NL Scholarship (formerly Holland Scholarship)

The national award is 5,000 euros, paid once, during the first year of study, even on a two-year programme. It can be received only once in a lifetime. The participating universities stress that it is a contribution, not a full scholarship: it does not cover tuition fees or the full cost of living in the Netherlands.

Some universities add to it. Utrecht University lists NL Scholarship amounts of 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 euros for its master's programmes, while the University of Groningen and Radboud University offer 5,000 euros. At Radboud the NL Scholarship always comes together with the university's own Radboud Scholarship Programme: applicants must apply for both, and can receive both or only the Radboud award, but never the NL Scholarship alone.

Applicants must hold the nationality of a country outside the EEA (the EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and must be applying for a full-time bachelor's or master's programme at a participating institution, meeting its admission requirements. Anyone with a degree from a Dutch institution is not eligible. Universities add their own conditions. Utrecht and Groningen, for example, exclude anyone entitled to the lower EU and EEA tuition fee or Dutch student finance, and anyone previously enrolled at a Dutch institution, although an exchange during a degree taken elsewhere does not count.

Not every programme at a participating university takes part. Radboud University opens its English-taught master's programmes but excludes Erasmus Mundus and joint-degree masters, and Utrecht asks applicants to check each master's page to see whether the NL Scholarship is offered. For 2026-27, 11 research universities took part, including Eindhoven, Groningen, Maastricht, Radboud, Twente, Utrecht, VU Amsterdam and Wageningen, with 23 universities of applied sciences and arts schools.

Selection is done by each institution, usually by a committee in the faculty that runs the programme. The criteria published by the universities are similar. Groningen assesses academic excellence, ambition and relevant experience: grades, test scores, research and publications, the quality of previous education, the motivation letter and activities such as internships and volunteering, then ranks the candidates. Radboud weighs academic excellence (results, the relevance of the previous degree, the standing of the previous university) and ambition (motivation, achievements, life experience).

Utrecht adds a third test: the quality and feasibility of a financial plan. Because the scholarship covers only part of the cost, applicants fill in a statement of financial resources showing how they will pay for the rest of the programme, from savings or other funding.

Applications for 2026-27 opened on 1 November 2025, and each institution sets its own deadline. For September 2026 entry, Utrecht and Groningen closed on 1 February 2026 at 23:59 Central European Time. Radboud's deadline for 2027-28 is 31 January 2027, with the file complete by 14 February 2027. Results follow in spring: Groningen aims to notify applicants by 15 March, and Utrecht and Radboud around mid-April.