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. Depending on your choice of study programme the campi can be situated in Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen or Venlo.
Maastricht University (UM) will alternate between two of the four campuses each year. For the academic year 2027-2028 the study programmes affiliated with both the Chemelot campus and the Maastricht Health campus are participating in the application for the UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship. See step 1 at the application procedure to check the participating study programmes.
The UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship programme offers two full coverage scholarships (including a tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) per academic year for a selected number of top-performing non-EU/EEA, non-Switzerland or non-Surinam students with personal development potential that have been (conditionally) admitted to a master's programme connected to the Brightlands campi.
A mandatory component of the UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship is participating in the thesis-internship-programme (TIP), requiring scholarship recipients to write their thesis to an assignment for one of the companies on the respective Brightlands camp.
Target group: top-performing non-EU/EEA, non-Switzerland or non-Surinam master’s students with high personal development potential that have been (conditionally) admitted to a master's programme connected to the Brightlands campi and with a substantiated motivation to contribute to the campuses’ development.
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UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship Master's Scholarship
Aim and Benefits of UM NL Brightlands Talent 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)
Duration of the UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship
- 13 months for a one-year master's programme
- 25 months for a two-year master's programme
Requirements for UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship Master's Scholarship Qualification
All candidates must meet the following requirements:
- You hold a nationality of 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 a dual nationality from an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or Surinam.
- You have applied for admission to a participating master's programme at UM 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.
For participating programmes for academic year 2027-2028 you can apply from 1 October 2026 onwards. Please check this link: Participating programmes 2027-2028.
- 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 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 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.
Interview date, Process and Venue for UM NL Brightlands Talent 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 the respective UM Faculty in February 2027.
- Step 3: The Faculty Admission Office - in cooperation with the respective programme coordinator(s) - ranks your application based on the UM scholarship selection criteria and proposes a top-5 to the Brightlands Talent Scholarship selection committee.
- Step 4: The Brightlands Talent Scholarship selection committee (composed of a representatives of UM and the Brightlands campus management) invites the top-5 applicants for an online interview, following which a decision is taken. In case you are not selected, you will be added to a reserve list in case the selected candidate(s) decline(s) the scholarship.
- 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 Brightlands Scholarship programme. The Pre-Academic Training takes place 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
February 1, 2027How to Apply
- Applications are open from 1 October 2026 until 1 February 2027 at 23:59 hrs.
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 participating master's programmes in the list above are eligible for a UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship.
- First you have to apply for the master 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 December 10th.
- 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
You can find the application form here. 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. Please emphasise proven previous extracurricular engagement and active citizenship in your community. 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.
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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, 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 2026. Letters which do not agree with the guidelines are not taken into account, which means your application is incomplete. You need to upload the reference letter, this cannot be done by your referee. We trust you in this and we can check your reference.
- 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.
Contact: UM International Services Desk
For more information, kindly visit UM scholarship webpage.
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