Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship 2027

The Maastricht University (UM) NL-High Potential Scholarship programme offers 18 full scholarships, 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 NL 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.

• Table of Content
• About Maastricht University (UM)
• Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship
• Requirements for Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship

• Living expenses - € 20,150* (13 months) or € 38,750* (25 months)
• Health & liability insurance
• Visa application costs
• Tuition fees
• Pre-Academic Training costs
• International Student Ambassador Programme (ISAP)

*These amounts are subject to change for academic year 2028-2029

Please note that a mandatory part of the Scholarship is a room that will be allocated to you until 16 July 2028. Students who receive a Scholarship for a two year programme will have to find housing for the second year themselves. Accepting the Scholarship means, you accept the room. The accommodation provided to Scholarship students is not suitable for partners/spouses, children and/or pets. Preferences with regard to the accommodation f.e. religious beliefs will be taken into account. Refusing the room means your Scholarship will be cancelled. 

The amount of € 20,150 for living expenses (€ 1,550 per month) covers the following expenses and can be broken down as follows (amounts are subject to change):

• Housing: € 960
• Groceries and personal hygiene: € 160
• Telephone: € 60
• Travel: € 100
• Books and study materials: € 90
• Clothing, hobbies and going out: € 125
• Miscellaneous: € 55
• Please note that air tickets are not included and must be paid by the candidate. 
• Cleaning fee (approx. € 75) is not included in the Scholarship and has to be paid to Maastricht Housing upfront.

Duration of the UM NL-High Potential scholarship

• 13 months for a one-year master's programme
• 25 months for a two-year master's programme

Requirements for Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship Qualification

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

• You hold a 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. Please check this website before you apply to see in which country you have to collect your MVV visa for the Netherlands . If you already have a residence permit for another Schengen country, you can only apply if this residence permit is still valid until at least 2 September 2027. If your residence permit expires before 2 September 2027 you can only apply for the Scholarship from your home country via a MVV visa application. More information can be found on the webpages of the Visa Office.
• You do not have dual nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland. 
• You have applied for admission to a participating full-time master's programme at Maastricht University for the 2027-2028 academic year and have submitted your application file in full, meeting all admission requirements as stated on the website, before 10 December 2026. Participating programmes 2027-2028.
  For participating programmes for academic year 2028-2029 you can apply from 1 October 2027 onwards. Please check this link: Participating programmes 2028-2029.
• You meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master's 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.
• Preference will be given to candidates who have not yet obtained a Master's degree.
• You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2027.
• You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript showing a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher.
• You agree to become an active UM NL High Potential 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 can only submit an application once and for one Scholarship only. Please make sure all documents meet the requirements before you start your application. We cannot add or replace documents after you submit the application

Please note, this is a very competitive scholarship, only 2% of the applicants get awarded the scholarship.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship Master's Scholarship

• Step 1: The UM International Services Desk checks if all applications are complete after 1 February 2027.
• Step 2: The UM International Services Desk sends all complete applications to each UM Faculty in February 2027.
• Step 3: Each Faculty selects and ranks their top 5 of scholarship applicants and sends these to the UM International Services Desk for a final check in March 2027.
• Step 4: The UM International Services Desk confirms the Faculty selections by the end of March 2027 and will invite the selected candidates for an online interview.
• Step 5: After the interviews have taken place the UM International Services Desk will inform all candidates of their application status in April 2027. Your status will be selected, waitlisted or rejected by the beginning of May 2027 at the latest. Waitlisted application statuses will be changed to selected or rejected by May 2027. Scholarship awardees will receive more information about the UM Pre-Academic Training programme and arrival in Maastricht upon receiving their award letters. The UM Pre-Academic Training is a two-week mandatory component of the UM NL - High Protential Scholarship programme. The Pre-Academic Training starts in the first week of August 2027.
• Step 6: You must sign and return the award letter to the UM International Services Desk to accept the scholarship.

Check also:
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship 2027
Global Korea Scholarship 2027

Application Deadline

How to Apply

• Applications open: 1 October 2026 until 1 February 2027 23:59 CET
• Complete admission application deadline for the study programme: 10 December 

Step 1: Apply for one of the participating master's programmes at UM

For further details on how to apply for a master's 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).

• Only the master's programmes in the list above are eligible for a UM NL-High Potential Scholarship.
• First you have to apply for the master's programme at UM to receive your student ID, as soon as you have your student ID you can apply for the scholarship. Please be aware that to be eligible for this scholarship, the deadline to apply for one of the participating master's programmes through Studielink and submit your application file in full, meeting all admission requirements, is 10 December.
• By the Scholarship deadline of 1 February 2027 you must have met all registration requirements (except legal residence, tuition payment & hard copy of a diploma).
• 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 10 December 2026. To check whether your programme requires the payment of a handling fee, please check your programme’s webpage under the menu tab 'Admission requirements'.

• You need to provide an official document from your home university showing your most recent GPA and a document explaining your grade system. We only accept applications with a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher. This is equivalent to a minimum of 75% out of 100% or 3 out of 4 depending on your grade system.

Step 2: Please fill in the application form, you need to log in with your UM account

Please fill out the application form here. UM can only accept applications via the application form.

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.

• 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. If you have received any awards or prizes, please do not forget to mention these on your CV.
• 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
  Please upload:
  1. Your university transcript or an official document from your home university showing your most recent GPA of 7.5 or higher Only applicants with a grade point average of 7,5 out of 10 or higher will be considered
  2. A document explaining your grade system. Your university transcript has to show at least 75% of the maximum grade, for example a 3 out of 4 that would be equivalent to a 7.5 out of 10 at Maastricht University.
• 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 2026. Letters that do not adhere to the guidelines are not taken into account, which means your application is incomplete. You need to upload the reference letter yourself, this cannot be done by your referee. Please note we may check your reference.
• 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.

For more information, kindly visit UM scholarship webpage.