Financial support UU during study delay

If you have experienced study delays due to circumstances beyond your control, Utrecht University can, in some cases, provide financial support through the student support scheme for financial support in cases of circumstances beyond one’s control (FinSCO, formerly known as graduation support). It is important to discuss circumstances beyond your control in a timely manner with your study advisor.

Official regulation

Am I eligible for FinSCO?

Circumstances beyond your control include the following situations:

Illness (e.g. an operation, Pfeiffer's disease, or psychological problems)
Exceptional family circumstances (for example the death or illness of a parent)
Disability or chronic illness (for example dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, diabetes, Crohn’s disease)
Pregnancy and childbirth
Insufficient feasibility of the programme.
Special circumstances other than those mentioned above. For example, a fire in your room, a process of gender transition, or some types of caregiving (informal care).

There are a few eligibility criteria to qualify for financial (FinSCO) support:

To be eligible for financial (FinSCO) support, you must meet several conditions. The following criteria apply to all international students:

You were enrolled as a full-time student at Utrecht University (incl. University College Utrecht and University College Roosevelt) during the circumstances beyond your control.
You must be able to prove the circumstances beyond your control.
Your studies were delayed as a result of these circumstances beyond your control.
You have consulted with a study advisor, student counsellor or student psychologist (within 3 months of the start of the circumstances beyond your control) about limiting your study delay or temporarily discontinuing your studies if your delay is more than 3 months. If you did not report your circumstances on time, you can still submit a request. In this case, not all your study delay may be reimbursed.

You must have been delayed in your studies during the nominal duration of your degree programme. This is three years for a Bachelor's degree programme, and one, two, three or four years for a Master's degree programme, depending on the programme in question. Earlier enrolment years (in an equivalent degree-type: bachelor or master) in Dutch higher education will be deducted from this period.
You must be under the age of 30 when starting your programme at UU in accordance with Article 9.b. of the Regulation.

Financial support is limited tot the months in which you received a basic grant from DUO
During the period of circumstances beyond your control, you paid the statutory tuition fees.
- If you are a Pre-Master’s student: you were enrolled as a Pre-Master’s student at Utrecht University during the period of circumstances beyond your control and paid a Pre-Master’s fee.

How do I apply for FinSCO?

You can apply for financial compensation after the end of the academic year in which you incurred the delay. Did you experience study delay in academic year 2024-2025 due circumstances beyond your control? You can apply for FinSCO from 1 October 2025 to 31 January 2026 via Osiris Case. It is not possible to apply for financial support for previous academic years.

The application procedure consists of four steps.

Submit application form in Osiris Case
Log on to Osiris Studentand select the tab Cases. Go to Start a new case (yellow circle with a plus sign) > Financial Matters, Verification and other documents 
If you didn’t receive a basic grant from DUO during 2024-2025, you select Application for financial (graduation) support 2024-2025 for international students.
If you received a basic grant from DUO during 2024-2025, you select Application financial support in cases of circumstances beyond one’s control (FinSCO) 2024-2025.
The deadline to submit the digital application form is 31 January 2025.
Upload supporting documents
After you submit the digital application form, you should also submit (upload) several additional items of supporting information via Osiris Case. This will enable the university to assess whether you meet the conditions. You must submit these documents via Osiris Case within three weeks of submitting the digital application form.
Assessment of the application by a student counsellor
One of the student counsellors will look at your application form and supporting documents. The student counsellor then forms an advice for the Director of Student and Academic Affairs.
Formal decision
The Director of Student and Academic Affairs will decide on behalf of the Executive Board. You will receive this decision in OSIRIS Case.

You can follow the status of your application in Osiris Case. The Executive Board will decide on your application within eight weeks after the receipt of your supporting documents. However, this deadline can usually not be met due to the large number of applications submitted just before the January 31 deadline.

Submit a FinSCO request after the end of each academic year in which you experienced study delays due to circumstances beyond your control and received student finance in the form of a basic grant. This also applies if your study delay is compensated through an extension of your performance grant via DUO. Submitting a FinSCO request ensures that the number of months of study delay you incurred at Utrecht University is recorded. The first 12 months of registered study delay are compensated by DUO. From the 13th month onward, you may become eligible for FinSCO. More information about DUO provisions can be found on the DUO website.

In case of study delay due to a disability*, the student counsellor will review your FinSCO request to determine whether you are eligible for an extension of your performance-related grant period (extension of the performance-related grant period with 12 months) via DUO. This extension is a preliminary provision: if you are eligible for this, this provision will be requested (first). The student counsellor will contact you about this.

Of course, you are welcome to schedule an appointment first to discuss your situation. In that case, keep an eye on the deadline for submitting a FinSCO request (January 31st).

* In practice this is broadly interpreted by DUO as a (temporary) medical circumstance on the part of the applicant. Within the UU, a request for extension of the performance-related grant period to DUO in case of temporary medical circumstances is only supported when there is a three-month (15 EC) consecutive study delay.

Read more about financial provisions for students with a disibility in case of study delay.

What is the amount of support I can receive?

Utrecht University will provide FinSCO for up to 3 months' delay in your studies per academic year. When determining the period of delay, the starting point is a regular study load of 60 credits per academic year.

Maximum period of support for students without a basic grant (DUO):

Support will be limited to 3 months for each academic year.

For Bachelor’s programmes support will be limited to a maximum of 9 months for the entire Bachelor's programme.
For Master's programmes, support will be limited to three months for each academic year, and three x C months for the entire Master's programme (‘C’ being the nominal course duration in academic years).

Amount of support

The amount of financial support is € 425 per month.

In principle, the amount of financial support is equal tot he number of months of study delay incurred during the period in which you are eligible for FinSCO (see above under ‘Conditions’)

In determining the study delay:

A regular study programme of 60 EC per academic year will be assumed.
the maximum study delay you have accumulated on an annual basis is the starting point, regardless of the nature of the circumstances;
Study delay due to participation in board activities, for which you received an administrative grant (bestuursbeurs) will be taken into account.
The time at which a missed exam (or other part of the curriculum) can be taken in the next academic year is not taken into account.

Subsequently, we will assess which study delay can be attributed to circumstances beyond your control.

For each determined month of study delay due to circumstances beyond your control, the amount of financial support is equal to the amount of the basic grant, supplementary grant and, if applicable, a single parent allowance the student last received in the relevant academic year in which the exceptional circumstances occurred.

Did your basic grant, supplementary grant, and single parent allowance stop earlier during the academic year? Then we will take the last month in which you received this amount as the starting point. Please note: delays incurred after this month are not eligible for compensation.

Please note that the basic grant amount differs for students living with (one of) your parents and those living on their own. The amount of the supplementary grant may also vary per student: how much you receive depends, among other things, on your parents' income and the number of siblings you have.

The different amounts can be found on the DUO website. More information about the single parent allowance (for single, studying parents) can be found on the DUO website.

Payment will be made after you have received the decision and will be issued in monthly instalments. The amount is tax-free and will be paid into your bank account at the end of each month, usually around the 26th. The university cannot make an exception to this payment schedule.

Formally, the first monthly instalment will be paid after you have submitted your digital application. However, in most cases, the formal decision is not made until one or more months after the start of the processing period. As a result, two or more months of graduation support may be paid in a single instalment.

Questions?

Email to: finoo2425@uu.nl

Financial support UU during study delay

Am I eligible for FinSCO?

Eligibility criteria general

Eligibility criteria for international students who are not eligible for a basic grant from DUO

Eligibility criteria for students who receive a basic grant from DUO

How do I apply for FinSCO?

Application procedure

Important

Extra information for disability or chronic illness

What is the amount of support I can receive?

Level and amount of support for international students who are not eligible for a basic grant from DUO

Amount of support

Level and amount of support for international students students who receive a basic grant from DUO

Payment

Questions?

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