Funding and Scholarships for MA students

ISS student city of the Hague

Most students studying at ISS do so with a partial or full scholarship. To help you find appropriate funding for your studies, we have compiled all the available scholarships per-country and created a scholarship database. Selecting your country of origin, will generate a list of available funding opportunities.

Find a scholarship

Top scholarships for ISS students

ISS established two funds to support students without any other form of financial means. Both funds are open to Dutch/EU/EEA and international students who wish to enroll in the MA in Development Studies at ISS. Students need to have a letter of admission from ISS.  

The decisions on allocation of the scholarship are taken on an ongoing basis between January and July for the MA Programme that starts in September of the same year or the double degree year at ISS that starts in January in the following year. Students selected for the scholarship bursaries will be informed by the admission office.

To apply please email your request and the supporting documents to the ISS admission office (admission@iss.nl) as soon as possible (but before 15 June at the latest).

**Please note that the ISS funds are not available to students intending to pursue a PhD at ISS.

ISS offers scholarships for excellent students, each worth 40% of the tuition fee. The following candidates can apply:

  • People with a degree in one of the social sciences (upper second or first class), a strong motivation to study at ISS and relevant work experience (not necessary), or
  • Recent graduates with a first class degree in one of the social sciences and a strong motivation to study at ISS.
  • People who do not have sufficient financial means of their own and who might benefit from this opportunity to cover their study costs.
  • EU/EEA students are encouraged to apply for this scholarship.

Applications to this fund are dealt with on an ongoing basis and will be equally distributed, as much as possible, among the different majors.

To apply for this fund, please include:

  1. A Motivation Statement (one page) - Explaining the reason you should be the beneficiary of this fund.
  2. Detailed financial information (including supporting bank statements) to prove your ability to support yourself for the remaining tuition fee, living expenses and health insurance.

The decisions on allocation of the scholarship are taken on an ongoing basis. Students selected for the scholarship bursaries will be informed by the student office.

To apply please email your request and the supporting documents to the ISS admission office (admission@iss.nl) as soon as possible (but before 15 June at the latest).

This fund can provide a fee discount of up to 30% of the tuition fee. The application is open to anyone who has a strong motivation statement and has been admitted to the programme. This fund is for those who do not have sufficient financial means of their own and who might benefit from this opportunity to cover their study costs.

Applications to this fund are dealt with on an ongoing basis and will be equally distributed, as much as possible, among the different majors.

To apply for this fund, please include:

  1. A Motivation Statement (one page) - Explaining the reason you should be the beneficiary of this fund.
  2. Detailed financial information (including supporting bank statements) to prove your ability to support yourself for the remaining tuition fee, living expenses and health insurance.

EU/EEA students are encouraged to apply for this scholarship.

The decisions on allocation of the scholarship are taken on an ongoing basis. Students selected for the scholarship bursaries will be informed by the student office.

To apply please email your request and the supporting documents to the ISS admission office (admission@iss.nl) as soon as possible (but before 15 June at the latest).

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Important information for EU citizen students

Students with European Union Citizenship should be aware that the subsidies that the Dutch Government provides through a DUO loan for a study at a regular Dutch university do not apply to the study programmes at ISS, although the ISS MA programme is fully accredited.

EU students are highly encouraged to apply for either of the ISS partial scholarships stated above.

External scholarships

The websites below also provide information on scholarships and funding:

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