UM Global Studies Scholarship

The Global Studies bachelor-level study programme trains students to understand and develop solutions for complex global issues, crossing disciplinary and geographical boundaries. The study programme is unique in the Netherlands for having six faculties, each with their disciplinary expertise, contribute equally to the educational content of the programme. 

The study programme offers students the opportunity to perform a field study in the global south, develop an intervention for a societal problem presented by a NGO, government, agency, firm or a school and write an interdisciplinary bachelor thesis.

The UM Global Studies Scholarship offers one full coverage scholarship (including a tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) per academic year for a selected number of top-performing bachelor students from the Global South with personal development potential who have been (conditionally) admitted to the Global Studies study programme.

Target group: bachelor students with proven academic excellence and personal development potential, that have been (conditionally) admitted to the Global Studies study programme.

Who is eligible?
Duration of the UM Global Studies Scholarship
Amount of the UM Global Studies Scholarship programme 2024-2025
Application procedure
Selection procedure
Student testimonials

Who is eligible?

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

  • You hold the nationality of a country in the Global South, here defined as countries in Africa, Asia (including the Middle-East), Latin-America and the Caribbean based on the definition of the OECD in column 1; least developed, column 2;low income , column 3 lower middle-income or Venezuela  and meet the requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands. Please check this website before you apply to see in which country you have to collect your MVV visa for the Netherlands.

     If you already have a residence permit for another Schengen country , you can only apply if this residence permit is still valid until at least 2 September 2025. If your residence permit expires before 2 September 2025 you can only apply for the Scholarship from your home country via a MVV visa application. More information can be found on the webpages of the Visa Office.

     

  • You do not have a dual nationality from a country in the Global North
  • You have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands. Students who have completed exchange programmes in the Netherlands are welcome to apply
  • You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2025
  • You agree to become an active Global Studies and UM ambassador during and after your studies, by committing to share your experiences during at least one (information) session for students and/or other stakeholders
  • You have applied for admission  to the Global Studies study programme at UM for the 2025-2026 academic year

Application deadline

The application deadline is up to and including 1 February 2025, 23:59CET

Duration of the UM Global Studies Scholarship

  • 36 months for the bachelor's programme in Global Studies

Amount of the UM Global Studies Scholarship programme 2025-2026

Living expenses15,925  per academic yearPaid to students by the UM International Services Desk
Health & liability insuranceAt costArranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Visa application costsAt costArranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Tuition feesAt cost per  academic year*Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Pre-Academic Training costsAt costArranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
International StudentAmbassador Programme (ISAP)At cost for first block onlyArranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk

*This amount is subject to change for academic year 2026-2027

Please note that a mandatory part of the Scholarship is a room that will be allocated to you. Accepting the Scholarship means, you accept the room. The accommodation provided to Scholarship students is not suitable for partners/spouses and/or children. Preferences with regard to the accommodation f.e. religious beliefs will be taken into account. Refusing the room means your Scholarship will be cancelled.  

The amount of € 15,925 for living expenses (€ 1,225 per month) covers the following expenses and can be broken down as follows (amounts are subject to change):

  • Housing: € 600
  • Groceries and personal hygiene: €160
  • Telephone: € 60
  • Travel: € 100
  • Books and study materials: € 90
  • Clothing, hobbies and going out: € 125
  • Miscellaneous: € 90

Application procedure

Step 1: Register for the Global Studies programme at Maastricht University
For further details on how to register for a bachelor programme at UM, please see the website of Global Studies. Once you have submitted your application via Studielink, you will receive a student ID number for UM. You will need a student number in order to complete and submit the Scholarship Application Form.

  • Please note: you first have to apply for the bachelor programme at UM to receive your student ID, as soon as you have your student ID you can apply for the scholarship. However, you must meet all admission requirements, except legal residence, of your master programme before the Scholarship deadline. Please be aware that the admission deadline may differ to the Scholarship deadline.
  • Please note: if you have to pay a handling fee as part of the programme’s admissions procedure, the UM International Services Desk does not cover handling fees. You are responsible for paying any handling fee your programme may require by 1 February 2025. To check whether the programme requires the payment of a handling fee, please check here.

Step 2: Please fill in the application form, you need to log in with your UM account
You can find the application form here. Upload the following documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format, and submit your application. Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date. 

  • Curriculum Vitae
    Your CV should be up-to-date; contain relevant information about your education and (job) experience; include proven previous extracurricular engagement with your previous (academic) organisation/high school and active citizenship in your community; and should not be longer than two A4 pages. If you have received any awards or prizes, please do not forget to mention these on your CV.
  • Letter of motivation
    Please use the template for the motivation letter. This template will focus on your motivation for the scholarship.
  • Proof of academic excellence
    Continuous good to excellent results during your prior (high school) education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript.
  • Personal statement of financial needs
    Please explain why you would benefit from being awarded a scholarship and describe your personal circumstances such as financial difficulty, sole parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status, et cetera.
  • A reference letter
    We have prepared scholarship reference letter guidelines; please print these out or forward them to your referee, as they will help your referee to write a good reference letter on your behalf. Please note that the referee must be a (former) professor, teacher, principal, college counsellor, lecturer, or employer, and not a family member. Recommendation letters should be dated and written no earlier than 1 February 2024. Letters that do not adhere to the guidelines are not taken into account, which means your application is incomplete. You need to upload the reference letter, this cannot be done by your referee. We trust you in this and we can check your reference
  • The contact details of one referee
    Please note that we might check the authenticity of your referee by contacting your referee. Therefore, ensure that you take the following steps when choosing a referee and submitting their details:
    • Relationship to applicant; indicate your referee’s connection to you. Is this your (former) professor, teacher, principal, college counsellor, lecturer, or employer? Please remember that family members may not function as referees.
    • Work telephone number of your referee; be sure to include the applicable country calling code.
    • Work or institutional email address of your referee. Letters referencing only a personal email address will be rejected, unless a valid reason is provided.

Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date.

Step 1Register for the bachelor
programme via Studielink.nl  
Step 2Fill out the application form  
You need to log in with your UM account

Selection procedure

  • Step 1: The UM International Services Desk checks if all applications are complete after 1 February 2025.
     
  • Step 2: The UM Scholarship Office forwards your application to the Global Studies admission office.
     
  • Step 3: The Global Studies admission office - in cooperation with the respective programme coordinator(s) - ranks your application based on the UM scholarship selection criteria and proposes a top-5 to the Global Studies Scholarship selection committee in April 2025.
     
  • Step 4: The Global Studies Scholarship selection committee (composed of the Global Studies academic programme coordinator, and representatives of the UM Scholarship Office) invites the top-5 applicants for an online interview, following which a decision is taken. In case you are not selected, you will be added to a reserve list in case the selected candidate(s) decline(s) the scholarship. 
     
  • Step 5: The UM International Services Desk will inform all candidates of their application status in May 2025. Your status will be selected, waitlisted or rejected by the beginning of June 2025 at the latest. Waitlisted application statuses will be changed to selected or rejected by June 2025. Scholarship awardees will receive more information about the UM Pre-Academic Training programme and arrival in Maastricht upon receiving their award letters. The UM Pre-Academic Training is a two week mandatory component of the UM Global Studies Scholarship programme. The Pre-Academic Training takes place in the first week of August 2025.
     
  • Step 6: You must sign and return the award letter to the UM International Services Desk to accept the scholarship.

Student testimonials

FASoS - bachelor’s in Global studies
Tho Thi

Thanh Pham

FASoS - bachelor’s in Global studies

"Before coming to Maastricht, I found the programme suitable to me as it has many dimensions that interest me and I haven’t found this combination in other programmes. 

The more I work with UM, the more I like it. The admission was straight forward, and I love the admission site where I upload my documents. To be honest, it is the best admission site among all the schools I applied for. When I needed support during my application, I always received an email with an answer the next day. After one semester here, there is one thing know for sure when it comes to UM: I will always have support. Which is an important aspect for international students like me who are not familiar with a lot of things in the Netherlands.

So far, I am really enjoying my time here at UM. I feel that I am cared for by others, especially within the programme. Our feedback is welcome and the programme does take actions towards improving the courses based on our feedback. 

The Problem-Based Learning system is pretty new to me, but I really enjoy the tutorials. My tutorial groups in the last semester, including the tutor, brought me a warm atmosphere where I felt comfortable to share my opinion. 

Also, Maastricht is a lovely city. After traveling to many other cities in the Netherlands, I really find Maastricht to be the right choice. It has a rich historical vibe which I love, as well as a vibrant student life. The hustle and living pace here are just perfect to me. And Maastricht is perfectly located for travelling."

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