VLIR-UOS Masters Scholarships in Belgium

VLIR-OUS awards scholarship for master's programmes taught in English at a Flemish university or university college to applicants from 31 eligible countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

International master programmes (ICPs) are accredited (advanced or initial) master programmes (EQF 7) consisting of 2 or 4 semesters (60 or 120 ECTS respectively) on a subject that is relevant to or specific for development. VLIR-OUS supports a selection of 15 ICPs and provide 12 scholarships per ICP programme.

The scholarship is fully funded and covers: 

• allowance
• accommodation
• insurance
• international travel
• tuition fee

One Year Masters

• Master of Human Settlements (KU Leuven)
• Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies (KU Leuven)
• Master of Development Evaluation and Management (University of Antwerp)
• Master of Governance and Development (University of Antwerp) 
• Master of Globalization and Development (University of Antwerp) 

Two-year master programmes

• Master of Science in Food Technology (KU Leuven, Ghent University)
• Master of Water Resources Engineering (KU Leuven, VUB)
• Master in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (VUB, Ghent University, University of Antwerp)
• Master of Statistics (University of Hasselt) More information on the programme
• Master of Epidemiology (University of Antwerp)
• Master in Sustainable Development (KU Leuven)
• Master of Agro- and Environmental Nematology (Ghent University)
• Master of Rural Development (Ghent University)
• Master of Aquaculture (Ghent University)
• Master of Transportation Sciences (University of Hasselt)
  

Students from 31 Nationalities are eligbile to apply for the scholrship.

Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa

Asia: Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Palestinian Territories, Vietnam

Latin America: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru

You can only apply for a scholarship if you meet the following requirements:

• Nationality and country of residence:  A candidate should be a national and resident of one of the 31 eligible countries (not necessarily the same country) at the time of the application.
• Age: The maximum age for a master programme candidate is 35 for an initial master and 40 for an advanced master. The candidate cannot exceed this age on the first of January of the intake year.
• Professional background and experience: Priority is given to candidates who are employed in academic institutions, research institutes, governments, the social economy or NGOs, or who aim at a career in one of these sectors. However, master candidates employed in the profit sector or newly graduated candidates without any work experience can be eligible for the scholarship as well, depending on their motivation and profile.
• Fungibility with other VLIR-UOS funding: Candidates working in a university where we already fund IUC, TEAM or SI projects, can receive an ITP-ICP scholarship if they clearly motivate the reason of their application and clarify why the participation at the ICP programme cannot be funded as part of the existing IUC, Team or SI programme or project funds.
• VLIR-UOS scholarship applications and previously awarded scholarships: A candidate can only submit one scholarship application to us per year - irrespective of the scholarship type - and can therefore only be selected for one of our scholarships per year.
• The Master programme candidate has never received a scholarship from the Belgian government to attend a master programme or equivalent or was never enrolled in a Flemish higher education institution to attend a master programme or equivalent before the first of January of the intake year.

Via the university’s website, you will have to apply for both admission to the programme as well as for the scholarship itself. When you apply for the programme, be sure to mention whether you wish to apply for a scholarship. Do not apply for more than one masters programme in one year.