Holland-High Potential scholarship Maastricht University Netherlands Announced

Maastricht University (UM) offers the NL-High Potential Scholarship programme with 18 full scholarships, including tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend, each academic year, for highly talented students from outside the European Union (EU). The programme includes the High Potential Scholarship, funded by the Maastricht University Scholarship Fund, and the NL Scholarship, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in conjunction with Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences, aimed at international students from outside the EU/EEA who want to follow a full degree programme in the Netherlands.

To apply, candidates must hold a nationality in a country outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam, and meet requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands. Candidates must have applied for admission to a participating full-time master’s programme at Maastricht University and submitted a complete admission application file by the stated admission file deadline. The scholarship also requires meeting the specific admission requirements of the UM master’s programme applied for, and not having previously participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands (exchange programmes are allowed).

Support duration depends on the master’s length: 13 months for a one-year master’s programme and 25 months for a two-year master’s programme. The scholarship includes living expenses (paid by the UM International Services Desk), health and liability insurance, visa application costs, tuition fees, and pre-academic training costs arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk. A mandatory accommodation room is allocated until 16 July; accepting the scholarship means accepting the room, and refusing the room results in cancellation of the scholarship.

• Hold a nationality in a country outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam, and meet requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands.
• Check the MVV visa collection requirements for the country of application before applying.
• If the applicant already has a residence permit for another Schengen country: the residence permit must still be valid until at least 2 September (as stated on the page).
• If a residence permit expires before the validity date above, scholarship applications must be submitted from the home country via an MVV visa application.
• Do not have dual nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
• Have applied for admission to a participating full-time master’s programme at Maastricht University for the academic year stated on the page and have submitted the admission application file in full, meeting all admission requirements, before 10 December.
• Participate in one of the master’s programmes listed for UM NL-High Potential Scholarship (only the master’s programmes in the list are eligible).
• Meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master’s programme applied for.
• Have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands (exchange programmes in the Netherlands are welcome to apply).
• Preference is given to candidates who have not yet obtained a Master’s degree.
• Not be older than 35 years of age on 1 September (as stated on the page).
• Obtain excellent results during prior education, shown by the latest grade transcript with a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher.
• Agree to become an active UM NL High Potential and UM ambassador during and after studies by committing to share experiences during at least one information session for students and/or other stakeholders.
• Submit an application only once and for one scholarship only.
• All documents must meet the application requirements before starting and submitting the application; documents cannot be added or replaced after submission.

• Tuition fees: at cost, arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk.
• Monthly living expenses: € 20,150* for a 13-month one-year programme or € 38,750* for a 25-month two-year programme (paid by the UM International Services Desk).
• Health & liability insurance: € 700* arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk.
• Visa application costs: at cost, 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.
• International Student Ambassador Programme (ISAP): at cost for the first block only, arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk.
• Accommodation: a room allocated as a mandatory part of the scholarship until 16 July (accepting the scholarship means accepting the room; refusing cancels the scholarship).
• Living expense breakdown includes housing (€ 960), groceries and personal hygiene (€ 160), telephone (€ 60), travel (€ 100), books and study materials (€ 90), clothing/hobbies/going out (€ 125), and miscellaneous (€ 55).
• Air tickets: not included; must be paid by the candidate.
• Cleaning fee: approx. € 75 not included and must be paid to Maastricht Housing upfront.

1. Apply for one of the participating master’s programmes at Maastricht University. Submit your programme application via Studielink. After submission, receive a UM student ID number.
2. Once you have the student ID, complete the Scholarship Application Form. Log in with your UM account and submit the scholarship application via the application form.
3. Meet the registration requirements by the scholarship deadline (except legal residence, tuition payment & hard copy of a diploma). The UM International Services Desk does not cover handling fees; if required by the programme’s admissions procedure, handling fees must be paid by the stated admission file deadline.
4. Upload the listed documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format and submit your scholarship application. The application can only be submitted once.

• Curriculum vitae (not longer than two A4 pages).
• Letter of motivation (use the template provided by Maastricht University for the motivation letter).
• Proof of academic excellence: (1) a university transcript or an official document from the home university showing the most recent GPA of 7.5 or higher; and (2) a document explaining the grade system.
• Personal statement of financial needs.
• A reference letter (uploaded by the applicant; referees must be (former) professors, lecturers, or employers, and not family members; recommendation letters should be dated and written no earlier than February 2026; letters not following the guidelines are not taken into account).
• Contact details of one referee.