VU Fellowship Programme (VUFP)

The VU Fellowship Programme (VUFP) offers talented prospective non- EU/ EEA students the unique opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. VU Amsterdam has committed to providing approximately 1 million euros towards attracting highly motivated and excellent students.

Eligible candidates  

• • You hold a non- EU/ EEA passport and you are not eligible for the lower tuition fee.
  • You do not have the Dutch nationality.
  • You can prove your academic excellence (GPA equivalent to a Dutch 8).
  • 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 2025. Please note that:
    • students starting in February cannot apply,
    • joint programmes where VU Amsterdam does not administer the admission process are excluded from VUFP.
  • The degree with which you are seeking admission has not been obtained in the Netherlands.
  • You do not need to complete a preparatory programme before the start of your Master.

 Information about GPA requirements

We base our grade conversion on data collected by expert institutions, such as ECCTIS (UK). The comparison between the Dutch and foreign grade is based on grade distribution statistics, so how often a certain grade is given. This methodology ensures that a student who is successful in one country will be regarded as equally successful in another country. This way, we ensure all applications are treated fairly and equally. It is important to realize that grade comparison is not as simple as calculating that the grade 8 out of 10 is equivalent to, for example 80%, 16/20 or 3.2/4.

Furthermore, a grade 8 or higher is considered a very high and therefore a quite rare grade in the Netherlands, as a result of Dutch grading culture. This means that only a small portion of students will graduate with a GPA of at least an 8 out of 10. Thus, when we compare Dutch grades to foreign grades, only a small portion of the distribution of foreign grades qualifies for the minimum GPA requirement to apply for the VUFP Scholarship. Moreover, meeting the minimum GPA requirement is only a minimum that should be reached so we accept and process your application, and is by no means a guarantee to actually be offered the VUFP Scholarship. The total score used to rank all applicants is based on several factors, of which GPA is only one. 

Other factors (such as your motivation for this university/specific programme, future ambitions, extracurricular activities, etc. – please see the application form for more detail) also play a significant part in the scoring process. In addition, as we can offer only a small number of scholarships to a large number of applicants, only a very small percentage of all VUFP Scholarship applicants are offered this scholarship in the end.

 VUFP and 2 year programmes

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.

Students already enrolled in a two-year Master’s programme who have not been awarded the VUFP scholarship in 2024/2025 are not eligible to apply for the VUFP scholarship for 2025/2026.

Scholarship amount

The VUFP scholarship covers the tuition fees only. It does not provide any additional allowance towards study or living costs, like rent, food, insurances. Be aware that you must be able to finance these living expenses by yourself.

Combining the VUFP with the NL Scholarship (formerly Holland Scholarship Programme)

When applying for the VUFP scholarship, you automatically also apply for the NL Scholarship (formerly HSP). No separate application is necessary.

NL Scholarship is a contribution towards the costs of living. It is €5,000 EUR or €10,000 for the entire duration of your study period. Please note:

• The NL Scholarship is awarded only for the first year of your study programme. You will not receive the NL Scholarship for the second year of your studies even if you are following a two-year study programme.
• We have around 20- 25 NLS scholarships available. Only a few of the VUFP awardees will get the NL Scholarship.

Application procedure

Step 1: Register for a Master’s programme (from 1 October 2024)  
Register for a Master’s programme in Studielink and after that in your personal dashboard on vu.nl. Here you can find more information on how to apply for one of our English-taught Master’s programmes. 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 2024

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 2024)
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 2025 (23:59 CET)

To apply please fill out the VUFP-NLS application 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 – 10.

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:

• 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.
• 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 2025 (23:59 CET) 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 2025 (6 weeks after the deadline).

Step 5: Acceptance of VUFP or NL Scholarship 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:

• You can accept/decline the offer in your personal VU dashboard on vu.nl.
• If you do not take action within 2 weeks after receiving the results, the offer will be withdrawn.
• There are fewer NL scholarships than VUFP. This means that not all VUFP recipients will receive NL Scholarship.
• If you have not been awarded VUFP, you also have not been awarded NL Scholarship.
• A scholarship granted for one academic year cannot be postponed to another academic year.

VUFP and Semester in Amsterdam

One VUFP scholarship will be reserved for an applicant who previously completed a semester or full academic year abroad at VU Amsterdam via the Semester in Amsterdam programme and who is now applying for a full-time Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam. If you are applying as a Semester in Amsterdam alumnus or alumna, please complete the regular application procedure and then email semesterinamsterdam@vu.nl to inform the staff that you applied for a VUFP scholarship.

Conditions VUFP Scholarship Programme

The conditions for the VUFP Scholarship Programme can be found here.