Amsterdam Merit Scholarships (AMS)

The Univeristy of Amsterdam aims to attract the world's brightest students to its international classrooms. As from September 2007, outstanding students from outside the European Economic Area can apply for an Amsterdam Merit Scholarship.

The Amsterdam Merit Scholarships (AMS) have specifically been designed by the Universiteit van Amsterdam to offer talented and hard-working non-EU/EEA students the opportunity to pursue a degree in one of the academic fields covered by the UvA. The AMS programme is highly selective: only applicants with excellent study results and motivation may receive a scholarship.

Eligibility
Applicants to one of the English-taught, selective Master's programmes of the Graduate School of Social Sciences (GSSS) must meet the eligibility criteria in order to be considered for the AMS scholarship. The applicant should:

• hold non-EEA nationality or nationalities only
• not be entitled to receive a Dutch study grant or loan ("Studiefinanciering")
• not be eligible to pay the reduced tuition fee rate for EEA students at the UvA
• not receive a full coverage scholarship for the same period of study as the AMS scholarship
• have submitted a complete application to one of the English-taught, selective Master's programmes of the GSSS
• have been (or will be) admitted to one of the English-taught, selective Master's programmes of the GSSS
• be enrolled at the time of receipt of the scholarship as a full time student in one of the English-taught, selective Master's programmes offered by the GSSS
• be able to comply with the conditions to obtain a Dutch visa (if applicable)
• demonstrate a financial need.

Failure to meet one or more of these criteria automatically means that the student is not eligible for an AMS scholarship.

• Their academic excellence and promise in the proposed field, as evidenced by their academic records, letters of recommendation, written work and/or publications and their proposed research questions;
• The quality of their letter of motivation.

Equally qualified candidates will be ranked by country of origin* , and extracurricular activities.

* Candidates from countries on the DAC list of ODA recipients, from non-EU signatories of the Bologna treaty and from Market and Innovation countries (Russia, Brazil, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam) will have preference.

• Motivation letter for the scholarship
• A comprehensive financial plan that shows expected income from all sources and all costs, to provide insight in the additional funds needed from a scholarship in order to finance participation in the Master's programme.
• A research proposal, detailing your areas of interest and what you wish to research during your time at the GSSS.

When to apply?
Applications for an AMS scholarship should be submitted before 1 April when enrolling in September. For students wishing to start their studies in February, the deadline is 1 August.

Selection
Only students who have been admitted to one of the English-taught, selective Master's programmes of the GSSS can be awarded a scholarship. Students are selected on the basis of academic merit. Selection will take place in May and again in October. Applicants will be informed before the end of May or October.

The scholarship
The scholarship consists of € 6,000, € 9,000 or € 12,000, but awards are based on the comprehensive financial plan, which should demonstrate the extent of the need for additional funding. Please note that the scholarship cannot be used as a (partial) tuition waiver. The applicant must still pay the full amount of tuition due. Scholarship holders will receive their grant in monthly instalments.

Conditions
Amsterdam Merit Scholarships are only awarded to applicants who have been admitted to one of the English-taught, selective Master's programmes of the GSSS upon enrolment. A scholarship granted for one academic year cannot be transferred to another academic year. Students who are granted an Amsterdam Merit Scholarship are required to assent to the conditions applying to the scholarship in writing before the scholarship will be remitted.

Questions
If you have any questions please email Ms. Sarah Kobus at S.M.Kobus@uva.nl.

HSP Huygens 2009

The prestigious HSP Huygens Programme is open to excellent students (top 5 - 10 %) from all countries of the world. It is aimed at talented students who want to come to the Netherlands in the final phase of their Bachelor's studies or during their Master's studies. The Dutch Minister for Education, Culture and Science has made four million euros available for excellent students coming to the Netherlands under the HSP Huygens Programme. There is no fixed number of available scholarships, but the actual number is determined by the total cost of the variable components of the scholarships.

For more information, please visit the NUFFIC website.

For nomination letters, please email Ms. Sarah Kobus at S.M.Kobus@uva.nl.

To obtain a nomination letter, you should first send in your official application to one of our programmes. For an overview of our programmes and for information about how to apply to our programmes, see the links below.

Please send in your complete application at least two months before the deadline of the Huygens scholarship, so no later than December.

Scholarships for Student Representatives - Bestuursbeurzen

GSSS students that are members of a programme committee (opleidingscommissie) or another official student representative body (not including SAP, which has its own arrangements), such as the Facultaire Studentenraad can apply for a bestuursbeurs (scholarship for student representatives).

The amount of the scholarship for a one-year period as a student representative is equal to two months of student funding by the IBG (mostly Dutch students) or about EUR 500 for students with no right to Dutch student funding. It will be less if the period was shorter than a year. The scholarship will be paid in one instalment after the end of the period of student representation.

Students need to apply for this scholarship with Student Services directly. If you need help filling out the form, please consulte the registrar. The conditions for receiving the bestuursbeurs are as follows:

The conditions for receiving the bestuursbeurs are as follows:

• Applicants need to be registered as full-time students
• Applicants need to be a member of an official body of student representation and need to have proof of that (a letter by the relevant body stating the membership)
• Applicants need to apply for the scholarship within three months after the end of their period of representation work through the official form (which is in Dutch, please ask a programme manager or the Registrar to assist you if needed)
• Applicants need an overview from the IBG stating the amount of their student funding or, if they do not receive student funding from IBG, need to specify this in an accompanying letter
• Applicants need to enclose an official overview of their study results (available from the Registrar)

Other scholarships

The GSSS does not offer or administer other scholarships than the ones mentioned here above. There are however many funds and foundations that may be available to our students from particular countries. Students are advised to consult:

• The main scholarship pages of the University of Amsterdam
• The study abroad office of their home or previous university
• The Dutch Embassy in their country of residence
• The Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC) - including the useful link Grantfinder.
• The GSSS/ISHSS scholarship Wiki.

Deadlines for application for scholarships

If you wish to apply for a scholarship, please keep in mind the deadlines for application to a programme.

If you require a nomination letter for application to the Huygens scholarship, please send in your application to the programme of your choice no later than 1 December.

If you wish to apply to the Amsterdam Merit Scholarship, please send in the required documents, along with the application to the programme of your choice no later than 1 April if you wish to begin your studies in September, and 1 August if you wish to begin your studies in February.

Students who are applying for a scholarship and therefore need early notification of admission, are advised to apply at least 3 months before the desired date of notification, and before applying for the scholarship itself. Please indicate with your application the date by which you need to receive notification. Timely handling will be aimed for, but cannot be guaranteed.