Leiden University Excellence Scholarships for Non-EU Students (Netherlands)
The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship Programme (LExS) is open to outstanding Non-EU/EEA students enrolling in a master’s degree programme offered at Leiden University. The scholarships come in the form of the following: €10,000 of the tuition fee, €15,000 of the tuition fee, or total tuition fee minus the home fee.
This scholarship is provided for very bright students joining a full-time Leiden University Master’s degree programme – with the exception of LLM (non-advanced) and MSc programmes at Leiden Law School.
Deadline
1 Feb for programmes starting 1 Sept / 1 Oct for programmes starting 1 Feb. This is an annual scholarship which means you have to keep monitoring the official scholarship website to know when to apply for the next one.
Target group
Master
Countries/ nationalities
Non-EEA/non-EFTA students / Exception: All nationalities for Advanced LLMs & MSc Int. Relations and Diplomacy
Scholarship type
Study
Faculty
Archaeology, Humanities, Medicine/LUMC, Governance and Global Affairs, Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Science, African Studies Centre, International Institute for Asian Studies
Scholarship or loan amount
The LExS is awarded for the duration of the study programme. There are three available levels of awards:
- € 10,000 of the tuition fee
- € 15,000 of the tuition fee
- Total tuition fee minus the statutory tuition fee
Applicants should note that the LExS is not a full scholarship. Non-EEA LExS recipients must still submit ‘proof of sufficient funds’ for their student visa/residence permit application.
For whom
1. Study programme requirements
Applicants for all Master’s programmes at Leiden University, with the exception of :
- Leiden Law School’s LLM (non-advanced) and MSc programmes.
- Study programmes starting in February at the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Sciences and Leiden Law School.
2. Nationality requirements
Applicants must have a non-EEA/non-EFTA* passport, and may not be eligible for student finance via the Dutch government (Studiefinanciering) – with the exceptions of students applying for the programmes listed below for which no nationality restrictions apply:
- All LLM Advanced Studies programmes
- MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy
*EEA/EFTA: All EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
Additional note for UK students
As the UK is now a non-EEA country, students from the UK are now eligible to apply for the LExS. Note: this does not apply to applicants who were already living in The Netherlands and registered in their Dutch municipality’s BRP before 1 January 2021. More information on Brexit can be found in the Brexit dossier.
3. Academic requirements
Students must have achieved excellent academic results in their previous study programme(s), which must be relevant to the Master’s programme for which they are applying. As an indication, the student is amongst the top 10% of graduates in his/her previous study programme. Note that proof of ranking is not required – this information is purely to indicate the level of competitiveness
Application process
- Apply online for admission to a Master’s programme at Leiden University and pay the application fee if applicable.
- Note: it can take up to 2 days to create/submit an application for admission, so start your application well before the LExS deadline.
- After submitting your application for admission, return to the Apply screen in your online application and click on Scholarships. If you are eligible to apply for the LExS, it will now be visible in the scholarships section.
- Note: if you cannot see the LExS in your scholarships section, you have either not yet submitted your application for admission or are not eligible for the LExS.
- Indicate that want to apply for the LExS then upload your LExS motivation letter. This must be a PDF file of max. 500 words, in which you explain why you would like to be considered for the award.
- Submit your scholarship application before the LExS deadline. Please be aware that after submitting your scholarship application, you cannot make changes to it either online or by sending additional items by email.
- If you are applying for more than one study programme/specialisation and wish to apply for a LExS for each, you must submit a LExS application and motivation letter within each separate online application for admission.
For more information visit OFFICIAL SCHOLARSHIP WEBSITE
