The UM Social Justice Scholarship programme supports UM’s core values of diversity and inclusivity and the Global Engagement Policy 2024-2030’s attention to strengthening the rule of law, also reflected in UM’s UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Peace.

The programme offers 1 full scholarship, including a tuition fee waiver and monthly stipend, each academic year for highly talented students from outside the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) who have been admitted to the master’s programme Globalisation and Law and have a proven track record in supporting the rule of law and/or human rights. 

ELIGIBILITY:

All candidates must meet the following requirements:

You hold a 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. Please check this website before you apply to see in which country you have to collect your MVV visa for the Netherlands. If you already have a residence permit for another Schengen country, you can only apply if this residence permit is still valid until at least 2 September 2027. If your residence permit expires before 2 September 2027, you can only apply for the scholarship from your home country via an MVV visa application. More information can be found on the webpages of the Visa Office.

You do not have dual nationality from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

You have applied for admission to the full-time master’s program Globalisation and Law at Maastricht University for the 2027-2028 academic year and have submitted your application file in full, meeting all admission requirements as stated on the website, before 10 December 2026.

You have already made a proven contribution to support the rule of law and/or human rights by way of intra- and extracurricular initiatives and projects

You meet the specific admission requirements of the UM master programme to which you have applied.

Preference will be given to candidates who have not yet obtained a Master’s degree

You are not older than 35 years of age on 1 September 2027.

You have obtained excellent results during your prior education programmes, as demonstrated by your latest grade transcript showing a GPA of 7.5 out of 10 or higher.

You can only submit an application once and for one scholarship only; please make sure all documents meet the requirements before you start your application. We cannot add or replace documents after you submit the application.

Duration of the UM Social Justice scholarship

13 months for the one-year master programme Globalisation and Law

BENEFIT:

Amount of the UM Social Justice scholarship programme:

Living expenses	€ 20,150* (13 months)	Paid to students by the UM International Services Desk
Health & liability insurance	€ 700*	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Visa application costs	At cost	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Tuition fees	At cost	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
Pre-Academic Training costs	At cost	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk
International Student Ambassador Programme (ISAP)	At cost for first block only	Arranged for and paid by the UM International Services Desk

These amounts are subject to change for academic year 2027-2028

The amount of € 20,150 for living expenses (€ 1,550 per month) covers the following expenses and can be broken down as follows (amounts are subject to change):

Housing: € 960

Groceries and personal hygiene: € 160

Telephone: € 60

Travel: € 100

Books and study materials: € 90

Clothing, hobbies and going out: € 125

Miscellaneous: € 55

Please note that air tickets are not included and must be paid by the candidate.
A cleaning fee (approx. €75) is not included in the Scholarship and has to be paid to Maastricht Housing directly