Grantfinder
Huygens Programme
Socrates Programme
Leonardo Programme
Tempus Programme
The Dutch government is attempting to make Dutch higher education as accessible
as possible to students from other countries. It is concluding agreements with
other governments that ensure the mutual recognition of diplomas and study
credits. The Dutch government is even co-operative in a financial sense.
The easiest and cheapest way to study in the Netherlands is through an exchange
programme. Many Dutch higher education institutions have exchange agreements
with partner institutions in other countries. Exchange programmes and agreements
are often limited to specific fields or disciplines. About the possibilities you
should ask your own university or college. If you decide to come to the
Netherlands independently rather than in connection with an exchange programme,
you must realize that you need to start planning at least a year in advance. It
takes time to investigate the possibilities for obtaining funding and
transferring credits, and to obtain the residence permit (MVV) you might
need. The Dutch government does not make any scholarships available for foreign
students who wish to take a Dutch degree programme at a university or university
of professional education (“hogeschool”). With the exception of students
from EU member states who wish to study certain subjects, foreign students are
eligible for the student grants and loans that the Dutch government provides for
permanent residents. There are several possibilities for funding, however, which
are described briefly below.
Grantfinder.nl
"Grantfinder" helps international students find
scholarships for study in the Netherlands. The Grantfinder went online on
Monday, 24 January 2005. This new search engine is aimed at international
students and research staff who are looking for sources of funding for their
studies in the Netherlands.
Grantfinder is an initiative of Nuffic, the Netherlands Organisation for
International Cooperation in Higher Education. It is the first search engine
specifically designed to bringtogether all sources of funding available to
international undergraduate and postgraduate students looking to study in the
Netherlands.
International students do not generally qualify for normal undergraduate student
grants from the Dutch government, yet there are many other sources of funding
available to them. These range from private scholarship programmes to
scholarships and funds provided by universities and other higher education
institutions. Some sources of funding are made available through government
departments, such as the Netherlands Fellowships Programme that awards grants to
students from developing countries.
After logging on the Grantfinder just enter a few search criteria, such as your
home country and your intended field of study, and then select the scholarships
that you are interested in. Easc scholarship available is presented together
with details of the qualification criteria and other relevant information, such
as how much it is worth, how long it is available for, whether there are any age
restrictions, and how to apply. The Grantfinder only shows the information that
is relevant to the user, so a sociologist, for example, does not have to wade
through a list of scholarships only availavle to mathematics graduates.
The are currently around 30,000 international students at higher
education institutions in the Netherlands. Government policy is designed to
attract academic talent, top students and innovative researches to the
Netherlands. An international environment with talanted minds from other parts
of the world is an essential ingredient if our higher education in the
Netherlands is tp compete with the rest of the world. And we can only expand our
knowledge-based economy if we can compete.
Nuffic already has extensive experience with this type of search engine in the
form of Beursopener, a website designed to help Dutch students find scholarships
and grants that will allow them to study abroad. See www.beursopener.nl for more
information.
Huygens Programme
HUYGENS Programme (High-level University Year to Gain
Excellence in the Netherlands) is a scholarship programme, which fosters an
influx of outstanding foreign students from countries with which the Netherlands
has concluded a Cultural Agreement and from countries with which the Dutch
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has concluded agreements regarding
the award of scholarships. Programme offers an opportunity to study for a period
of three to ten months at a Dutch university or hogeschool (university of
professional education) or at one of the eligible research institutes in the
Netherlands. HUYGENS scholarships are meant for students up to the age of 35,
who have recently graduated and already hold or are nearing completion of a
higher education programme and are about to be awarded a higher education degree
or diploma. A committee of experts selects the most qualified students. NUFFIC
(the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education)
is responsible for managing and implementing the HUYGENS Programme.
For more information please contact HSP website.
Socrates Programme
SOCRATES Programme is meant to encourage co-operation among the higher education
institutions of Europe and is aimed for supporting students who wish to complete
part of their studies in another European country. A SOCRATES scholarship covers
a period of three to 12 months; the amount of the scholarship varies
considerably, depending on the length of the study period, the destination and
the student’s home country. Your own institution must have a bilateral
agreement with an institution in the Netherlands prior to your period of study
abroad. Latvian nationals are also eligible for this programme. More information
can be found at Nuffic.
Leonardo Programme
LEONARDO Programme is the European vocational training programme for
professional education and finances internships in the Netherlands for periods
of three to 12 months. Latvian nationals are also eligible for this programme.
Tempus Programme
TEMPUS Programme enables universities in a number of countries in Eastern
Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region to
establish partnerships in the European Union that help them to restructure their
higher education systems. The programme provides scholarships for students
exchange only within such partnerships. Latvian nationals are also eligible for
this programme.
Information about internationalisation in Dutch education is
available at het Europees Platform voor het Nederlandse Onderwijs.
The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes
The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) are demand-driven
fellowship programmes designed to foster capacity building within organizations
in 57 developing countries by providing training and education to their
mid-career staff members.
The NFP are funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign
Affairs from the budget for development cooperation.
Employer support
The need for education and training must occur within the
organization of the applicant. This means that applicants must be nominated by
their employers. In fact, applications without the support of an employer will
not be considered.
NFP sub-programmes
-
Fellowships for master’s degree programmes
-
Fellowships for PhD studies
-
Fellowships for short courses
NFP master’s, NFP short courses and NFP PhD studies award fellowships to
individuals. NFP also finances tailor-made training courses that are designed to
meet the specific training needs of an organization in one of the NFP countries.
NFP Refresher Courses finances courses for NFP alumni who would like to prolong
the effect of earlier learning and update their knowledge and skills.
Applying for NFP
Applicants for PhD studies, master’s degree programmes or short courses
must first gain academic admission to the course of their choice before applying
for a fellowship through the Netherlands embassy or consulate in their country.
Also, they can only apply for an NFP fellowship if the course is on the NFP
course list for that particular year.
In all cases, applicants are advised to contact the Netherlands embassy,
consulate or Neso well in advance for specific instructions, and to inquire
about specific local procedures and deadlines, requirements and selection
criteria. These may differ from the general information provided on Nuffic’s
website or in the brochures.
Scholarship search engine
Grantfinder is the online search engine which brings together a range of
Dutch scholarships for international students who wish to come to the
Netherlands. Visit www.grantfinder.nl.
