Leiden University Excellence Scholarships (LExS)

Netherlands scholarships

The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship Programme (LExS) is open to outstanding  Non-EU/EEA students enrolling in a master’s degree programme at Leiden University starting September 2017 or February 2018.

Who is eligible?

Non-EU/EEA international students

Field of study

All MA, MSc and LL.M programmes as mentioned on the website Master’s programmes in Leiden. Please note that some programmes have a start date in September only

Number of scholarships

The number and type of award of the scholarship depends on the budget available for each Faculty department.

Scholarship value

The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship programme has 3 awards:

• € 10.000 of the tuition fee
• € 15.000 of the tuition fee
• Total tuition fee minus the statutory tuition fee

Scholarship period

The LExS is only valid for the period the student is registered at Leiden University as a full time student within the time frame of the study programme.

Eligibility criteria

• Non-EU/EEA students enrolling in a Leiden University master’s degree programme starting September 2017 or February 2018
• In his or her prior academic education abroad, the applicant must have achieved excellent study results which are relevant for the programme for which the student wishes to enrol. As an indication, the student will be among the top 10% for the relevant programme followed abroad.
• The applicant will hold a non-EU/EEA passport and will not be eligible for support under the Dutch system of study grants and loans.
• Scholarships will not be awarded to applicants who have already obtained a Leiden University master’s degree with the exception of students applying for a Master programme for which a specified previous Master programme or work experience is mandatory (the LLM advanced masters qualify as such).
• Students who are granted a Leiden Excellence Scholarship must comply with and confirm in writing their agreement with the Rules and Regulations attached to the scholarship prior to the granting of the scholarship.

How to apply

You must first apply for admissions to Leiden University online. In your application, you must indicate clearly that you would like to apply for the LExS scholarship and upload your letter of motivation for the LExS scholarship on the scholarship page. For all programmes starting in September 2017, the deadline has passed last 1 February 2017 (except for Law programmes which has the deadline of 1 March 2017). For programmes starting in February 2018, the deadline is 1 October 2017.

It is important to visit the official website (link found below) to access the online application form and for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Scholarship website

http://prospectivestudents.leiden.edu/scholarships/scholarship/lexs.html