NL Scholarship

The NL Scholarship programme is aimed at students going abroad for studies (exchange), an internship, or research, to a destination outside the EEA (i.e. most countries outside Europe – with some exceptions; see the conditions below). Students eligible for an Erasmus+ grant or SEMP cannot apply for an NL Scholarship grant.

The grant consists of a one-off amount of € 2,500 and is a contribution towards the costs associated with a stay abroad during your studies.

The application process for students going abroad in 2026-2027 is now open. The deadline for submitting your application is 11:59 PM on March 29, 2026.

Conditions

Students must meet the following conditions to be eligible for an NL Scholarship grant:

  • You are registered as a full-time Bachelor's or Master's student at Utrecht University.
  • You have not received an NL Scholarship grant before.
  • You are going abroad for studies (exchange), an internship, or research to a destination other than the EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, and Turkey. The overseas territories of these countries are also excluded, except for Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. Exception for Switzerland: an exchange to Switzerland is not eligible for an NL Scholarship grant, but an internship or research in Switzerland is eligible.
  • Your stay abroad takes place in a country that is not your home country.
  • Your stay abroad lasts at minimum 7 weeks, and takes place in the 2026-2027 academic year. (The start or end date of your stay abroad period may be in a different academic year, as long as at least 7 weeks of the total period fall within the 2026-2027 academic year.)
  • You will earn at least 10 ECTS during this period abroad, which will be incorporated into your study programme at UU.
  • You have an average study progress of at least 52.5 ECTS per academic year in your current study programme. (When your application is assessed, your average study progress over the already completed semesters will be checked. Grades from block 3 or 4 of the current academic year will not be included in the calculation.) See the heading "Exceptions regarding study progress" below for exceptions to this rule.
  • You have a ‘Stay Abroad’ application in Osiris for an internship or research abroad or for an exchange. The status of this application is ‘Conditionally Approved’ or ‘Approved’.
  • When submitting your application for an NL Scholarship grant in Osiris Student (see below), you automatically agree to the sharing of relevant personal data with Nuffic/OCW (in connection with the UU's reporting obligation).
Exceptions regarding study progress

There are some exceptions to the rules regarding study progress. In the following cases, you may apply for an NL Scholarship grant even if you have earned fewer than an average of 52,5 ECTS per year of studies:

  • You have been involved in a student organization at UU during the course of your current study programme, and you have been awarded a board grant for these activities.
  • There are special circumstances due to which you have been awarded graduation support (i.e. finSCO) from UU, or an additional period of support from DUO (a so-called ‘Verlenging Prestatiebeurs’) for your current study programme.

If you qualify for an exception based on one of the above grounds, you can upload a Word or PDF document in your NL Scholarship application in Osiris (see below) which shows you were allocated the relevant financial support.

Application

The application process for the NL Scholarship 2026-2027 is now open. Before you apply, please review the conditions as listed above. If you are eligible for the grant, you can apply in Osiris Student:

  1. Click 'Grant' under your existing 'Stay Abroad' application (your Stay Abroad request needs to have the status ‘Approved’ or ‘Conditionally Approved’). 

  2. Choose NL Scholarship and follow all the steps.

  3. Do not forget to click the ‘submit’ button when you are done.

The deadline for submitting your application is 11:59 PM on March 29, 2026. Please check beforehand whether you have received a confirmation e-mail of your application (this would have been sent to your UU e-mail address).

Selection

Eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery system and selected randomly. Last year, students had roughly 20% chance of being selected. Applicants will be informed of the outcome by the end of April/beginning of May 2026.

Contact

If you encounter a (technical) problem with your application, or if you have any other questions, please email exchange@uu.nl.