Netherlands PhD Fellowship Program for Developing Countries

Brief description:

The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) are demand-driven fellowship programmes designed to promote capacity building within organizations in 61 developing countries by providing training and education to their mid-career staff members. The NFP is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the development cooperation budget.

Host Institution(s):

PhD degrees can be pursued at 21 Dutch universities and institutes for international education. A list of these universities and institutes, together with their addresses and websites can be found at  NFP Brochure for 2012-2013.

Field(s) of study:

Inquire with the Dutch Institution of your choosing for more information on available PhD research projects offered by their institution.

Target group:

Students from 61 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Half of the available fellowships should be awarded to female candidates and the other half should be spent on candidates from sub-Saharan Africa. Apart from this, priority is given to candidates from priority groups and/or from marginalized regions to be defined by the embassies.

Scholarship value/inclusions:

The maximum NFP budget available for a PhD study programme is €85,000. This amount is intended as a contribution towards the costs of living and to cover visa, travel and insurance costs, as specified in the NFP Rules & Regulations. PhD students are allowed to seek alternative funding sources.

The maximum duration of a PhD fellowship is four years.  The PhD must be pursued according to a ‘sandwich’ or ‘picnic’ model, which means that at least a quarter of the PhD research will take place in the candidate’s home country.

Eligibility:

A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for a PhD degree programme must:

•  be a mid-career professional with at least three years’ relevant work experience;
•  be a national of, and working and living in one of the developing countries on the NFP country list valid at the time of application;
•   be nominated by his or her employer, who pledges to continue paying the candidate’s salary and guarantees the candidate will be able to return to an equivalent position after the termination of the fellowship period;
•    be unconditionally admitted to a Dutch institution as a PhD student. This means that the candidate must have met all the
academic requirements set by the Dutch university or institution;
•    not already have received an NFP PhD fellowship;
•    not be employed by:   a multinational corporation (for instance Shell, Unilever etc.); a large national and/-or commercial organisation; a bilateral donor organisation (for instance USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid etc.);  a multilateral donor organisation, (for instance a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB, etc.); or -  an international NGO (for instance Oxfam, Plan, Care, etc.)
•   have completed and submitted an NFP PhD fellowship application with all the required documentation before the NFP
fellowship application deadline;
•  be employed in an area to which the study will make a relevant contribution;
•   have a clear-cut, functional relationship with a relevant organisation and be in a position to introduce the newly acquired skills and knowledge into that organisation;
•     be available full-time to pursue the PhD without interruption, and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme;
•  endorse the objective and the aim of the NFP. The aim of the NFP cannot be reached if the fellowship holder does not return to his or her own country. Nuffic would like to urge fellowship holders to return to their home country upon finishing the course or programme to meet the NFP aim in the most effective way.

Application instructions:

Candidates first apply for admission directly to the Dutch institution of their choice. Admission requests must always be directed to the Dutch institution. Senior academic staff or a specific PhD committee decides if an candidate will be accepted. Usually, the admission decision is based on the research proposal submitted by the candidate.

The Dutch institution assesses the application and decides whether or not to admit the candidate as a PhD student. Candidates will receive a letter informing them if they have been admitted. Nuffic has no part in the academic admission process. A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship must have been unconditionally admitted to a Dutch institution for the course or programme for which the candidate applies for an NFP fellowship. This means that the candidate must have met all the academic and administrative requirements set by the Dutch institution.

Candidates are strongly advised to apply as early as possible for admission to the Dutch institution because these institutions need enough time to process all the applications for admission in time.  The academic admission process for a PhD study is an individual track. Candidates who wish to be admitted as a PhD student have to check with the Dutch institution if an academic admission deadline applies.

If you have obtained academic admission and prepared all the necessary documentation you can submit your NFP fellowship application using Scholarships Online (SOL), Nuffic’s online application tool which will be found at the official website starting 1 November 2011.  The fellowship applications for PhD research projects is 7 February or 1 May 2012 depending on the Dutch  institution.

It is important to read the how to apply page and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Contact Details:

For more information, please contact the Netherlands Embassy or Consulate in your home country.

Website:

Official Scholarship Website:  http://www.nuffic.nl/international-students/scholarships/scholarships-administered-by-nuffic/netherlands-fellowships-programmes-nfp