Netherlands Master’s Fellowship Program for Developing Countries

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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.

The scholarships allow candidates to receive a postgraduate education and to earn a Dutch Master of Arts degree, a Master of Science degree, or a Professional Master’s degree.

Host Institution(s):

Dutch Universities and academic institutions.

Field(s) of study:

View NFP course list for 2014-2015 for master’s degree programmes, February 2014 deadline(141.4 KB) and 2014-2015 for master’s degree programmes, May 2014 deadline(38.5 KB)

Target group:

The NFP target group consists of professionals who are nationals of and work and live in an NFP country. The chances of obtaining an NFP fellowship increase if you live and work in Sub-Saharan Africa and/or if you are a woman.

Scholarship value/inclusions:

The fellowship compensates for three main categories of costs: a) study-related fees b) travel and c) subsistence. Costs in the categories a) and b) are entirely covered by the fellowship, whereas the amount provided in category c) is a contribution towards the actual costs. If applicable, the fellowship holder is expected to cover the difference between the actual costs and the NFP subsistence allowance.

Eligibility:

A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for a master’s 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 (see annex 4);
• 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 the same or an equivalent position at the end of the fellowship period;
• have been unconditionally admitted by a Dutch institution to one of the master’s degree programmes on the course list 2014-2015. This means that the candidate must have met all the requirements set by the Dutch institution (see 2.2);
• not already have received an NFP master’s degree fellowship;
• not be employed by:

•  a multinational corporation (for instance Shell, Unilever etc.) or
•  a large national and/-or commercial organisation or
•  a bilateral donor organisation (for instance USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid etc.) or
•  multilateral donor organisation, (for instance a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development
Bank, African Development Bank, IADB, etc.) or
•  international NGO’s (for instance  Oxfam, Plan, Care, etc.)

•  have completed and submitted an NFP master’s degree programme fellowship application including all the required documentation before the applicable 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 for the entire period of the programme 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.

•  not have accepted an NFP master’s degree programme fellowship in the past.

Application instructions:

Applications are currently closed.

To be eligible for an NFP fellowship, candidates need to be admitted to the master’s degree programme for which they would like an NFP fellowship.  Thus, candidates must first apply for admission directly to the Dutch institution that offers the master’s degree programme of their choice.  Candidates are strongly advised to start the application procedure for admission as early as possible.

Applications have to be submitted through Scholarships Online (SOL) before the deadline.  For 2014-2014, the deadline for fellowship applications is 4 February and 6 May 2014 depending on the course.

It is important to read the NFP  Rules and Regulations 2014-2015 and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Website:

Official Scholarship Website: http://www.studyinholland.nl/scholarships/scholarships-administered-by-nuffic/netherlands-fellowship-programmes