Maastricht University Brightlands Talent Scholarship

Maastricht University offers the UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship, funded by Maastricht University, with the stated purpose of supporting selected top-performing non-EU/EEA, non-Switzerland or non-Surinam master’s students with personal development potential who have been (conditionally) admitted to a master’s programme connected to the Brightlands campi. Brightlands includes four innovation campuses in Limburg (Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen, Venlo) for chemistry and materials, health, agrifood, data science, and smart digital services.

The scholarship is aimed at top-performing non-EU/EEA, non-Switzerland or non-Surinam master’s students with personal development potential and a substantiated motivation to contribute to the campuses’ development. For the academic year covered by the application, participating study programmes are limited to those affiliated with the Chemelot campus and the Maastricht Health campus. Applicants must be admitted to a participating UM master’s programme connected to the Brightlands campi.

Selection is based on meeting all eligibility requirements and submitting the required application materials on time. Preference is given to candidates who have not yet obtained a Master’s degree. The UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship also includes an academic excellence requirement based on a latest grade transcript GPA threshold, plus a motivation to contribute and to participate as an ambassador during and after studies.

Support lasts for the duration of the master’s programme: thirteen months for a one-year master’s programme or twenty-five months for a two-year master’s programme. Scholarship components include living expenses, tuition fees, health and liability insurance, visa application costs, and pre-academic training costs, arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk at cost where stated. A mandatory component requires participation in the thesis-internship-programme (TIP), with the scholarship recipient writing the thesis to an assignment for a company on the respective Brightlands campus. Accepting the scholarship includes an allocated room; refusing the room cancels the scholarship. For a two-year programme, the student must find housing for the second year themselves.

• All candidates must hold a nationality of a country outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam and meet the requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands.
• If the candidate already has a residence permit for another Schengen country, they can only apply if that residence permit is still valid until at least the minimum validity period stated for the scholarship.
• All candidates must not have dual nationality from an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or Surinam.
• All candidates must apply for admission to a participating master’s programme at UM for the academic year covered by the application and must submit the admission application file in full and meet all UM admission requirements before the stated admission file deadline.
• All candidates must meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master’s programme to which they have applied.
• All candidates must have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands; students who completed exchange programmes in the Netherlands are welcome to apply.
• All candidates must be not older than 35 years of age on the stated date.
• All candidates must have excellent results in prior education programmes, demonstrated by the latest grade transcript showing a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher.
• All candidates must be admitted to a master’s programme connected to the Brightlands campi (conditions apply as stated on admission for the scholarship).
• All candidates must agree to become an active Brightlands and UM ambassador during and after studies by committing to share experiences during at least one (information) session for students and/or other stakeholders.
• All candidates can submit an application only once and for one scholarship only; documents must meet the application requirements before submission and cannot be added or replaced after submission.

• Tuition fees: tuition fees covered at cost, arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk.
• Living expenses: € 20,150 for a thirteen-month one-year master’s programme or € 38,750 for a twenty-five-month two-year master’s programme, paid to students by the UM International Services Desk.
• Health & liability insurance: at cost, 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 will be allocated to the scholarship recipient; accepting the scholarship includes accepting the room. Accommodation is not suitable for partners/spouses, children and/or pets.

1. Apply for one of the participating master’s programmes at UM (submission via Studielink) to receive a UM student ID number.
2. Once a student ID is received, complete and submit the UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship Application Form by logging in with the UM account.
3. Upload the required documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format and submit the scholarship application (the application can only be submitted once).
4. Ensure all scholarship application documents meet the requirements before starting and submitting; documents cannot be added or replaced after submission.

• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (up to two A4 pages; must be up to date).
• Letter of motivation (use the provided template).
• Proof of academic excellence, consisting of: (1) the university transcript or an official document from the home university showing the most recent GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher; and (2) a document explaining the grade system.
• Personal statement of financial needs (describe why the candidate would benefit and their personal circumstances, including examples such as financial difficulty, sole parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status, etc.).
• A reference letter (using the prepared scholarship reference letter guidelines shared for referees).