Utrecht Excellence Scholarships - Eligibility, Application, Selection, and Grants

Utrecht Excellence Scholarships

Utrecht Excellence scholarship is offered to international students who showcase academic excellence and wish to study in the Netherlands at Utrecht University. A total of  20-25 awards are distributed across 6 graduate schools.

  • Students must commence study in any masters program offered by Utrecht University.
  • Applicants must belong to the top 10% of their graduating class.
  • They must have completed their secondary school and/or UG degree outside the Netherlands.
  • The scholarship either covers the tuition fee or tuition fee plus 11,000 EUR, covering living expenses.
  • Separate applications are required to be submitted for consideration.
  • The deadline for this year has expired.

The selection for the award recipients is entirely based on the academic merit of the candidates and what they propose to do in their chosen field.


Highlights

Scholarship TypeCollege-Specific, Merit-Based, Tuition-Fee-Waiver
Offered byInstitution
OrganizationUtrecht University
Application Deadline Jan 31 ,2023
Number of ScholarshipsN/A
AmountVariable Amount
RenewabilityYes
International Student EligibleYes
Scholarship Website Linkhttps://www.uu.nl/masters/en/general-information/international-students/financial-matters/grants-and-scholarships/utrecht-excellence-scholarships

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must not hold an EU/EEA passport while applying for Utrecht Excellence Scholarships. Apart from that, applicants must meet the eligibility requirements listed below:

  • Applicants must belong to the top 10% of their graduating class.
    • Must provide proof of that, it could be either a signed statement, a reference letter, a class ranking certificate, etc.
  • Applicants must have completed their secondary school and/or UG degree outside the Netherlands.
  • Applicants must enter the first year of the master’s program at the university.
    • The scholarship is not available for all PG programs. Check on the official website for the same.
  • The chosen program of study is not a distance learning/online program.
  • They must be able to comply with the Dutch visa/residence permit conditions.
  • They must not be eligible for support under the Dutch system of grants and loans.

Note: Failure on meeting any of the conditions, would automatically rule out the applicant from being considered for the scholarship.


Application Process

After meeting admission criteria at Utrecht University and submitting an admission application for a master’s course, Candidates can apply for the scholarship.

A step by step guide on how to apply for the scholarship is given below:

  1. An application for the chosen master’s program is to be submitted, if this is not done first, the UES application would be deleted.
  2. After application, go to Osiris Online Application and login with Osiris’ username and password.
  3. Click on the link, ‘New Application’.
  4. Answer the UES questions and upload the required document(s).
  5. Submit the complete application.

Required Document: Proof of being in the top 10% of the student’s graduating class. An official document issued by the university, backing the same, it could be a signed statement with the university stamp, a reference letter or a class ranking certificate, etc.

The complete application should be submitted before January 31, 2023, for consideration.

NOTE: Students starting their program in February will not be considered for the Utrecht Excellence Scholarship.


Selection Process

The selection of the awardees for the Utrecht Excellence Scholarship is based on the following criteria.

  • Academic excellence.
  • The academic quality and results of preceding qualifications.
  • Proof of belonging in the top 10% of the graduating class in the form of  grades, test scores, a writing sample, or a LOR
  • The quality and importance of the motivation letter for the Master’s program.
    • Academic content, intercultural and communication skills, personal motivation.
    • Quality of the master’s application itself accuracy, consistency, completeness.

Grant Details

Utrecht Excellence Scholarship is an initiative taken by Utrecht University to provide financial aid to the postgraduate, international students.

  • It is done by either covering the entire tuition fee or the tuition fee plus 11,000 EUR as the living costs.
  • The grant is not a full scholarship, the student may be required to find other financial sources.

The scholarship would only be awarded for the duration of the course, i.e., either one or two years, depending on the course.

Also, the scholarship would only be renewed if the student is seen making satisfactory progress towards the degree.

International students who want to pursue higher education in one of the top universities in the Netherlands i.e. Utrecht University must check its official website.