If you are planning to study in the Netherlands with financial support, the Maastricht University Scholarship is one of the best opportunities available for international students. This scholarship provides fully funded programs across a wide range of fields. In this article, we will explain everything you need to know about the Maastricht University Scholarship, including its benefits, eligibility criteria, required documents, and a detailed step-by-step application process to help you apply successfully.
Maastricht University Scholarship 2026-2027 is available for master’s studies and provides the recipient with € 38,750 living expenses, € 700 health and liability insurance, visa application costs, and tuition fees.
This scholarship is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in partnership with Dutch universities and applied science universities. The University of Maastricht (UM) is the most foreign university in the Netherlands and is still rising with more than 16000 students and 4000 employees. The university stands out for its groundbreaking research and education model, international character, and multidisciplinary approach.
Scholarship Summary
- Level of Study: Masters
- Institution(s): Maastricht University
- Study Destination: Netherlands
- Opportunity Focus Areas: Please see the list below
- Program Period: 13 months for a one-year Master’s program, and 25 months for a two-year Master’s program
Courses Offered
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences:
- MA Art, Literature and Society
- MA Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education
- MA Arts and Culture: spec. Politics and Society
- MA European Public Affairs
- MA European Studies on Society, Science and Technology
- MA European Studies: spec. Europe in a Globalising World
- MA European Studies: spec. European Politics and International Relations
- MA European Studies: spec. European Public Policy and Administration
- MA Globalisation and Development Studies
- Research Master’s Cultures of Arts, Science, and Technology
- Research Master European Studies
- MA Media Studies: Digital Cultures
Faculty of Law:
- LLM European Law School: spec. European Law & Market Integration
- LLM European Law School: spec. European Public Law & Governance
- LLM European Law School: spec. Free track
- LLM Forensics, Criminology and Law
- LLM Globalisation and Law: spec. Corporate and Commercial Law
- LLM Globalisation and Law: spec. General track
- LLM Globalisation and Law: spec. Human Rights
- LLM Globalisation and Law: spec. International Trade and Investment Law
- LLM International and European Tax Law: spec. International and European Tax Law
- LLM International and European Tax Law: spec. International and European Tax Law
Specialisation in Customs and International Trade - LLM International and European Tax Law: spec. International and European Tax Law
Specialisation Tax and Technology - LLM Advanced Master’s in Intellectual Property Law and Knowledge Management
- MSc Advanced Master’s in Intellectual Property Law and Knowledge Management
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences:
- MSc Biomedical Sciences
- MSc Epidemiology
- MSc Global Health
- MSc Governance and Leadership in European Public Health
- MSc Health Education and Promotion
- MSc Healthcare Policy, Innovation and Management
- MSc Human Movement Sciences: spec. Health and Rehabilitation
- MSc Human Movement Sciences: spec. Sports and Nutrition
- MSc Work, Health and Career
Faculty of Science and Engineering:
- MSc Biobased Materials
- MSc Systems Biology
- MSc Data Science for Decision Making
Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience:
- MSc Psychology: spec. Development Psychology
- MSc Psychology: spec. Health and Social Psychology
- MSc Psychology: spec. Neuropsychology
- MSc Psychology: spec. Legal Psychology
- MSc Psychology: spec. Work and Organisational Psychology
- Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience: spec. Cognitive Neuroscience
- Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience: spec. Drug Development and Neurohealth
- Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience: spec. Fundamental Neuroscience
- Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience: spec. Neuroeconomics
- Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience: spec. Neuropsychology
- Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience: spec. Psychopathology
- MSc Forensic Psychology
- MSc Psychology: spec. Cognitive Neuroscience
School of Business and Economics:
- MSc Business Intelligence and Smart Services
- MSc Economics
- MSc Economics and Strategy in Emerging Markets
- MSc Financial Economics
- MSc IB/Entrepreneurship and SME Management
- MSc IB/Information Management and Business Intelligence
- MSc IB/Sustainable Finance
Maastricht University Scholarship Application Deadline
The application deadline for the Maastricht University Scholarship is February 1, 2026.
Scholarship Coverage
Maastricht University Scholarship provides the recipient with:
- Living expenses: € 20,150 (13 months) or € 38,750 (25 months)
- Health & liability insurance: € 700
- Visa application costs
- Tuition fees
- Pre-Academic Training costs
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.
Eligibility Criteria for the Maastricht University Scholarship
To qualify for this scholarship, candidates must fulfill all of the following requirements:
- Required Language: English
- Eligible Countries: Citizens of a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland.
- You hold 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.
- You do not hold a double nationality from an EU/EEA country.
- You have applied for admission to a full-time Master’s programme at Maastricht University for the 2026-2027 academic year. List of the UM master’s programmes participating in this scholarship programme.
- 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.
- You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2026.
- You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript or certified by academic excellence. If several applicants are equally qualified, UM will give preference to applicants whose academic transcript or certified letter of academic excellence demonstrates that they are among the top 5% of the 2026-2027 scholarship programme applicants.
How to Apply for Maastricht University Scholarship?
Please follow the instructions below to apply for this scholarship:
(1) Register for one of the participating Master’s programs at Maastricht University. For further details on how to apply for a master program at UM, please see your prospective program’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 NL-High Potential Scholarship.
- Please note: you first 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 programmes through studielink is December 8th.
- Please note: by the Scholarship deadline of 1 February 2026 you must have met all admission requirements (except legal residence, tuition payment & hard copy of a diploma).
- 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 8 December 2025. To check whether your programme requires the payment of a handling fee, please check your programme’s webpage under the menu tab ‘Admission requirements’.
- Please note: 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.
(2) Please fill in the application form (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 programs, the UM International Services Desk will ensure that your complete scholarship application is considered for all eligible programs 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 2 A4 pages.
- 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: 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. 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.
- 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, or 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.
(3) 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.
- You will have to contact the referee you provided in your application form and ask them to submit their reference letter by email to hhp.scholarship@maastrichtuniversity.nl by midnight on 1 February 2026 (Central European Time).
- 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. Please also note that it is your responsibility to liaise with your referee and ensure that they submit their letters before the deadline. Applications for which we have not received reference letters are unfortunately incomplete, so please communicate on time with your referee about this important step in the scholarship application process.
Website
To know more about the Maastricht University Scholarship, please visit the official website: