Maastricht University awards its NL-High Potential Scholarship to talented students from outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland and Surinam admitted to participating full-time master's programmes. It is a full package — tuition paid, monthly living allowance, insurance, visa costs and pre-academic training arranged by the university's International Services Desk. It is extremely competitive: only about 2% of applicants receive it.
Why it is notable: One of the few Dutch scholarships that covers full tuition PLUS a real monthly living budget (€1,550/month), and even allocates you a room — no housing hunt in your first year.
Funding at a glance
What it covers
Living expenses: €20,150 (13 months) or €38,750 (25 months), ≈€1,550/month — housing €960, groceries/personal hygiene €160, telephone €60, travel €100, books and study materials €90, clothing/hobbies/going out €125, miscellaneous €55 — paid to the student by the UM International…
Tuition fees: at cost, arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Health & liability insurance: €700, arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Visa application costs: at cost, arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Pre-Academic Training costs: at cost — mandatory two-week pre-academic training starting in the first week of August 2027
International Student Ambassador Programme (ISAP): costs for the first block only, arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Accommodation: a room is allocated to scholarship holders until 16 July 2028 (refusing the room cancels the scholarship; not suitable for partners/spouses, children or pets); two-year holders find their own housing for year two
Eligibility criteria
Qualification Required
Graduationfor Masters
This scholarship is offered for full-time participating Master's programmes at Maastricht University (2027–2028 intake).
Who can apply
Nationals of countries outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam, who meet Netherlands entry-visa and residence-permit requirements; must NOT hold dual nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
Experience
No experience required
Language Certificate
Course-dependent (set by the master's programme's admission requirements)
Other Certificates
University transcript (or official document) showing the most recent GPA, plus a document explaining the home university's grade system.
Age Limit
Must not be older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2027.
Check your eligibility
Run all three quick checks before reviewing your chosen course's full entry requirements.
1
Country checker
Eligible = every nationality except EU/EEA countries, Switzerland and Surinam (programme is designed to attract talent from outside the EU/EEA; dual…
2
Last degree checker
Choose your highest completed qualification to see which degree level may fit.
3
Course checker
Pick a course to see whether it falls inside this scholarship's scope.
Complete all three checks
Your combined result will appear here.
Based on published eligibility — always confirm on the official page before applying.
Application essentials
Requirements
Review each requirement before you begin the application.
01
Qualification
Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) eligible for admission to a participating UM master's programme; GPA of 7.5/10 or higher (75/100 or 3.0/4.0 equivalents accepted) documented by transcript plus a grade-system explanation.
02
Documents
CV (≤2 A4 pages), motivation letter on the UM template (≤1 A4 page), personal financial-needs statement, reference letter (professor/lecturer/employer, dated ≥February 2026, uploaded by applicant), and referee contact details with institutional email and country-coded work telephone.
03
Nationality & residence
National of a country outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam; no dual EU/EEA or Swiss nationality; must meet Netherlands visa/residence requirements; other-Schengen residence permits must be valid until at least 2 September 2027.
04
No prior Dutch degree
Never participated in a degree-seeking higher-education programme in the Netherlands (exchange participants welcome); preference for applicants without a prior Master's degree.
05
Age
Not older than 35 years on 1 September 2027.
06
Fee
No scholarship-application fee (programme handling fees, if any, are the applicant's own cost). No ambassador activities can begin until the award letter is signed and returned.
Document checklist
01Curriculum vitae (up-to-date, education + job experience, awards/prizes, maximum two A4 pages)
02Letter of motivation using the official UM template (≤1 A4 page)
03Proof of academic excellence: university transcript or official document showing most recent GPA ≥7.5/10, plus a document explaining the university's grade system (≥75% of maximum, e.g. 3/4)
04Personal statement of financial need (why you would benefit; personal circumstances such as financial difficulty, sole-parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status
05Reference letter from a (former) professor, lecturer or employer (not family), dated February 2026 or later, written per the UM reference-letter guidelines — uploaded by the applicant, not the referee
06Referee contact details: relationship to applicant, work telephone with country calling code, and work/institutional email address (personal-email-only references are rejected)
Application fee
No fee for the scholarship application itself — completely free. Note: if your master's programme charges an admission h
Visa, kept concise: Study visa type for this destination: Dutch MVV (entry visa) + residence permit for study, arranged with support from UM's Visa Office / International Services Desk (visa application costs are covered by the scholarship).
Application Procedure
10 steps — follow in order. Each stage prepares the next.
01
Apply for one of the participating full-time
master's programmes at UM via Studielink (open from 1 October 2026). Complete the programme's full admission file, including any handling fee your programme charges, before 10 December 2026 — the International Services D
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02
Once your Studielink application is in
you receive a UM student ID number; log in with your UM account and open the scholarship application form (only the official form is accepted).
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03
Upload all documents (CV ≤2 A4 pages
motivation letter using the UM template; transcript + grade-system explanation showing GPA ≥7.5/10; personal statement of financial need; reference letter dated February 2026 or later, uploaded by you; referee's contact
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06
Accept by signing and returning the award letter
attend the mandatory two-week Pre-Academic Training starting the first week of August 2027.
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05
Selection: February 2027 —
completeness check; March 2027 — faculties select and rank their top 5 candidates; end of March 2027 — selected candidates invited for an online interview; April 2027 — status communicated; by the beginning of May 2027 —
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04
Submit once —
you get a single submission and one scholarship application only; documents cannot be added or replaced after submission.
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07
Curriculum vitae (up-to-date
education + job experience, awards/prizes, maximum two A4 pages)
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08
Letter of motivation using the official UM
template (≤1 A4 page)
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09
Proof of academic excellence
university transcript or official document showing most recent GPA ≥7.5/10, plus a document explaining the university's grade system (≥75% of maximum, e.g. 3/4)
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10
Personal statement of financial need (why you would benefit
personal circumstances such as financial difficulty, sole-parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status)
Application milestones
1 Feb 2027
Application deadline
2027
Intake year
Ready to apply?
Continue on the official Maastricht University platform.
I already hold a Master's degree. Can I still apply? A: Yes — but the university states preference will be given to candidates who have not yet obtained a Master's degree.Does the scholarship cover my flight to the Netherlands? A: No — official page states air tickets are not included and must be paid by the candidate.Do I have to arrange my own housing? A: No — a room is allocated to you until 16 July 2028; accepting the scholarship means accepting the room, and refusing it cancels the scholarship. Two-year holderIs there a cleaning fee? A: The accommodation cleaning fee (approx. €75) is not included and must be paid to Maastricht Housing upfront.Can my partner or children stay in the allocated room? A: No — the accommodation is not suitable for partners/spouses, children and/or pets.How competitive is the scholarship? A: Very — only about 2% of applicants are awarded the scholarship, and only one UM scholarship may be applied for.Can I submit my scholarship application before finishing my master's admission file? A: You must first apply via Studielink to receive a student ID (needed for the form), and your complete master's adCan I correct documents after submitting the scholarship form? A: No — you can submit only once, and UM cannot add or replace documents after submission.
Need document or attestation help?
Detailed attestation guidance stays in Opplore's standalone Guides section, not inside this scholarship page.
Netherlands · Maastricht University