibility conditions:
- You hold a 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 have dual nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
- You have applied for admission to a participating full-time master’s program at Maastricht University (participating programs) for the 2025-2026 academic year.
- You meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master program to which you have applied.
- You have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education program in the Netherlands. Students who have completed exchange programs in the Netherlands are welcome to apply.
- You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2025.
- You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programs, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript showing a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher.
Application procedure for the Maastricht University NL-High Potential Scholarship 2025/2026
- Register for one of the participating master programs at UM (participating programs)
- For further details on how to register for a master’s program at UM, please see your prospective program’s webpage. Once you have submitted your application via Studielink, you will receive a student ID number for UM. You will need a student number to complete and submit the Scholarship Application Form (see Step 2 below).
- Please note: only the master programs in the list above are eligible for a UM NL-High Potential Scholarship.
- Please note: you first have to apply for the master’s program at UM to receive your student ID, as soon as you have your student ID you can apply for the scholarship. However, you must meet all admission requirements, except legal residence, of your master’s program before the Scholarship deadline. Please be aware that the admission deadline may differ from the Scholarship deadline.
- Please note: if your study program requires the payment of a handling fee as part of your program’s admissions procedure, the UM International Services Desk does not cover handling fees. You are responsible for paying any handling fee your program may require by 1 February 2025. To check whether your program requires the payment of a handling fee, please check your program’s webpage under the menu tab ‘Admission requirements’.
- Please note: you need to provide an official document from your home university showing your most recent GPA and a document explaining your grade system. We only accept applications with a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher. This is equivalent to a minimum of 75% out of 100% or 3 out of 4 depending on your grade system.
Curriculum vitae
Your CV should be up-to-date, contain relevant information about your education and (job) experience, and should not be longer than two A4 pages. If you have received any awards or prizes, please do not forget to mention these on your CV.
Letter of motivation
Please use the template for the motivation letter. This template will focus on your motivation for the scholarship.
Proof of academic excellence
Please upload:
- Your university transcript or an official document from your home university showing your most recent GPA of 7.5 or higher Only applicants with a grade point average of 7,5 out of 10 or higher will be considered
- A document explaining your grade system. Your university transcript has to show at least 75% of the maximum grade, for example, a 3 out of 4 would be equivalent to a 7.5 out of 10 at Maastricht University.
- Personal statement of financial needs.
- Please explain why you would benefit from being awarded a scholarship and describe your circumstances such as financial difficulty, sole parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status, etc.
- A reference letter. We have prepared scholarship reference letter guidelines; please forward them to your referee, as they will help your referee write a good reference letter on your behalf. Please note that referees must be (former) professors, lecturers, or employers, and not family members. Recommendation letters should be dated and written no earlier than February 2024. Letters that do not adhere to the guidelines are not taken into account, which means your application is incomplete. You need to upload the reference letter yourself, this cannot be done by your referee. Please note we may check your reference.
- 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.