Four innovation campuses in Limburg, the Netherlands, form the Brightlands. The Brightlands campi bring together entrepreneurs, researchers and students to innovate and create international breakthroughs together in chemistry and materials, health, agrifood, data science and smart digital services.

The UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship programme offers four full coverage scholarships (including a tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) per academic year for a selected number of top-performing non-EU/EEA students with personal development potential that have been (conditionally) admitted to a master programme connected to the Brightlands campi.

A mandatory component of the UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship is participating in the thesis-internship-programme (TIP), requiring scholarship recipients to write their thesis based on an internship at one of the companies at the respective Brightlands campus.

Target group: top-performing non-EU/EEA master’s students with high personal development potential that have been (conditionally) admitted to a master programme connected to the Brightlands campi and with a substantiated motivation to contribute to the campuses’ development.

• Table of Content
• About Maastricht University (UM)
• Maastricht University Masters Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of Maastricht University Masters Scholarship
• Requirements for Maastricht University Masters Scholarship Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Maastricht University (UM)

Maastricht University (UM) is the most international university in the Netherlands and, with 18,000 students and 4,400 employees, is still growing. The university stands out for its innovative education model, international character and multidisciplinary approach to research and education. Thanks to its high-quality research and study programmes as well as a strong focus on social engagement, UM has quickly built up a solid reputation. Today it is considered one of the best young universities in the world.... read more... continue reading

Maastricht University Masters Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of Maastricht University Masters Scholarship

Tuition fee and expenses.

Requirements for Maastricht University Masters Scholarship Qualification

• You hold the nationality of a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland 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 or Switzerland
• 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 2022
• You agree to become an active Brightlands and UM ambassador during and after your studies, by committing to share your experiences during at least one (information) session for students and/or other stakeholders
• You have have been (conditionally) admitted to the participating master programmes at UM for the 2022-2023 academic year

Application Deadline

How to Apply

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8. Coming to Maastricht University from abroad
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10. Scholarships
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12. UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship

UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship

Four innovation campuses in Limburg, the Netherlands, form the Brightlands. The Brightlands campi bring together entrepreneurs, researchers and students to innovate and create international breakthroughs together in chemistry and materials, health, agrifood, data science and smart digital services.

The UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship programme offers four full coverage scholarships (including a tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) per academic year for a selected number of top-performing non-EU/EEA students with personal development potential that have been (conditionally) admitted to a master programme connected to the Brightlands campi.

A mandatory component of the UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship is participating in the thesis-internship-programme (TIP), requiring scholarship recipients to write their thesis based on an internship at one of the companies at the respective Brightlands campus.

Target group: top-performing non-EU/EEA master’s students with high personal development potential that have been (conditionally) admitted to a master programme connected to the Brightlands campi and with a substantiated motivation to contribute to the campuses’ development.

Who is eligible?
Duration of the UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship
Amount of the UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship programme 2022-2023
Application procedure
Selection procedure

UM International Services Desk

[email protected]

Who is eligible?

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

• You hold the nationality of a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland 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 or Switzerland

• 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 2022

• You agree to become an active Brightlands and UM ambassador during and after your studies, by committing to share your experiences during at least one (information) session for students and/or other stakeholders

• You have have been (conditionally) admitted to the participating master programmes at UM for the 2022-2023 academic year

Application deadline
The deadline is up to and including 1 February 2022, 23:59h CET.

Duration of the UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship

• 12 months for a one-year master programme
• 24 months for a two-year master programme

Amount of the UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship programme 2022-2023

*This amount is subject to change for academic year 2022-2023

Application procedure

Step 1: Register for one of the participating master programmes at UM
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 (see Step 2 below).

• Please note: only the master programmes in the list above are eligible for a UM Brightlands Talent Scholarship.
• Please note: you can apply for the master programme at UM and the scholarship simultaneously. However, you must be conditionally approved for admission to your master programme in order to be awarded a scholarship.
• Please note: if your study programme requires the payment of a handling fee as part of your programme’s admissions procedure, the UM International Services Desk does not cover handling fees. You are responsible for paying any handling fee your programme may require by 1 February 2022. To check whether your programme requires the payment of a handling fee, please check your programme’s webpage under the menu tab 'Admission requirements'.

Step 2: Please fill in the application form, you need to log in with your UM account
Upload the following documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format, and submit your application. Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date. If you have applied for multiple UM study programmes, the UM International Services Desk will ensure that your complete scholarship application is considered for all eligible programmes for which you have a conditionally approved or approved admissions status.

• 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. Please emphasise proven previous extracurricular engagement and active citizenship in your community.
• Letter of motivation
  Your letter of motivation should be up-to-date and specifically tailored to this scholarship programme, including the substantiated envisaged contribution to the respective Brightlands Campus during the study programme and the thesis-internship-programme. Your letter of motivation should be no longer than one A4 page. Be sure to argue why this scholarship is important to you, why you should be selected, and what your role as an ambassador of UM would be during your scholarship period, and during the upcoming years after you finish your studies at UM.
• 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.
  Excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript. If several applicants are equally qualified, UM will give preference to applicants whose academic transcript demonstrates that they are among the top 5% of the 2022-2023 scholarship programme applicants
• 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, et cetera.

• A reference letter
  We have prepared scholarship reference letter guidelines; please print these out or 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 2021. Letters which do not agree with the guidelines are not taken into account, which means your application is incomplete.

• The contact details of one referee
  Please note that we 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.

Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date.