Eligibility

04 Mar 2010

A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for a master’s degree programme must:

  • be a national of and working in one of the developing countries on the NFP country list valid at the time of application;
  • be a mid-career professional with at least three years' work experience;
  • not have received an NFP fellowship or any other fellowship in the three years prior to the start of the proposed master's degree. (Please note that the Ministry has decided not to check applications against this specific criterion anymore as of the April 2010 NFP deadline until the May 2011 NFP deadline. If the Netherlands Embassies establish that an applicant has received multiple scholarships during the recent past, they can make a remark about this. The Dutch institutions have the possibility to exclude these applicants);
  • 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 at the end of the fellowship period. Partial payment of salary can sometimes be allowed as an exception to the rule. It is up to the Dutch embassy to decide if an agreement between the employer and the candidate about partial continuation of payment of salary is acceptable. It should be noted, however, that the NFP allowances are not sufficient to support family members, either in the home country or in the Netherlands;
  • have been unconditionally admitted by a Dutch institution to one of the master’s degree programmes on the course list. This means that the applicant must have met all the requirements set by the Dutch institution;
  • have completed an NFP master’s degree programme application form and have submitted all the required documentation to the Netherlands embassy or consulate;
  • not be employed by a large industrial, commercial, international or multinational organization, which can be assumed to have sufficient resources of its own to finance staf ftraining;
  • offer evidence of proficiency in speaking and writing the language of instruction. If this is English, candidates who have received their tertiary education in any language other than English must provide evidence in the form of a score in an internationally recognized test, such as IELTS (a score of at least 6.0) or TOEFL (a score of at least 550 points on the paper-based test or 213 points on the computer-based test or 79 on the internet-based test). An exception to this rule is made for candidates who have received their tertiary education in the English language, and for candidates who have previously attended a course or programme with a Dutch educational institution, but no longer than two years ago;
  • be available for the entire period of the programme and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme;
  • declare that they will return to their home country immediately after the study programme has ended;
  • comply with country-specific rules set by RNE (for more information please contact the Netherlands Embassy or consulate in your home country).

Pregnancy

Please note that the health insurance policy does not cover pre-existing conditions. For instance: being pregnant before the start of the fellowship period. Costs that are not met by the health insurance policy cannot be claimed from Nuffic.

Medical expenses arising from a pregnancy conceived in the Netherlands will be covered by the health insurance. However, pregnancy and childbirth can cause a number of financial, insurance, legal and logistical problems that are not easily solved and are therefore best avoided during the fellowship period.

If a pregnant fellowship holder is able to follow the programme or course and complete it within the specified time she may, of course, continue her studies as planned. The medical expenses arising from a pregnancy conceived in the Netherlands are covered by the insurance. Pregnant fellowship holders always have to contact their Dutch institution to check their position.
 

Joint or double degree programmes

A number of master's degree programmes take place, either in its entirety or in part, in one of the NFP countries, for example as a 'joint programme' or as a 'double degree programme'. In these cases, the Dutch institution and the partner institution in an NFP country deliver the programme together.

NFP fellowships are no longer available only for participants originating from the NFP country where (part of the) programme takes place and for participants originating from surrounding countries that are part of the same region as the country where the course takes place. These programmes are open to all candidates as long as the offered programme is relevant for the candidate's employing organization and country.