Maastricht University funds one non-EU student a year through the Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development, a programme run jointly with the United Nations University. The NL MPP Scholarship is a full award: tuition at cost, EUR 7,800 in living expenses for the 13-month programme, a room at The Social Hub, health and liability insurance, visa costs and the two-week Pre-Academic Training. The university’s own 2027-2028 amount table is reproduced below, line by line.
Only one seat is offered, and the application has two doors: the admission file for the master’s programme has to be complete by 10 December 2026, and the scholarship form closes on 1 February 2027 at 23:59 CET. Everything here comes from the scholarship page linked at the end of this post.
NL MPP Scholarship 2027-28: quick facts
Quick facts2026-27
| Scholarship from | Maastricht University, Netherlands, through the UM International Services Desk, with UNU-MERIT. One full-coverage award a year for the MSc Public Policy and Human Development |
| Last date to apply | 1 February 2027, 23:59 CET (scholarship form). Admission file complete by 10 December 2026 |
| Official website | maastrichtuniversity.nl – NL MPP Scholarship |
What the NL MPP Scholarship pays in 2027-2028
The award is not a single cheque. Maastricht lists each cost separately, and only the living allowance is paid out to you in cash.
| Living expenses, excluding accommodation | EUR 7,800 in total for 13 months, paid to the student by the UM International Services Desk |
| Accommodation at The Social Hub | August 2027 until June 2028, at cost, arranged by The Social Hub and listed separately from the living allowance |
| Tuition fees | At cost, arranged and paid by the UM International Services Desk |
| Health and liability insurance | At cost, arranged and paid by the university |
| Visa application costs | At cost, arranged and paid by the university |
| Pre-Academic Training | At cost, arranged and paid by the university |
| International Student Ambassador Programme | At cost for the first block only |
| Duration of the award | 13 months, the length of one academic year of the MPP |
Read the EUR 7,800 line carefully, because it is the smallest living figure in the Maastricht family of awards: the page describes it as living expenses excluding accommodation, and the room is arranged separately through The Social Hub. The university also notes that the EUR 7,800 is subject to change for the 2028-2029 academic year, so treat it as the 2027-2028 figure rather than a promise for later intakes.
If your programme charges a handling fee during admission, the UM International Services Desk does not cover it. You pay any handling fee yourself, and the page asks for it by 1 February 2027.
Who can apply from India
The award is for students from outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland and Surinam, so Indian citizens are eligible. The full list of conditions on the official page is:
- Nationality outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland and Surinam, plus the requirements for a Dutch entry visa and residence permit.
- You have never followed a degree-seeking higher education programme abroad. Exchange programmes are explicitly allowed.
- You are not older than 35 on 1 September 2027.
- You hold a Bachelor or pre-Master degree.
- You have applied for admission to the Master in Public Policy and Human Development for 2027-2028 and submitted a complete application file, meeting every admission requirement, before 10 December 2026.
- You meet the specific admission requirements of the MPP programme itself, which are listed on the programme page and not on the scholarship page.
The line that rules people out fastest is the second one. A student who has already started a degree in another country, the United Kingdom or Germany for instance, is out; a student who did an exchange semester abroad during an Indian degree is fine.
The programme you are actually applying for
The Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development is a collaboration between UNU-MERIT, the United Nations University institute based in Maastricht, and Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics. It is a 13-month, one-academic-year master’s, which is why the scholarship tenure is 13 months rather than the 12 or 24 months you see on other Dutch awards.
That matters for planning: there is no second-year funding question, and no long research gap. You arrive in the last week of August, complete a compulsory two-week Pre-Academic Training, and the scholarship runs to the end of the academic year.
The two deadlines that decide the application
Most rejected applicants miss the admission date, not the scholarship date, because the scholarship form needs a Maastricht student number.
| Admission file complete through Studielink | 10 December 2026 |
| Scholarship application form closes | 1 February 2027, 23:59 CET |
| Any programme handling fee paid by the candidate | 1 February 2027 |
| Completeness check of every application | After 1 February 2027 |
| Online interview for the shortlisted candidates | After the February check |
| Selection status informed to all candidates | April 2027 |
| Two-week Pre-Academic Training, mandatory | Begins in early August 2027 |
You can apply for the master’s and the scholarship at the same time. Register through Studielink, receive your Maastricht student number, then log in to the scholarship form with your UM account. The award itself needs you to be at least conditionally admitted.
Documents you upload with the scholarship form
- Curriculum vitae, no longer than two A4 pages, with your education, work experience, extracurricular engagement and active citizenship in your community.
- Letter of motivation on the university’s own template, which asks about your motivation for the scholarship rather than for the degree.
- Proof of academic excellence: continuous good to excellent results, demonstrated by your latest grade transcript.
- Personal statement of financial needs, describing the circumstances the scholarship would address, such as financial difficulty, sole carer responsibilities, a medical condition, a disability or refugee status.
- One reference letter from a former professor, lecturer or employer. Family members cannot be referees, the letter must follow the university’s guidelines and must be dated no earlier than February 2026, and you upload it yourself.
The form accepts a single submission. There is no way to add or replace a document afterwards, so gather the reference letter and transcript before you start filling it in. The page also warns that letters which do not follow the guidelines make the application incomplete.
How the selection runs
- The UM Scholarship Office checks after 1 February 2027 whether every application is complete.
- Complete files are forwarded to the Public Policy and Human Development admission office.
- That office, with the programme coordinators, ranks the applications against the UM scholarship selection criteria and proposes a top five to the Public Policy Scholarship selection committee.
- The committee, made up of the MPP academic programme coordinator, a UM Scholarship Office representative, the UNU-MERIT Alumni Office and the Board of Examiners, invites the top three for an online interview and then decides. Candidates who are not selected go on a reserve list in case the winner declines.
- Everyone is told their status in April 2027: selected, waitlisted or rejected, with the waitlist resolved by the same month.
One seat, a shortlist of five and three interviews means the interview carries a lot of weight. The committee is drawn from the programme and its alumni office, so expect questions about why public policy and human development specifically, and about what you would do with the degree in India.
How this compares with the other Maastricht awards
Maastricht runs several NL scholarships on the same 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027 window with the same 10 December admission cut-off, so the choice is about the programme and the money, not the calendar.
- NL-High Potential Scholarship: the largest scheme, spread across many faculties, with a EUR 20,150 living allowance for a one-year master’s.
- NL Social Justice Scholarship: tied to the master’s in Globalisation and Law at the law faculty.
- NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship: two seats, master’s programmes linked to the Chemelot and Maastricht Health campuses, with a company-based thesis.
- NL MPP Scholarship: one seat, one programme, a lower cash allowance of EUR 7,800 but a shorter 13-month run and a room arranged through The Social Hub.
You can apply for one UM scholarship only, and each of these has its own form, so read all the pages before you pick.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The award is open to students from outside the EU/EEA, Switzerland and Surinam, so Indian citizens qualify, provided you have never followed a degree-seeking higher education programme abroad and you are not older than 35 on 1 September 2027.
The scholarship form closes on 1 February 2027 at 23:59 CET. The admission file for the MSc Public Policy and Human Development has to be complete through Studielink by 10 December 2026, and any handling fee charged by the programme is paid by the candidate.
Tuition fees at cost, EUR 7,800 in living expenses for the 13-month programme, a room at The Social Hub from August 2027 to June 2028 at cost, health and liability insurance, visa costs, the Pre-Academic Training and the first block of the ambassador programme. The EUR 7,800 excludes accommodation and is subject to change for 2028-2029.
One full scholarship per year. The selection committee shortlists five applicants, interviews three of them online and keeps a reserve list in case the selected candidate declines.
The scholarship page does not require work experience. It requires a Bachelor or pre-Master degree, admission to the MPP programme, and a complete application file by 10 December 2026. The programme’s own admission requirements are listed on the programme page.
A room at The Social Hub is arranged for the scholarship holder from August 2027 until June 2028 at cost. It is listed as a separate item from the EUR 7,800 living allowance, which the university describes as living expenses excluding accommodation.
All candidates are informed in April 2027, and the page states the status will be selected, waitlisted or rejected by that month. The two-week Pre-Academic Training starts in early August 2027.
Official links
Related reading: NL MPP Scholarship, Maastricht University (eligibility, amount table, deadlines)
All Maastricht University scholarships
Maastricht University scholarship guide
Related reading: browse post graduation scholarships, international scholarships and study abroad scholarships for more fully funded master’s options for Indian students.
Related scholarship posts: Maastricht NL-High Potential Scholarship 2027-28, Maastricht NL Social Justice Scholarship 2027-28, UM NL Brightlands Talent Scholarship 2027-28.