The Maastricht University (UM) NL-High Potential Scholarship awards 21 full scholarships each academic year to highly talented students from outside the EU/EEA who have been admitted to a participating full-time master’s programme at UM in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The programme combines the High Potential Scholarship, funded by the Maastricht University Scholarship Fund, with the NL Scholarship, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science together with Dutch universities. The award covers tuition, living costs, insurance and visa costs for 13 months (one-year master’s) or 25 months (two-year master’s). Selection is highly competitive: about 2% of applicants receive the scholarship. Applications for the 2027-2028 intake open in October 2026.
Benefits & funding
- Full tuition fee waiver, paid directly by the UM International Services Desk
- Living expenses: €20,150 over 13 months for a one-year master’s (€1,550 per month) or €38,750 over 25 months for a two-year master’s
- Health and liability insurance (€700), arranged and paid by UM
- Visa application costs, arranged and paid by UM
- Mandatory two-week Pre-Academic Training in early August, costs covered
- First block of the International Student Ambassador Programme (ISAP) covered
- A room is allocated as a mandatory part of the scholarship — accepting the scholarship means accepting the room; the accommodation is not suitable for partners, spouses or children
- Air tickets are not included and must be paid by the candidate
- Amounts are subject to change for academic year 2027-2028
Eligibility
- Nationality outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Suriname, and able to obtain a Dutch entry visa and residence permit
- No dual nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland
- Applied for admission to a participating full-time UM master’s programme via Studielink by the programme deadline (8 December in the 2026-2027 round)
- Meets the specific admission requirements of the chosen master’s programme
- Has never enrolled in a degree-seeking higher-education programme in the Netherlands (exchange alumni are welcome to apply)
- Not older than 35 on 1 September of the intake year
- Excellent prior academic results: a GPA of at least 7.5 out of 10 on the latest transcript (roughly 75% of the maximum grade, or 3.0 out of 4)
- Willing to act as a UM ambassador during and after the studies, sharing experiences in at least one information session
- Preference is given to candidates who do not yet hold a master’s degree (a preference, not a bar)
- Participating programmes for 2027-2028 span five faculties: Arts and Social Sciences, Law, Health/Medicine and Life Sciences, Psychology and Neuroscience, and the School of Business and Economics — check the official participating-programmes list before applying
Can you apply?
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Education required
Bachelor
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Age requirement
≤ 35 yrs
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Apply for a participating UM master’s programme via Studielink by 8 December before the intake year; this generates the UM student ID needed for the scholarship form. Any programme handling fee is the applicant’s own cost.
- 2Log in with the UM account and complete the online scholarship application form.
- 3Upload all documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format: a CV of at most two A4 pages; a motivation letter using UM’s template; the latest university transcript plus an official explanation of the grade system, showing a GPA of at least 7.5/10; a personal statement of financial need describing circumstances such as financial difficulty, caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability or refugee status; and a reference letter following UM’s guidelines, uploaded by the applicant.
- 4Provide the contact details of one referee — a (former) professor, lecturer or employer with a work or institutional email address; family members are not accepted and references may be verified.
- 5Submit once — documents cannot be added or replaced after submission. Faculties then rank their top five candidates, shortlisted applicants are interviewed online, and all candidates hear their status by April, with final decisions by early May.
Program timeline
1 October 2026
Applications for the 2027-2028 academic year open
8 December 2025
Studielink deadline for participating master’s programmes (2026-2027 round)
1 February 2026
Scholarship application deadline (2026-2027 round)
Complete applications forwarded to the faculties
February 2026
Faculties rank their top five; online interviews follow
March 2026
All applicants informed (selected, waitlisted or rejected)
April – early May 2026
Mandatory two-week Pre-Academic Training begins in Maastricht
First week of August 2026