The VU Fellowship
Programme (VUFP) offers talented prospective international students the unique
opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam has committed to providing approximately 1 million euro
towards attracting highly motivated and excellent students.
All VUFP
applications received by 1 February will be reviewed by the faculty at which
the applicant will be part
icipating in a Master’s programme. Faculties then
nominate applicants to the central scholarship committee, which then awards
scholarships to the most talented students. The award is based on the
motivation letter, the quality of previous education and the student’s academic
performance therein. A scholarship offer will then be made to successful
candidates.
Eligible
candidates
The VU Fellowship
Programme (VUFP) is a Merit scholarship programme) for strongly motivated
students with excellent study results. Eligible candidates must be able to
prove their academic excellence, must be admitted to a English taught Master’s
degree at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Students with the Dutch nationality and/or
a Dutch degree (given that the Dutch degree is used for admission) are not
eligible for admission. Students following a one-year Master’s programme may
not apply for the VUFP scholarship for a second year. Students already enrolled
in a two-year Master’s programme who have not been awarded the VUFP scholarship
in 2015/2016 are not eligible to apply for the VUFP scholarship 2016/2017. Only
if student was granted a scholarship from the beginning, then the scholarship
can be extended if he/she achieved 80% of the credits. The Faculty VUFP
committee will be asked to demonstrate to the Central VUFP committee that these
credits have indeed been achieved.
Scholarships
amounts
The VUFP scholarship
is a tuition fee waiver. VUFP scholarship does not provide any additional
allowance towards study or living costs.
Application
procedure
1. Register
for Master’s programme
Students register
for a Master’s programme in Studielink and after that in
the VUnetportal. Here you can find more information on how to apply for
one of our English taught Master’s programmes. Please note that you must have
applied for the Master programme before you can apply for the VUFP scholarship.
Deadline: 1
February 2016.
2. Submit VUFP
application
Submit your VUFP
application in VUnet.
Deadline: 1
February 2016
For VUFP application
3 documents are required:
A. Proof of excellence/ GPA
Students who apply for a VU Fellowship Programme need to have a GPA of at least
80% of the highest possible mark (calculated over full previous degree). For
example, if the highest possible mark is a 10, you need to have an average of
at least a 8.
Excellence in previous education is proven if the grade point average achieved
is at least the equivalent of the Dutch grade of 8.0 on the Dutch grading scale
1 – 10. The VUFP Scholarship Committee will decide on the local grade
equivalents for the Dutch grade of 8.0 using the grade information
included in the NUFFIC country modules.
B. Motivation Letter
We would like to know your motivation for the VU Fellowship Programme. Why do
you think you deserve to receive a VUFP scholarship?
Topics that are reviewed in the motivation letter are the following:
• Why do you want to
study this specific programme?
• What are your future perspectives?
• Why do you deserve the VUFP scholarship?
Do not hesitate to
mention other motivations as well, we like own initiative!
C. Curriculum
Vitae (CV)
We strongly recommend the use of the Europass format.
3. Decision
The Central VUFP
Committee decides which students will be offered a VUFP scholarship. The
Committee makes a merit based selection.
4. Results
All students will
receive an e-mail/ notification informing them of the Central
scholarships Committee’s decision concerning their application.
Expected date: 14 March 2016 (6 weeks after the deadline).
5.
Acceptance of VUFP offer
Selected
candidates accept/ decline the VUFP offer in VUnet.
Deadline: 1 April 2016 (2 weeks after the results are published).
Conditions
VUFP scholarship
Current
VUFP scholars
VUFP scholars
following a two year Master’s programme do not need to re-apply for the VUFP
scholarship for the second year. The VUFP scholar will be nominated for a
second year provided that he or she has obtained at least 80% of all ECTS. VUFP
candidates will receive an e-mail from the Central scholarships committee on or
around the 1 July 2016 a confirming the extension of the VUFP scholarship.
Students who have not achieved sufficient study results will be informed that
they will not be offered the VUFP scholarship for the next academic year,
unless there are clear reasons why the results were lower than average.
Complaint
procedure
An interested party
that does not agree with the decision of the scholarship committee, may file a
written complaint to VUFP@vu.nl. Complaints regarding the application
procedure (not the results!) should be addressed to the student ombudsman by e-mail and
must include:
• Your name and
full address.
• Details of the selection procedure that you do not agree with.
• The grounds for complaint: why are you unable to accept the selection
procedure?
• Date and signature.
For pressing
questions regarding the VUFP scholarship, please email: vufp@vu.nl.
