Career prospects

The programme’s unique interdisciplinary, cross-cultural learning experience prepares graduates for a high-level position in a variety of settings all over the world. You can find work as a policymaker, health advocate, manager, social entrepreneur and more at:

• International health and development agencies (WHO, IMF, UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank)
• Private sector healthcare firms (pharmaceutical companies, health technology developers)
• Regional, national and international governmental bodies (health ministries)
• Non-governmental agencies (Oxfam, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
• Academic institutions (PhD candidate, analyst, researcher)

Costs of living in the Netherlands

On average, around €900–1000 will be sufficient to cover the cost of living for PhD candidates/students. Note that these are estimates only. Depending on your personal spending habits, they may well be higher or lower. Housing In general, rental prices in Maastricht and the Limburg province are lower than those in the Dutch Randstad area (Utrecht, Amsterdam and Rotterdam).  One- or two-bedroom apartments in Maastricht: €600–900/month  Studios: €400–600/month  Rooms in a student house: €250–400/month. Rental prices depend on property location. The city centre and south-west area of town tend to be the most expensive. On the other hand, the north-east, north-west and southeast areas tend to be more budget friendly. Rental prices for short lets tend to be higher than prices for long ones, as short-term rentals are usually fully furnished. In the Netherlands, rent is usually paid at the end of the month in advance for the following month. A deposit consisting of one- or two-month rent is also very common. Food Not-too-big spenders get by with €150–200 a month, assuming that you eat homecooked meals. If you live in a non-furnished house, you may need to buy kitchen tools; these are not included in this figure. Telephone This depends a lot on your own situation, easily €25–50 a month. If you call your friends and family back home, the cost of your bill will of course depend on the country you’re phoning to and the type of phone you use: landline, mobile, or internet phone. In the Netherlands, it’s expensive to call abroad using a mobile phone. A landline is a lot cheaper, especially if you use a budget international phone company. In some student houses, you can share a landline with others, probably a budget-friendly option. The monthly subscription price for a landline is ~€20, depending on the package. Insurance Note that you must take out health insurance. The fee (€40–120 a month) depends on whether you are obliged to take out the more expensive basic Dutch health insurance (zorgverzekering); if not, you end up paying less. Further, we strongly suggest you take out some form of personal liability insurance. This is common practice in the Netherlands and not very expensive. AON and Lippmann offer adequate (health and liability) insurance for reasonable prices. 

Bicycles Cycling is an ideal way of transport. The road system has many bike lanes. Second-hand bikes are available from ~€25. Make sure you buy a good bike lock (so your bike won’t get stolen too easily, though it’s not a guarantee), as well as light on your bike (the police here are known to fine bikers not using lights in the dark). Various Sample prices (per item):  Drinks: €2 on average (more for liquors)  Cheap meal out ("dish of the day"): €10–15  Cinema tickets: €7–10 (excluding snacks/beverages)  Public transport: ~€65 a month, though this depends on the amount of travelling you do.  Sports card: ~€100 a year. At Maastricht University’s sports centre you can do any number of individual or team sports for very reasonable prices. This is also a relatively cheap way to meet other people

Maastricht University NL-High Potential scholarship

The Maastricht University (UM) NL-High Potential Scholarship programme offers 24 full scholarships of € 30,000 (including tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend) each academic year for highly talented students from outside the European Union (EU) who have been admitted to a master’s programme at UM.

The Scholarship programme consists of both the High Potential Scholarship (funded by the Maastricht University Scholarship Fund), and the NL Scholarship, which is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in conjunction with Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. It is aimed at international students from outside the EU/EEA who wish to follow a full degree programme in the Netherlands.

Who is eligible?

Duration of the UM NL-High Potential Scholarship

Amount of the UM NL-High Potential Scholarship programme 2024-2025

Application procedure

Selection procedure

Student testimonials

UM International Services Desk

[email protected]

Who is eligible?

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

• You hold nationality in a country outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland or Surinam and meet the requirements for obtaining an entry visa and residence permit for the Netherlands.
• You do not hold a double nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland. 
• You have applied for admission to a participating full-time master programme at Maastricht University (participating programmes) for the 2024-2025 academic year. 
• You meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master programme to which you have applied.
• You have never participated in a degree-seeking higher education programme in the Netherlands. Students who have completed exchange programmes in the Netherlands are welcome to apply.
• You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2024.
• You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript or certified by academic excellence. If several applicants are equally qualified, UM will give preference to applicants whose academic transcript or certified letter of academic excellence demonstrate that they are among the top 5% of the 2024-2025 scholarship programme applicants.

Please note, this is a very competitive scholarship, only 2% of the applicants get awarded the scholarship.

Application deadline

The application deadline is closed

Duration of the NL-High Potential scholarship

• 13 months for a one-year master programme
• 25 months for a two-year master programme

Amount of the NL-High Potential scholarship programme 2024-2025

Living expenses€ 15,925* (13 months) or € 30,625* (25 months)Paid to students by the UM International Services DeskHealth & liability insurance€ 700*Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services DeskVisa application costs€ 228Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services DeskTuition feesAt costArranged for and paid by the UM International Services DeskPre-Academic Training costsAt costArranged for and paid by the UM International Services DeskInternational Student Ambassador Programme

(ISAP)€ 25 for first block onlyArranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk

*These amounts are subject to change for academic year 2025-2026

Please note that part of the Scholarship is a room that will be offered to you by Maastricht Housing at an average cost of € 600 per month. This is based on a room in the guesthouse with shared shower and toilet rooms (male/female) & kitchen facilities. If you wish to avail of a different room, please keep in mind this will have an impact on your monthly allowance.

The amount of € 15,925 for living expenses (€ 1,225 per month) covers the following expenses and can be broken down as follows (amounts are subject to change):

• Housing: € 600
• Groceries and personal hygiene: € 160
• Telephone: € 60
• Travel: € 100
• Books and study materials: € 90
• Clothing, hobbies and going out: € 125
• Miscellaneous: € 90

Application procedure

Step 1: Register for one of the participating master programmes at UM (participating programmes)

For further details on how to register for a master programme at UM, please see your prospective programme’s webpage. Once you have submitted your application via Studielink, you will receive a student ID number for UM. You will need a student number in order to complete and submit the Scholarship Application Form (see Step 2 below).

• Please note: only the master programmes in the list above are eligible for a UM NL-High Potential Scholarship.
• Please note: you first have to apply for the master programme at UM to receive your student ID, as soon as you have your student ID you can apply for the scholarship. However, you must be conditionally approved for admission to your master programme in order to be awarded a scholarship.
• Please note: if your study programme requires the payment of a handling fee as part of your programme’s admissions procedure, the UM International Services Desk does not cover handling fees. You are responsible for paying any handling fee your programme may require by 1 February 2024. To check whether your programme requires the payment of a handling fee, please check your programme’s webpage under the menu tab 'Admission requirements'.

Step 2: Please fill in the application form, you need to log in with your UM account

Please use this link to fill out the application form (applications are closed). We can only accept applications via the application form.

Upload the following documents in .doc, .docx or PDF format, and submit your application. Please note that you will only be able to submit your application once, so please ensure that all of your documents and referee contact details are up-to-date. If you have applied for multiple UM study programmes, the UM International Services Desk will ensure that your complete scholarship application is considered for all eligible programmes for which you have a conditionally approved or approved admissions status.

• Curriculum vitae
• Your CV should be up-to-date, contain relevant information about your education and (job) experience, and should not be longer than two A4 pages.
• Letter of motivation 
• Please use the template for the motivation letter. This template will focus on your motivation for the scholarship.
• Proof of academic excellence
• You may upload one of the following documents in order to prove your academic excellence:
• 1. Your university transcript that explicitly states your grade point average or class ranking (i.e. first class honours) for your entire study programme; or,
• 2. A letter signed by your institution’s Head of Department or Registrar stating that you are one of the top 20 students in the graduating year of your study programme. Please ensure that the letter contains the contact details of your Head of Department or Registrar.
• Personal statement of financial needs. Please explain why you would benefit from being awarded a scholarship and describe your personal circumstances such as financial difficulty, sole parent/caretaking responsibilities, medical condition, disability, refugee status etc.
• A reference letter. We have prepared scholarship reference letter guidelines; please forward them to your referee, as they will help your referee to write a good reference letter on your behalf. Please note that referees must be (former) professors, lecturers, or employers, and not family members. Recommendation letters should be dated and written no earlier than February 2023.
• The contact details of one referee
• Please note that we might check the authenticity of your referee by contacting your referee. Therefore, ensure that you take the following steps when choosing a referee and submitting their details:
• - Relationship to applicant; indicate your referee’s connection to you. Is this your professor, thesis supervisor, employer? Please remember that family members may not function as referees.
• - Work telephone number of your referee; be sure to include the applicable country calling code.
• - Work or institutional email address of your referee. Letters referencing only a personal email address will be rejected. 

Step 1Register for a master

programme via Studielink.nl  Step 2Fill out the application form (applications are closed)  

You need to log in with your UM account

Selection procedure

Step 1: The UM International Services Desk checks if all applications are complete after 1 February 2024.

Step 2: The UM International Services Desk sends all complete applications to each UM Faculty in February 2024.

Step 3: Each Faculty selects and ranks their top 5% of scholarship applicants and sends these to the UM International Services Desk for a final check in March 2024.

Step 4: The UM International Services Desk confirms the Faculty selections by the end of March 2024.

Step 5: The UM International Services Desk will inform all candidates of their application status in April 2024. Your status will be selected, waitlisted or rejected by the beginning of May 2024 at the latest. Waitlisted application statuses will be changed to selected or rejected by May 2024. Scholarship awardees will receive more information about the UM Pre-Academic Training programme and arrival in Maastricht upon receiving their award letters. The UM Pre-Academic Training is a three-week mandatory component of the UM NL Scholarship programme. The Pre-Academic Training takes place in August 2024.

Step 6: You must sign and return the award letter to the UM International Services Desk to accept the scholarship.

Read more about the NL Scholarship 

Please note that the UM NL-High Potential Scholarship is a very competitive scholarship: only 2% of the applicants will be awarded the scholarship.

Student testimonials

Suhad Malik Mohamed Elbadawi

FHML - master's in Epidemiology

"I was a practicing physician in Sudan. After a few years of clinical work, I rediscovered my passion for research and epidemiology. So I made the decision to change careers and work outside of the clinic.

At first, I thought only students with a lot of volunteer work or leadership positions received scholarships, but I learned about the UM NL-High Potential Scholarship which you can get based on outstanding academic performance.”

When Suhad got the acceptance letter, a war erupted in Sudan and she spent the next six months travelling from Sudan to Bahrain to Ethiopia in order to receive the necessary travel visas for the Netherlands.

“It wasn’t easy, but I kept going. Even if that meant going to the roof of my building to find an internet connection.”