The ITC Excellence Scholarship Programme 2027 is a partial scholarship from the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) at the University of Twente, Netherlands. It gives a small number of international students EUR 25,000 in financial support plus a EUR 33,180 ITC tuition fee waiver towards a two-year master’s degree in geospatial science.
Indian students are eligible: India is on the programme’s official eligible-country list. The catch is that the award is partial – you must be able to pay an own contribution of EUR 17,500 from the total cost of EUR 75,680 for the two years. The application window is open now and the last date to apply is 1 March 2027.
ITC Excellence Scholarship 2027: quick facts
Quick facts2026-27
| Scholarship from | University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Enschede, Netherlands |
| Study level | Two-year master’s programmes at ITC (MSc) |
| Award value | EUR 25,000 in scholarship support plus a EUR 33,180 ITC tuition fee waiver, out of a total cost of EUR 75,680; own contribution required: EUR 17,500 |
| Number of awards | A limited number of partial awards; UT calls the competition highly competitive |
| Who can apply | Non-EU students who are nationals of, and live in, a country on the official eligible list (India is included), admitted to an eligible ITC master’s, with top-10% academic results and IELTS 6.5 overall |
| Last date to apply | 1 March 2027 (the window opened on 29 October 2026) |
| Official website | utwente.nl – ITC Excellence Scholarship Programme |
What the scholarship is worth
The ITC Excellence Scholarship is not a full ride and UT says so plainly on the award page. The EUR 25,000 scholarship is paid as a living-cost allowance over 23 months, and the separate EUR 33,180 is a tuition fee waiver. Together they cover EUR 58,180 of the EUR 75,680 total.
| Cost head | Amount and how it is covered |
| Tuition fees (two years) | EUR 45,260 in total (EUR 22,320 in year one, about EUR 22,940 in year two); EUR 33,180 waived by ITC, EUR 12,080 payable by you |
| Living allowances | EUR 28,750 for 23 months; EUR 25,000 from the scholarship, EUR 3,750 payable by you |
| Insurance | EUR 1,400 – not covered by the award |
| Residence permit | EUR 270 – not covered by the award |
| Total | EUR 75,680: EUR 25,000 scholarship, EUR 33,180 waiver, EUR 17,500 own contribution |
The own contribution is not optional and is not negotiable. UT asks you to show that you can pay it by the applicable payment deadline, and the university’s payment deadline for non-EU students is fixed at 1 May and cannot be extended. If you cannot raise EUR 17,500, this award will not make the degree affordable on its own – UT itself recommends looking at other external scholarships and study loans well before the deadline.
Which ITC master’s programmes are eligible
Only two programmes at ITC qualify for the award:
- Master’s in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation – programme page, covering acquisition, analysis and processing of geospatial data.
- Master’s in Spatial Systems & Society (Spatial Engineering) – programme page, aimed at urban planning, socio-economic analysis and spatial data for disaster, poverty and climate problems.
Both are two-year, English-taught master’s degrees. An application to any other Twente programme does not make you eligible for this scholarship – the UTS award and the ITC Early Bird Programme are separate schemes with their own forms and deadlines.
Who can apply: the full eligibility list
UT lists ten conditions and says applicants must meet all of them. A scholarship is only considered if every point below is true:
- You are a national of, and reside in, a country on the official eligible-country list – the list has about 140 countries and includes India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Nigeria, Vietnam and Indonesia.
- You have received academic admission to the MSc Geo-information Science and Earth Observation or the MSc Spatial Systems & Society (Spatial Engineering).
- You hold a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university outside the Netherlands.
- Your academic record places you among the top 10% of students.
- You can show English proficiency of at least IELTS 6.5 overall, subject to the applicable language requirements of the programme.
- You have a relevant academic background for the master’s you are applying to.
- You are not eligible for Dutch study grants and loans (that is, you are a non-EU student paying the institutional fee).
- You meet the requirements for a Dutch entry visa.
- You are enrolling at the University of Twente for the first time.
- You do not hold another UT or Dutch scholarship at the same time – the NL Scholarship is the one exception – and you do not hold a full external scholarship.
Meeting the minimum does not guarantee money: UT states that awards are limited and go to the strongest eligible candidates. If you need the complete binding rules, the award page links the official Rules and regulations of the ITC Excellence Scholarship Programme 2027 document.
How to apply, step by step
There is no direct scholarship application. You apply for academic admission first, and the scholarship form only opens to applicants who already hold an acceptance letter.
- Choose your programme. Pick either the MSc Geo-information Science and Earth Observation or the MSc Spatial Systems & Society (Spatial Engineering).
- Apply for academic admission through the University of Twente online application system and wait for the academic acceptance letter – the scholarship form needs it.
- Check your eligibility against the eligible-country list, the degree and language requirements, and your ability to fund the EUR 17,500 own contribution.
- Fill in the ITC Excellence Scholarship application form and submit all supporting documents through the official procedure (OSIRIS scholarship application).
- Plan your finances in advance. UT advises arranging the balance and any loan before the payment deadline, because the 1 May non-EU payment date is fixed.
Important dates
| Event | Date |
| Scholarship application window opens | 29 October 2026 |
| Last date to apply | 1 March 2027 |
| Notification of the outcome | 1 April |
| Own contribution payment deadline | 1 May – UT’s fixed non-EU payment deadline, not extendable |
One detail to read carefully: the award page currently prints the notification and payment dates as 1 April 2026 and 1 May 2026 in its deadline table. Both follow the 1 March 2027 application deadline, so treat them as 2027 cycle dates and confirm the exact day on the page or with ITC before you book anything. The application deadline itself is stated consistently as 1 March 2027.
Keeping the scholarship in the second year
The award is for two years, but the second year is conditional. ITC reviews your progress before the end of the first academic year and expects results in the top 10% of your programme. To stay eligible for year two you must have earned at least 45 of the 60 European Credits available before that academic year starts.
That is a real academic condition, not a formality: 45 out of 60 EC means you cannot afford to fail more than a quarter of your first-year credits. Plan the two years as one funded package and keep the credit target in view from the first semester.
Frequently asked questions
1 March 2027. The application window opened on 29 October 2026, and applications are made through the ITC scholarship form after you hold an academic acceptance letter.
No. It is a partial award: EUR 25,000 in scholarship support plus a EUR 33,180 ITC tuition fee waiver, against a total two-year cost of EUR 75,680. You must fund the remaining EUR 17,500 yourself.
Yes. India is on the official eligible-country list. You must be a national of India and reside in India, hold a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university outside the Netherlands, and be admitted to one of the two eligible ITC master’s programmes.
The MSc Geo-information Science and Earth Observation and the MSc Spatial Systems & Society (Spatial Engineering), both two-year English-taught programmes at the ITC faculty in Enschede.
Yes. UT requires an academic acceptance letter before the scholarship form can be submitted, so the admission application has to be filed well before 1 March 2027.
Not with another University of Twente or Dutch scholarship, except the NL Scholarship, and not with a full external scholarship. The award also requires that you enrol at Twente for the first time.
An overall IELTS score of at least 6.5, subject to the language requirements that apply to the programme you choose.
Official links
- ITC Excellence Scholarship Programme – official award page, University of Twente
- Scholarship application form (OSIRIS)
- MSc Geo-information Science and Earth Observation
- MSc Spatial Systems & Society (Spatial Engineering)
- University of Twente scholarship finder
Everything above is taken from the University of Twente award page read on 29 October 2026. Amounts, dates and eligibility are set by UT and can change, so check the official page before you pay any fee.
Browse more study abroad scholarships, international scholarships and post graduation scholarships on Scholarship List.
Related scholarship posts: University of Twente Scholarship (UTS), ITC Early Bird Programme, NL Scholarship (Holland Scholarship).