Eric Bleumink Fellowship 2027: Full Groningen Master’s Funding

The Eric Bleumink Fellowship is the University of Groningen’s full-cost grant for master’s students from developing countries, and India is on its eligible country list. It pays the tuition fee, international travel, subsistence, books and health insurance for a 12 to 24 month master’s programme that starts on 1 September at the Groningen campus in the Netherlands.

There is one thing to understand before anything else: you cannot apply for this fellowship directly. You apply for admission to a Groningen master’s programme by 1 December 2026, and then the Admission Office of your faculty nominates up to two candidates for the award. Only four fellowships are given out each year across the whole university, so the admission application itself is the real application.

Eric Bleumink Fellowship 2027 at a glance

The award is a full scholarship, not a tuition discount: tuition fee, international travel, subsistence, books and health insurance are all covered for the whole length of the programme. Groningen states that a maximum of four scholarships are awarded each year, and that it receives hundreds of applications that are eligible for the grant – the university itself advises applicants to look for other funding as well.

What the Eric Bleumink Fellowship pays for

• The tuition fee of the master’s programme, for the full 12 to 24 month duration.
• International travel to and from the Netherlands.
• Subsistence costs for the study period, plus books.
• Health insurance in the Netherlands, arranged so that the fellow can be insured for the whole stay.
• The grant is tied to a programme that starts on 1 September and runs for 12 to 24 months; it is not a one-year top-up that you can extend afterwards.

Because the fellowship is paid by the university and not by a government agency, there is no bond and no return-service clause attached to it. What it does demand is that you are available for the entire programme and able to take part in all of it.

Who is eligible for the Eric Bleumink Fellowship

• You must hold the nationality of one of the developing countries on Groningen’s selection list. India is named on that list, along with Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco and about 60 other countries.
• You must be applying for a master’s programme (MSc, MA or LL.M.) at the University of Groningen – all programmes are open, but bachelor’s and PhD applications are not part of this scheme.
• You need excellent academic performance with strong grades in your undergraduate degree – the fellowship is a merit award on top of the financial need.
• You need excellent English, meeting the language requirement of the specific master’s programme you apply to.
• You must be provisionally or unconditionally admitted before 1 February. Groningen warns that master’s programmes where admission depends on a selection procedure that takes place after 1 February are not eligible for this fellowship.
• You must be in good health so that Dutch health insurance can be arranged, and you must be able to attend the full programme in Groningen.

You cannot apply directly – how the nomination works

This is the part most applicants get wrong. Groningen does not run a fellowship application form. The process is:

1. You complete the regular University of Groningen application procedure for a master’s programme, including payment of the application fee.
2. In the first week of January, the Admission Office of each faculty selects a maximum of two nominees per faculty from the eligible admitted applicants.
3. If you are nominated, the Admissions Office tells you and asks for an EBF motivation letter, which you have to send back within one week.
4. The nomination files go to the EBF selection committee before 1 February.
5. The committee picks the fellows and informs every nominee of the outcome before 1 March.

Nomination is based on academic performance, so the strength of your undergraduate record and the completeness of your admission file are what decide it. There is no application fee waiver for Eric Bleumink candidates – Groningen states plainly that no exemptions can be given and asks applicants not to contact the Admissions Office about a waiver.

Important dates for the September 2027 intake

• 1 December 2026 – deadline for the admission application in both Studielink and the Progress Portal. Applications submitted after this date are not considered for nomination.
• First week of January 2027 – faculties nominate up to two candidates each and inform them.
• One week after nomination – the nominee sends the EBF motivation letter to the Admissions Office.
• 1 February 2027 – deadline for a provisional or unconditional admission offer, and the date by which nomination files reach the EBF committee. If the Admissions Office has not contacted you by this date, you have not been nominated.
• Before 1 March 2027 – the EBF selection committee informs all nominees of the result.
• 1 September 2027 – the programme and the fellowship start.

Documents you need for the Groningen application

The fellowship has no document list of its own – the documents are the ones your master’s programme asks for. Keep the file complete and early, because the nomination is decided from that file:

• Bachelor’s degree certificate and full transcripts, plus a certified English translation if they are not in English.
• Passport or identity document, and a passport-style photograph where the programme asks for one.
• English language test result accepted by the programme (IELTS, TOEFL or Cambridge), valid at the time of application.
• Curriculum vitae and, for most programmes, a motivation letter and in some cases a study plan or writing sample.
• Two academic references or recommendation letters where the programme requires them.
• Proof of payment of the Groningen application fee – the fellowship does not waive it.

How to apply, step by step

1. Shortlist two or three Groningen master’s programmes that match your degree and check each one’s admission requirements and English score on the programme page.
2. Create your application in Studielink and then complete the programme application in the University of Groningen Progress Portal.
3. Upload every document and pay the application fee – an incomplete application cannot be nominated.
4. Submit well before 1 December 2026, so that any missing document can still be fixed inside the deadline.
5. Watch your email in the first week of January 2027. If you are nominated, reply with the EBF motivation letter within one week.
6. Keep your admission file moving until the offer is provisional or unconditional before 1 February 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Official links

• Eric Bleumink Fellowship – University of Groningen
• Scholarships and grants at the University of Groningen
• Master’s programmes at the University of Groningen
• Application and admission – University of Groningen

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