Master of Science in Sustainable Land Management, an ICP Connect Scholarship by VLIRUOS

Benefits & funding

• Twelve full ICP Connect scholarships were offered for the 2026–2028 intake.
• The scholarship covers the full 24-month programme, including tuition, travel, insurance, and living expenses.
• Under the current VLIR-UOS framework, the all-in study allowance is €1,400 per month and includes living costs, accommodation, health insurance, installation costs, indirect travel costs, and tuition.
• Scholars are also entitled to economy travel to Belgium at the start and return travel to their country of residence at the end.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be nationals of and reside in one of these eligible countries when applying: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Palestine, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, or Vietnam. Nationality and residence may be in different countries on this list.
• Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree of at least three years in sciences, applied sciences, or engineering, with at least upper-second-class results or equivalent and 15 ECTS of specified basic sciences.
• English proficiency must meet CEFR B2, TOEFL iBT 79, or IELTS Academic 6.5 unless an official exemption applies.
• Applicants must be no older than 35 on 1 January of the intake year.
• Applicants may submit only one ICP Connect scholarship application per year and may not hold another scholarship or grant for the same study period.
• Applicants must not previously have received a Belgian-government scholarship for a study programme or enrolled at a Belgian higher education institution before 1 January of the intake year.
• Employment in higher education, government, or civil society is preferred but is not required; recent graduates and private-sector candidates without work experience may still be considered with a strong profile.

Application process

1. 1
   Choose Land and Groundwater Management through Ghent University or Urban Land Engineering through Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
2. 2
   Complete the relevant university admission application and select or submit the linked VLIR-UOS scholarship route.
3. 3
   Upload degree certificates, transcripts, a motivation letter, CV, and proof of English proficiency.
4. 4
   Add two recommendation letters for the VLIR-UOS scholarship application and submit by the programme deadline.

Program timeline

1. 1 October 2025

   Applications opened for the 2026–2028 intake.

2. VLIR-UOS scholarship application deadline.

   1 February 2026

3. Programme begins.

   September 2026

4. Programme ends.

   September 2028