VU FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

1. You hold a non- EU/ EEA passport and you are not eligible for the lower tuition fee.
2. You do not have the Dutch nationality.
3. You can prove your academic excellence (GPA equivalent to a Dutch 8).
4. You are conditionally or unconditionally admitted to the first year of a full-time English-taught Master’s programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam starting per September. Please note that: ​​​​​​​ a. Students starting in February cannot apply, b. Joint programmes where VU Amsterdam does not administer the admission process are excluded from VUFP. c. The degree with which you are seeking admission has not been obtained in the Netherlands.
5. You do not need to complete a preparatory programme before the start of your Master.​​​​​​​

No Separate Application or Fee is Required to get the grants, it will be automatically considered, once you enrolled for the program. Step 1: Register for a Master’s programme- from 1 October Register for a Master's programme in Studielink and after that in your personal dashboard on vu.nl. Please note that you must have been already conditionally admitted to the Master’s programme before you can apply for the VUFP scholarship. Advised deadline Master's programme application: 1 December It is essential that you submit your programme application in time if you wish to apply for the scholarships. Realistically, you should aim to submit your programme application no later than 1 December. And if your programme’s admission procedure includes an intake/assessment, we advise you to submit your complete programme application even earlier. Step 2: Submit VUFP application (from 1 November)- Submit your VUFP application in your personal VU dashboard. Please note that you can apply for the VUFP only for one master programme! This means that if you apply for several master degrees, when submitting your VUFP application you must choose for which master programme you wish to do so. Deadline VUFP application: 1 February To apply please fill out this form and at the end of it paste the GPA proof/ programme transcript and a grading scale explanation. Once done, save it as a one file in .PDF format and upload it in the Scholarship section of your personal dashboard on vu.nl (located on the Complete Registration page). Answer all questions and include the GPA proof/ programme transcript. Not answering one or more questions or not including the GPA proof/ programme transcript will result in your application being considered incomplete. Please note that you can submit your application only once. Make sure to double check if your application is complete and sufficient before submitting it. You will not be allowed to submit it again! Extra information regarding proof of excellence (programme transcript or a GPA proof) and a grading scale Please upload the transcript and grading scale of your bachelor’s degree with a clear explanation of the GPA calculation. Excellence in previous (bachelor) education is proven if the grade point average achieved is at least equivalent to the Dutch grade of an 8.0 on the Dutch grading scale 1 -

1. You do not need to convert your grades to the Dutch ones. The VUFP Scholarship Committee will do that by deciding on the local grade equivalents for the Dutch grade of an 8.0. Please note:
2. Even if you have already completed a Master’s degree, for VUFP application purposes, we will look only at your GPA from your bachelor’s degree. This is to ensure that all applicants have a fair chance.
3. If you haven’t yet officially graduated, please provide us with the GPA proof/ programme transcript showing your most up- to- date grades. Step 3: Decision The Central VUFP Committee decides which students will be offered a VUFP scholarship. All VUFP applications received by 1 February will be reviewed by the faculty of the applied for Master’s programme. Faculties will then nominate applicants to the Central Scholarship Committee, which will subsequently award scholarships to the most talented students. The results will be based on the academic performance and motivation. Step 4: Results All students will receive an e-mail/ notification informing them of the Central Scholarship Committee’s decision concerning their application. Expected date: mid-March (6 weeks after the deadline). Step 5: Acceptance of VUFP or HSP offer Selected candidates accept/decline the VUFP and NL Scholarship offer in their personal VU dashboard. Deadline: end of March 2025 (2 weeks after the results have been published). Kindly note the following:
4. You can accept/decline the offer in your personal VU dashboard on vu.nl.
5. If you do not take action within 2 weeks after receiving the results, the offer will be withdrawn.
6. There are fewer NL scholarships than VUFP. This means that not all VUFP recipients will receive NL Scholarship.
7. If you have not been awarded VUFP, you also have not been awarded NL Scholarship.
8. A scholarship granted for one academic year cannot be postponed to another academic year. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​For further details, please click here.

The Central VUFP Committee decides which students will be offered a VUFP scholarship. All VUFP applications received by 1 February will be reviewed by the faculty of the applied for Master’s programme. Faculties will then nominate applicants to the Central Scholarship Committee, which will subsequently award scholarships to the most talented students. The results will be based on the academic performance and motivation. ​​​​​​​The awardees are selected on the basis of their academic excellence, which will be analyzed from their:

1. Motivation letter.
2. Quality of previous education.
3. Academic record. Recipients are required to maintain their grades for the duration of the course, failure of which may result in the termination of the scholarship. Other Info Terms and Conditions Rights and obligations ​​​​​​​
4. These Rules & Regulations apply to all VUFP holders.
5. Vrije Universiteit accepts no liability for the consequences of illness, accidents, etc., nor any other risks that the acceptance of the VU Fellowship Programme may entail for the scholarship holder.
6. The VUFP scholarship covers tuition fees only. It does not provide any additional allowance towards study or living costs, like rent, food, insurance. Be aware that you must be able to finance these living expenses by yourself. Duration of the scholarship
7. The VUFP scholarship can be granted for a one or two-year master's programme. The scholarship will only be extended for the second year of a two-year master’s programme if 100% of the ECTS of the first year have been achieved. During the scholarship
8. Scholarship holders must complete the programme for which they were granted the scholarship to the best of their ability. They must be prepared at any time to provide the VUFP scholarship office with information concerning the progress of their programme, and to cooperate fully in any form of programme evaluation carried out by Vrije Universiteit including attending any meetings.
9. The scholarship is granted for the programme for which its holder submitted the application. Requests for a change of study programme under the VU Fellowship Programme will only be considered by the University in exceptional cases and must meet the following criteria. a. The request is accompanied by an explanation. b. The requested programme is taught at Vrije Universiteit. c. The application for the change of programme is made not later than six weeks after the starting date of the original programme.
10. You must report immediately to the International Office (scholarships.incoming@vu.nl), in writing, any circumstances that are going to prevent you from successfully continuing or completing your programme, for example: a. If you leave the programme c.q. university before completing your degree because you have discontinued your studies; b. If you leave the programme before completing your degree and switch to another programme; c. If you leave the programme c.q. university before completing your degree because of illness; d. Any changes in nationality.