Maastricht University is now accepting applications for its fully-funded Holland-High Potential Scholarship.
About Maastricht University and Scholarship
Maastricht University is a public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands (abbreviated as UM; Dutch: Universiteit Maastricht). It is the second-oldest of the thirteen Dutch universities, having been established in 1976. For exceptionally gifted students from outside the European Union (EU) who have been admitted to a master’s program at Maastricht University (UM), the Holland-High Potential Scholarship program offers 24 full scholarships of € 30,000 (including tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) each academic year.
The scholarship program consists of the Holland Scholarship, which is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science in collaboration with Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences, and the High Potential Scholarship, which is funded by the Maastricht University Scholarship Fund. International students from outside the EU/EEA who want to pursue a full degree program in the Netherlands are the target audience.
Details about Holland-High Potential Scholarship at Maastricht University:
Scholarship Sponsor: Maastricht University Scholarship Fund/Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science/Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences
Scholarship Value: Fully funded
Number of awards: Several
Study level: Masters
Host Institution(s): Maastricht University, Netherlands
Benefits:
Living expenses
12.350 euros (13 months) or 23.750 euros (25 months).by the UM International Services Desk to the students
Health & liability insurance
The UM International Services Desk made the arrangements and paid the € 700* fee.
Visa application costs
The UM International Services Desk arranged for and paid for this expense of €210.
Tuition fees
Cost-effectively arranged and paid for by the UM International Services Desk
Pre-Academic Training costs
As an expense
The UM International Services Desk arranged and funded this. For the school year 2024–2025, these amounts might alter.
Holland-High Potential Scholarship – Eligibility Criteria
All applicants must meet the following requirements:
- You fulfill the conditions for getting an entrance visa and residence permit for the Netherlands and have nationality from a nation outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland, or Surinam.
- You do not possess dual citizenship with an EU/EEA country.
- You have applied for admission to Maastricht University’s full-time participating master’s program (the participating programs will be listed in October 2023) for the 2024–2025 academic year.
- You are eligible for admission to the particular UM master’s program to which you have applied.
- You have never taken part in a higher education program in the Netherlands that leads to a degree. The application process is open to students who have participated in exchange programs in the Netherlands.
- On September 1, 2024, you won’t be older than 35.
- Your most recent grade transcript or proof of academic brilliance shows that you had exceptional results in your previous educational endeavors. If many candidates are equally eligible, UM will give precedence to those whose academic records or letters of recommendation certifying their academic performance show they are among the top 5% of applicants for the 2024–2025 scholarship program.
Please note, Only 2% of candidates for this scholarship are chosen, making it highly competitive.
Interview Date, and Process for Holland-High Potential Scholarship
Step 1: After February 1, 2024, the UM International Services Desk verifies that all applications are finished.
Step 2: In February 2024, each UM Faculty receive all completed applications from the UM International Services Desk.
Step 3: In March 2024, the top 5% of each Faculty’s scholarship candidates are chosen, ranked, and sent to the UM International Services Desk for a final review.
Step 4: By the end of March 2024, the UM International Services Desk will have verified the faculty choices.
Step 5: In April 2024, the UM International Services Desk will update all applicants on the progress of their applications. By the start of May 2024, at the latest, you will know if you were chosen, placed on a waitlist, or rejected. Applications that have been placed on a waitlist will either be accepted or rejected by May 2024. After receiving their award letters, scholarship recipients will learn more about the UM Pre-Academic Training program and move to Maastricht. A three-week requirement of the UM Holland-High Potential Scholarship program is the UM Pre-Academic Training. In August 2024, Pre-Academic Training will take conducted.
Documents Required for Application
- Curriculum vitae: Your CV should be current, include pertinent details about your training and employment history, and not exceed two A4 pages.
- Letter of motivation: Please make use of the motivation letter template. This template will put a lot of emphasis on why you want the scholarship.
- Proof of academic excellence: You might upload one of the following records to demonstrate your superior academic standing:
- Your university transcript, which displays your overall study program grade point average or class ranking (for example, first-class honors); or
- A letter declaring that you are one of the top 20 students in your study program’s graduation year and signed by the department head or registrar of your school. Please make sure the letter includes your head of department’s or the registrar’s contact information.
- Personal statement of financial needs: Describe your circumstances, including any financial hardship, lone parent obligations, physical conditions, disabilities, refugee status, etc., and why you might benefit from receiving a scholarship.
- A reference letter: Please provide the institution’s scholarship reference letter guidelines to your referee so they may draft a strong letter of recommendation on your behalf. Please be aware that referrals cannot be relatives; they must be current or past professors, lecturers, or employers. Letters of recommendation are to be signed, dated and completed no sooner than February 2023.
- The contact details of one referee: Please be aware that the school may get in touch with your referee to verify their legitimacy. Therefore, be careful to follow these procedures when selecting a referee and providing their contact information:
- Relation to the applicant; describe your referee’s relationship to you. Is this your job, lecturer, or thesis advisor? Please keep in mind that family members may not act as arbitrators.
- Your referee’s office phone number, with the appropriate international calling code
- Email address at your referee’s employer or institution. The school will not accept letters that merely include a personal email address.
Application Process for Holland-High Potential Scholarship
Step 1: Sign up for one of the master’s programs at UM that is involved. Programs that will participate will be listed in October 2023. Visit the program’s webpage if you’re interested in more information on how to apply for a master’s degree at UM. You will obtain a student ID number at UM once you have submitted your application through Studielink. For the Scholarship Application Form (see Step 2 below), you will require a student number to complete and submit it.
- Please take notice that the UM Holland-High Potential Scholarship is only available for the master’s programs listed above.
- Please be aware that to apply for the scholarship, you must first enroll in the master’s program at UM. Once you have your student ID, you may apply for the award. However, to get a scholarship, you must have your application for admission to your master’s program conditionally accepted.
- Please be aware that the UM International Services Desk does not reimburse handling costs if your study program needs them as part of the admissions process. By 1 February 2024, you are responsible for paying any handling fees that your program may impose.
- Please check your program’s homepage under the ‘Admission requirements’ menu item to see whether there are any handling fee requirements.
Step 2:Please complete the application; you must sign in using your UM account.
To apply, please go on this site (applications will be accepted starting in October 2023). Applications must be submitted via the application form. When submitting your application, upload the the.doc ,.docx, or PDF versions of the following files. Please make sure that all of your documentation and referee contact information is up-to-date because you may only submit your application once. The UM International Services Desk will make sure that your full scholarship application is taken into account for all eligible programs for which you have a conditionally accepted or approved admissions status if you have applied to numerous UM study programs.
You can also visit the official website for further details.
The Application Deadline is: February 1, 2024.