INTRODUCTION

The Maastricht University (UM) Holland-High Potential Scholarship programme offers 24 full scholarships of € 30,000 (including tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) each academic year for highly talented students from outside the European Union (EU) who have been admitted to a master’s programme at UM.
The Scholarship programme consists of both the High Potential Scholarship (funded by the Maastricht University Scholarship Fund), and the Holland Scholarship, which is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in conjunction with Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. It is aimed at international students from outside the EU/EEA who wish to follow a full degree programme in the Netherlands.

ELIGIBILITY

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

• You hold 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 hold a double nationality from an EU/EEA country.
• You have applied for admission to a participating full-time master programme at Maastricht University (participating programmes will be indicated in October 2023) for the 2024-2025 academic year.  
• You meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master programme to which you have applied.
• You have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands. Students who have completed exchange programmes in the Netherlands are welcome to apply.
• You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2024.
• You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript or certified by academic excellence. If several applicants are equally qualified, UM will give preference to applicants whose academic transcript or certified letter of academic excellence demonstrate that they are among the top 5% of the 2024-2025 scholarship programme applicants.

SCHOLARSHIP

Amount of the UM Holland-High Potential scholarship programme 2024-2025
Living expenses – € 12,350* (13 months) or € 23,750* (25 months) Paid to students by the UM International Services Desk
Health & liability insurance – € 700* Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Visa application costs € 210 Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Tuition fees 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

*These amounts are subject to change for academic year 2024-2025

HOW TO APPLY

Step 1: Register for one of the participating master programmes at UM (participating programmes will be indicated in October 2023)
For further details on how to register for a master programme at UM, please see your prospective programme’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 in order to complete and submit the Scholarship Application Form
Step 2: Please fill in the application form, you need to log in with your UM account
Please use this link to fill out the application form (the applications will open in October 2023). We can only accept applications via the application form.

• 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.
• 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
  You may upload one of the following documents in order to prove your academic excellence:
  1. Your university transcript that explicitly states your grade point average or class ranking (i.e. first class honours) for your entire study programme; or,
  2. A letter signed by your institution’s Head of Department or Registrar stating that you are one of the top 20 students in the graduating year of your study programme. Please ensure that the letter contains the contact details of your Head of Department or Registrar.
• Personal statement of financial needs. Please explain why you would benefit from being awarded a scholarship and describe your personal 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 to 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 2023.
• 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:
  – Relationship to applicant; indicate your referee’s connection to you. Is this your professor, thesis supervisor, employer? Please remember that family members may not function as referees.
  – Work telephone number of your referee; be sure to include the applicable country calling code.
  – Work or institutional email address of your referee. Letters referencing only a personal email address will be rejected.