Amsterdam Merit Scholarships (AMS), Netherlands

The University of Amsterdam offers Master’s Scholarships to outstanding students from outside the European Economic Area.

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.

Selection criteria
We have a limited number of scholarships. The best eligible candidates are selected for a scholarship on the basis of the following criteria:

• 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.

Scholarship value
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 installments.

Application deadline

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.

Further scholarship details and application procedures can be found at http://studentenserviceplein.uva.nl/en/service-point/content/grants-scholarships-and-loans/amsterdam-merit-scholarship/gsss.html