Maastricht University NL-High Potential Scholarship 2027

The NL-High Potential Scholarship is Maastricht University's own award for international Masters applicants. It is not restricted to a faculty or a subject list, so any of the university's Masters programmes can be the destination, and the selection turns on the strength of the candidate rather than on the field.

Who can apply

The scholarship is open to applicants of all nationalities at Masters level, in any field the university teaches. There is no home-country nomination step and no separate shortlist of eligible countries, which is unusual for a fully funded European award and makes the competition genuinely open.

What the award covers

The package is complete rather than a fee reduction. Living expenses are paid directly to the student by the university's International Services Desk: €20,150 for a thirteen-month programme or €38,750 for a twenty-five-month one, depending on the length of the Masters. Health and liability insurance is arranged and paid for by the same desk, and visa application costs are covered. Having the university handle the insurance and visa administration matters more than the sums suggest, because those are the two steps where international students most often lose weeks.

Deadline and how to apply

Applications are open from 1 October 2026 until 1 February 2027 at 23:59. The window is four months wide, but the scholarship sits on top of an admission application to the Masters programme itself, and that has its own documents and processing time. Starting the programme application in January leaves no room for anything to go wrong.

Before you apply

Check which of the two funding amounts applies to your chosen programme, since a one-year and a two-year Masters are funded very differently. Then work backwards from the admission requirements of that specific programme rather than from the scholarship page, because admission is the gate that decides everything else.