Government of the Slovak Republic Fully-funded Scholarships for International students PhD students University Teachers Researchers and Artists 2025

The Government of the Slovak Republic approved the establishment of the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic for the support of mobility of students, PhD students, university teachers, researchers and artists in 2005. The National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic (NSP) is financed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic from the state budget of the Slovak Republic.

The National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic supports mobility of international students, PhD students, university teachers, researchers and artists for scholarship stays at higher education institutions and research organisations in Slovakia.

• Table of Content
• About Government of Slovak Republic
• NSP for international students, PhD students, University Teachers, Researchers and Artists
• Aim and Benefits of NSP for international students, PhD students, University Teachers, Researchers and Artists
• Requirements for NSP for international students, PhD students, University Teachers, Researchers and Artists Qualification
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Government of Slovak Republic

NSP for international students, PhD students, University Teachers, Researchers and Artists

Application Deadline	31 Oct 2024
Country to study	Slovakia
Type	Postgraduate
Sponsor	Government of Slovak Republic
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of NSP for international students, PhD students, University Teachers, Researchers and Artists

Amount of the scholarship and organisation of the stay

Category:	Monthly
a) University student of the second level of higher education	620 EUR
b) PhD student	1025,50 EUR
c) University teacher/researcher/artist:
Without PhD degree (or its equivalent) and at the same time less than 4 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist	1025,50 EUR
With PhD degree (or its equivalent) and at the same time less than 10 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist	1 370 EUR
With PhD degree (or its equivalent) and at the same time more than 10 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist	1 470 EUR

 

Note:

• • To determine the monthly scholarship amount (in case of university teachers, researchers and artists) with regard to their work experience, only work experience until the day of the application deadline is taken into consideration.
  • PhD studies are considered as work experience, however, up to a maximum of 6 years.

 

The scholarship is intended to cover international scholarship holders’ living costs, i.e. the costs related to staying in Slovakia (food, accommodation, etc.), during their study, research/artistic or teaching stay at universities and in research organisations in Slovakia.

The scholarship holder can ask for assistance concerning accommodation and formalities related to entering and staying in the territory of the Slovak Republic either his/her host institution, or he/she can handle all the necessities him-/herself. 

Scholarship holders whose scholarship stay in Slovakia lasts longer than 90 days and who are citizens of countries outside the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland, who need for their stay in Slovakia a temporary residence permit, are obliged to submit to the foreign police office a confirmation that they do not suffer from any disease threatening public health within 30 days from being awarded the temporary residence. Scholarship holders will be reimbursed the costs related to medical examination and issuing of this confirmation, up to 250 € per scholarship holder, after delivering original of the bill issued by the respective medical institution to SAIA, n. o., in Bratislava. A list of competent medical institutions will be provided to scholarship holders by the respective foreign police offices in Slovakia. Scholarship holders are obliged to deliver the bill to SAIA, n. o., in Bratislava within the deadline for submitting the final report; otherwise, they will lose their right for the reimbursement of the costs.

Travel grant

In addition, students and PhD students [eligible applicants under the category A) and B)] can be awarded a travel allowance (travel grant, which is a separate component of the scholarship), if they apply for it along with their scholarship application. Travel allowance is awarded as a lump sum and it will be paid to the scholarship holder at the end of his/her stay together with the last scholarship payment. Travel allowance amount depends on the distance (in a direct line) between applicant's place of residence (the permanent address; resp. address of home institution) and the place of his/her stay in Slovakia (the address of the host institution)[5]:

• Distance up to 200 km – 0 €,
• Distance more than 200 km, max. 300 km – 50 €,
• Distance more than 300 km, max. 500 km – 100 €,
• Distance more than 500 km, max. 1 000 km – 250 €,
• Distance more than 1 000 km, max.2 000 km – 350 €,
• Distance more than 2 000 km, max.3 000 km – 500 €,
• Distance more than 3 000 km, max. 5 000 km – 750 €,
• Distance more than 5 000 km, max. 7 000 km – 1 100 €,
• Distance more than 7 000 km – 1 500 €.

Requirements for NSP for international students, PhD students, University Teachers, Researchers and Artists Qualification

Eligible applicants for a scholarship in the framework of the NSP:

A) students who:

• Are university students at universities outside Slovakia;
• Are students of the second level of higher education (master's students), or are students who at the time of the application deadline have already completed at least 2.5 years of their university studies in the same/similar study programme;
• Will be on a study stay in Slovakia during their higher education outside Slovakia and who will be accepted by a public, private or state higher education institution in Slovakia for an academic mobility[1] to study in Slovakia.

All 3 conditions must be met. This category does not apply to doctoral (PhD) studies (or their equivalent).

• Duration of a scholarship stay (students): 1 – 2 full semesters (i.e. 4 – 5 or 9 – 10 months) or 1 – 3 full trimesters, in case the academic year is divided into trimesters (i.e. 3 – 4 or 6 – 7 or 9 – 10 months).

B) PhD students whose higher education or scientific training takes place outside Slovakia and who are accepted by a public, private or state higher education institution or a research institution in Slovakia eligible to carry out a doctoral study programme[2] (e.g. the Slovak Academy of Sciences) for an academic mobility[1] to study/conduct research/artistic stay in Slovakia.

• Duration of a scholarship stay (PhD students): 1 – 10 months.

C) international university teachers, researchers and artists who are invited to a teaching/research/artistic stay in Slovakia by an institution with a valid certificate of eligibility to carry out research and development, which is not a business company[3] and it has its seat in Slovakia.

• Duration of a scholarship stay (university teachers, researchers or artists): 1 – 10 months. 

[1] Section 58a of the Act No. 131/2002 on higher education institutions, as amended.

[2] External education institution according to the Act No. 131/2002 on higher education institutions, as amended.

[3] Legal entity according to the section 7 letters a) – d) of the Act No. 172/2005 on organisation of state research and development funding, as amended, which has a valid certificate of eligibility to carry out research and development according to the section 26a article 11 or article 12 of the same Act – i.e. public, private or state universities, research institutions eligible to carry out a doctoral (PhD) study programme (i.e. external education institutions), Slovak Academy of Sciences and its institutes, departmental research institutes or non-governmental organisations carrying out research and development.

Note: If the study/research/artistic stay must last at least 1 month, it is necessary to ensure the length of the stay is for 1 full calendar month (e.g. March 5 - April 4). The same applies for calculating the duration of the stay when assessing the fulfillment of the condition for the minimum length of stay in other cases, if this length is determined in months (e.g. February 5 - June 4 for a 4-month stay).

Citizens of any country in the world (except the citizens of Slovakia) can apply for a scholarship stay in Slovakia in the framework of the NSP.

 

Re-applying for the scholarship:

In case of re-applying for a scholarship, the application can only be approved if between the deadline by which the applicant re-submitted the application and the deadline by which the NSP scholarship was last awarded and received, at least 2 years (including) have passed.  

Exception to this condition can be only in cases worth of special consideration, especially if the previous stay supported by the scholarship was affected by an extraordinary circumstance caused by force majeure (e.g. pandemic, military conflict, etc.).

 

The National Scholarship Programme does not support:

• International students and PhD students accepted for full degree higher education (bachelor, master, doctoral studies) in Slovakia, or those already studying in Slovakia (full degree higher education) who would like to fund their studies in Slovakia by the NSP;
• University teachers, researchers and artists without PhD degree (or its equivalent) and at the same time with more than 4 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist (PhD studies are considered as work experience) on the indicated application deadline; however, the scholarship Programme Administrator may, after consulting the Selection Committee in individual cases worth special consideration (especially considering situations caused by force majeure[4]), accept as eligible applicants also candidates without PhD degree (or its equivalent) and at the same time with more than 4 years of work experience but not more than 7 years of work experience, however such applicants may be awarded a scholarship only in  the amount corresponding to applicants without PhD degree (or its equivalent) and with less than 4 years of experience;
• International applicants who within the period of 36 months prior to the application deadline have spent in the territory of the Slovak Republic 15 or more months (in total);
• International applicants who are accepted for a scholarship stay in Slovakia in the framework of other scholarship programmes funded from public resources (e.g. International Visegrad Fund, Erasmus+, CEEPUS, bilateral agreements, etc.).

E.g. the previous stay was affected by the pandemic, terrorist attack, etc..; career breaks due to the applicant's maternity / parental leave may also be considered.

Documents Required for Application

Required documents that must be attached to online application for a study stay in case of international students (eligible applicants under the category A):

• Curriculum vitae
• Motivation letter
• Detailed study programme 
• Two recommendation letters issued by applicant’s university teachers 
• Confirmation officially issued by the applicant’s home higher education institution confirming that the applicant is a regular student of the respective higher education institution at the time of applying

• Bachelor’s diploma, diploma supplement together with the state examination certificate (if applicable);
• Admission/invitation letter issued by applicant’s host higher education institution in Slovakia indicating the period of stay.

Required documents that must be attached to online application for a study/research/artistic stay in case of international PhD students (eligible applicants under the category B):

• Curriculum vitae
• Motivation letter
• Detailed study/research/artistic programme
• Recommendation letter issued by applicant’s dissertation supervisor

• Confirmation officially issued by the applicant’s home higher education institution/research organisation confirming that the applicant is on the application deadline a regular PhD student of the respective higher education institution /research organisation

• Master’s diploma, diploma supplement together with the state examination certificate (if applicable);

• list of publications/artistic activities in required form; resp. a statement that he/she does not have any publications;

• Admission/invitation letter issued by applicant’s host higher education institution /research organisation in Slovakia indicating the period of stay.

Required documents that must be attached to online application for a teaching and/or research/artistic stay in case of international university teachers/researchers/artists (eligible applicants under the category C):

• Curriculum vitae
• Detailed teaching and/or research/artistic programme (it is necessary to indicate the name of the host institution where the applicant has been accepted, the date of the beginning of the stay, duration of the stay and an appropriately detailed time plan of the stay)
• Applicant’s diploma of the highest academic degree achieved
• list of publications/artistic activities in the required form
• Invitation letter issued by applicant’s host higher education institution/research organisation in Slovakia indicating the period of stay.

Application Deadline

October 31, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Government of Slovak Republic on www.scholarships.sk to apply

Scholarship applications are submitted online at www.scholarships.sk. Online application system is opened at least 6 weeks prior to the application deadline. Applications can be filled in only in case that the online application system has already been opened.

Note: Applicants are recommended not to submit their applications at the last moment. Number of operations executed within the last minutes prior to the application deadline may influence the reaction time of the application system. Please, keep that in mind, in order not to miss the application deadline. In such case, the Programme Administrator does not take any responsibility if the applicant does not submit his/her application.

Applicants are allowed to submit (fill in) applications and the required attachments in Slovak or English language only (in case of documents written in other languages[7] the application must contain the original documents together with their official translation into Slovak or English language, resp. the applicant may submit a translation certified by the institution that issued the respective document instead; if, due to extraordinary circumstances caused by force majeure, it is not possible to provide an official translation, the scholarship Programme Administrator may also accept unofficial translations made by the applicant herself/himself, but if such an applicant will be awarded a scholarship, before the official letter of award is issued and sent to him/her, he/she will be obliged to submit an official translation corresponding to the unofficial translation – the deadline for submitting the official document is to be set by the scholarship Programme Administrator).

[7] According to the current legislation, it is not necessary to translate documents issued in the Czech language.

In case of documents, that are attached to the application and that are issued by a person other than the applicant (e.g. recommendation letters, confirmations of study, diploma/diploma supplement/state examination certificate, admission/invitation letter) it is necessary to upload the scan of these documents to the online application. The applicant is obliged to keep and archive all original documents that he/she has attached to the online application in electronic format at the time of award of the scholarship and before issuing the Letter of Award at the latest (if not agreed with the host institution otherwise), and if requested, to submit these originals (or certified copies of these originals) to the Programme Administrator.

According to the terms and conditions, a signature is a handwritten signature (not a typewritten one), or an officially verifiable electronic signature. Confirmation is an officially issued document that contains the signature of the person who issued the document or electronically verifiable data as well (e.g. QR code or link referring to a document on the official webpage of an educational institution or national authority).

Exceptionally, i.e. in the event of extraordinary circumstances caused by force majeure (not the fault of the applicant and the person / institution that has issued the requested document), may also be accepted the official documents without the signature of the person who has issued them (resp. the official confirmation of the institution), if the content of the document is in line with these terms and indicates that it is a statement of a relevant legal or physical person (e.g. e-mail from the respective person with the required content or an informative extract from the higher education institution's electronic system without a signature from the responsible person, etc.). If such an applicant has been awarded a scholarship, he/she is obliged to submit documents signed by the responsible person, which correspond by their content to the documents submitted in the application, to the scholarship Programme Administrator at the latest by the deadline set by the scholarship Programme Administrator. A Binding scholarship offer will be sent to the approved applicant only after this obligation has been fulfilled.  

If the applicant is reapplying for a scholarship because his/her previous stay supported by the scholarship was substantially influenced by extraordinary circumstances caused by force majeure (e.g. due to force majeure the stay had to be terminated earlier, or the stay was completed, but the planned programme could not be fully implemented e.g. due to the closure of the institutions as a preventive measure, or the stay could not be conducted at all and for that reason the applicant cancelled the scholarship which had been awarded to him/her) and he/she wishes to continue or resume the approved stay, he/she is required to indicate all facts and extraordinary circumstances explicitly in his/her application.

In order to take any extraordinary circumstances during the selection process into account, the applicant is required to describe and explain these circumstances in detail in the application (e.g. in a separate document attached, etc.) and the administrator will assess their possible impact during the formal evaluation of the applications for the purposes of the selection process.

The application must be submitted on-line by the application deadline – i.e. the applicant must fill in the online application, attach all required documents in the prescribed form and submit the application by clicking the "SEND" button (the application can only be submitted if all fields are filled in and all required attachments uploaded).

Note: Applicant should receive a scan of his/her admission/invitation letter issued by his/her host institution in Slovakia, since he/she should attach it to his/her online application. Without the admission/invitation the applicant cannot submit the online application, i.e. his/her application will not be further assessed. The original of the admission/invitation letter has to be submitted only when the applicant has been awarded a scholarship. Before the Letter of Award has been issued to an approved applicant, he/she or the Slovak host institution, is obliged to submit to the Programme Administrator the original of the acceptance/invitation letter, which will correspond to the acceptance/invitation letter submitted as part of the online application, no later than by the deadline set by the Programme Administrator. Otherwise, the non-delivery of this document will be evaluated as a loss of interest in the scholarship stay on the part of the approved applicant, or loss of interest in the scholarship holder on the part of the host institution. Based on this fact, SAIA, n. o., has right to cancel the scholarship stay.

For more details visit: Government of the Slovak NSP website.