2026–2027 UM Global Studies Scholarship in Netherland | Fully Funded
One scholarship. That’s the actual number Maastricht University awards each year for its Global Studies programme — not a cohort, not a handful of places, but a single, comprehensive award given to one top-performing candidate annually. The 2026-27 application window closed February 1, 2026, shortlisted candidates went through online interviews afterwards, and final selection was confirmed by June 2026.
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This year’s sole scholar is, as of this writing, either just completing or about to begin a mandatory two-week Pre-Academic Training in August 2026, ahead of starting their studies in September. If you’re weighing whether to apply for the next cycle, understanding just how selective a single-recipient scholarship actually is should shape your expectations from the outset.
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A Programme Built From Six Faculties, Funding a Single Student
Global Studies at Maastricht University is a genuinely distinctive interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree, deliberately built by combining academic expertise from six separate faculties rather than sitting within a single department. Students engage with politics, economics, culture, sustainability, and global governance as interconnected subjects rather than siloed disciplines, working toward analyzing and proposing solutions to problems that don’t respect traditional academic or national boundaries.
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The programme’s structure reflects that ambition directly — students undertake a local or international field study, a genuine applied project with an NGO, government body, or company solving a real-world problem, and an interdisciplinary bachelor’s thesis by the time they graduate.
The scholarship funding this programme for international students from the Global South sits within a broader portfolio of UM scholarships, including the considerably larger NL-High Potential Scholarship (which funds 21 Master’s students annually with a reported 2 per cent acceptance rate), the Brightlands Talent Scholarship for innovation-focused programmes, and the UM Social Justice Scholarship. The Global Studies Scholarship is the specific bachelor’s-level award within that ecosystem, and its single-recipient structure makes it, in relative terms, one of the more exclusive individual scholarships covered on this site.
UM Global Studies Scholarship Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | UM Global Studies |
| Host Country ⇒ | Netherlands |
| Study Level ⇒ | Undergraduate |
| Benefits ⇒ | Full tuition, €15,925/year living expenses, insurance, visa costs, mandatory Pre-Academic Training |
| Funded by ⇒ | Maastricht University |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | Countries on the OECD’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) list |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | 2026-27 cycle closed February 1, 2026, 23:59 CET. Final selection, following online interviews, was confirmed by June 2026. Based on the pattern of UM’s sibling scholarships, the 2027-28 cycle is expected to open around October 2026 |
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for the UM Global Studies Scholarship, applicants generally need to meet the following:
- You must hold nationality from a country on the OECD’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility list
- You must meet visa and residence permit requirements for studying in the Netherlands — if you hold a Schengen residence permit, it must remain valid until at least September 2 of your intake year
- You must not hold dual citizenship with an EU/EEA country, or with any country not on the ODA list
- You must have applied for admission to the Global Studies bachelor’s programme at UM for the relevant academic year, through Studielink
- You must meet the standard academic admission requirements for the Global Studies programme itself
- You must not already hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification
- You must be 35 years old or younger by September 1 of your intake year
- You must agree to serve as an active Global Studies and UM ambassador, both during and after your studies
- You may apply only once — incomplete applications or missing documents are not accepted, and applications cannot be edited after submission
How Selection Actually Works
Beyond the paperwork, this scholarship includes a step not always mentioned in shorter summaries: shortlisted candidates are invited to an online interview as part of the final selection process. Given that only one scholarship is awarded, this interview stage carries real weight — it’s the point where the university moves beyond assessing your documents alone to directly evaluating your fit, communication, and genuine motivation. Final selections, following these interviews, are typically confirmed and announced by June, giving successful candidates roughly two months before the programme’s mandatory Pre-Academic Training begins in August.
What the Scholarship Provides
The Global Studies Scholarship offers comprehensive coverage across the full three-year programme:
- Full tuition fees, paid directly to Maastricht University for the entire duration of the programme
- Living expenses of €15,925 per year, disbursed monthly at approximately €1,225
- Full health and liability insurance, covering the duration of your studies
- All visa application costs
- Pre-academic training expenses, covering the mandatory two-week orientation programme held in August ahead of the academic year’s start
- Participation costs for the ISAP programme during your first academic block
- A small miscellaneous allowance, reported around €90
It’s worth being clear about two specific conditions attached to this funding: airfare to the Netherlands is not included and remains the recipient’s own responsibility, and scholarship recipients must accept the accommodation UM arranges for them — refusing the assigned housing results in the scholarship being cancelled outright, not simply a loss of the housing benefit alone.
Required Documents
Applications must be submitted in PDF, DOC, or DOCX format, and include:
- A Curriculum Vitae, capped at a maximum of two pages, covering your education, achievements, extracurricular activities, and any awards
- A motivation letter, written using UM’s own provided template, focused specifically on your motivation for both the scholarship and the Global Studies programme itself
- Proof of academic excellence — your high school or prior education transcript, showing at least 75 per cent of the maximum available grade
- A personal statement of financial need, describing your financial circumstances and explaining why the scholarship is genuinely necessary for you
- A reference letter from a former professor, teacher, or employer — family members are not accepted as referees — following UM’s specific reference letter guidelines and dated after a specified cutoff date tied to the relevant application cycle
- Referee contact details, including their relationship to you, an official work phone number with country code, and their institutional email address
Because applications cannot be edited or supplemented with new documents after submission, treat your first submission as final — there’s no opportunity to correct an oversight or add a missing document afterwards.
How to Apply for the Next Cycle
- Apply for admission to the Global Studies bachelor’s programme at Maastricht University through Studielink, ensuring you meet all admission requirements well ahead of the scholarship deadline.
- Once you receive your UM student ID number from your Studielink application, use it to access the scholarship application form itself.
- Prepare your two-page CV, UM-template motivation letter, academic transcripts, personal statement of financial need, and reference letter well in advance, since your referee needs enough notice to write and submit a letter that follows UM’s specific guidelines.
- Confirm whether your specific admission programme requires a separate handling fee, which the UM International Services Desk does not cover and which you’re responsible for paying by the relevant deadline.
- Log in with your UM account, complete the scholarship application form, and upload every required document before submission — double-check everything, since you can only apply once and cannot edit afterwards.
- If shortlisted, prepare for an online interview as part of the final selection stage.
- If selected, be prepared to accept UM’s arranged accommodation and attend the mandatory two-week Pre-Academic Training in August ahead of your studies beginning.
Application Deadline
The 2026-27 cycle’s application deadline was February 1, 2026, at 23:59 CET, and has closed. Online interviews for shortlisted candidates followed, with final selection confirmed by June 2026. Based on the consistent structure of UM’s sibling scholarships — including the NL-High Potential Scholarship, which has confirmed an application window running October 1, 2026, to February 1, 2027 — the Global Studies Scholarship’s next cycle is likely to follow a similar pattern, opening around October 2026 and closing February 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the UM Global Studies Scholarship still accepting applications for 2026-27?
No. The deadline was February 1, 2026, and this year’s single recipient has already been selected, currently completing mandatory Pre-Academic Training ahead of studies beginning in September 2026.
How many students receive this scholarship each year?
Just one. Maastricht University awards a single, comprehensive Global Studies Scholarship annually, making it a genuinely highly selective individual award.
Is there an interview involved in the selection process?
Yes. Shortlisted candidates are invited to an online interview as part of final selection, alongside the written application materials.
Does the scholarship cover my flight to the Netherlands?
No. Airfare is explicitly not included and remains the recipient’s own financial responsibility.
What happens if I don’t want the housing UM assigns me?
Refusing the arranged accommodation results in the scholarship being cancelled entirely — accepting the assigned housing is a mandatory condition of holding the award, not an optional perk.
Can I apply if I already hold a bachelor’s degree?
No. Applicants must not already hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification to be eligible for this specific scholarship.
Disclaimer: All programme details, deadlines, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on Maastricht University’s official Global Studies Scholarship page before applying. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with Maastricht University.
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