There is a variety of resources available depending on the support from either the Netherlands or your home country. The list below is not exhaustive and we encourage you to research your own funding options. You may also contact the Graduate School or research institute that covers your discipline. They will be able to advise you on the most relevant grant/scholarship providers in your specialist field.
Once you have completed your PhD, you may also be able to apply for a grant to pursue an academic career after graduation. The Grants Office of IXA-GO at VU Amsterdam helps researchers find their way through the jungle of schemes and funds available for research funding. IXA-GO offers support in the search for and writing of research grants and provides administrative and legal support throughout the full cycle of research grants.
Employees and PhD candidates of VU Amsterdam can also use the database "Research Connect" to search for subsidy possibilities.
Funding opportunities for aspiring PhDs
Funding opportunities
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General scholarship resources
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Dutch grant/scholarship providers
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European grant/scholarship providers
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- EURAXESS
- La Caixa Foundation, Spain
- Bolashak scholarship, Kazakhstan
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US grant/scholarship providers
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Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America grants/scholarship providers
Asia Pacific
African continent
Latin America
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China Scholarship Council
The China Scholarship Council (CSC) provides scholarships for outstanding Chinese master's students, recent graduates and young (academic) professionals who want to do either a full-time PhD programme or a part of their PhD programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
If you are a prospective CSC candidate this page will help you understand the application process and requirements for doing a PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Eligibility
Who is eligible for the CSC Scholarship:
- Full PhD candidates: selected Chinese candidates can enrol as a PhD candidate at 6 of our 9 faculties at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. PLEASE NOTE that we are not accepting application for the Faculty of Science (BETA).
For a full PhD the scholarship covers a max. of 48 months of research. Upon the successful completion of all requirements of the trajectory and defense, candidates will be conferred a degree by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. - Visiting PhD candidates: selected Chinese candidates can enrol as a PhD candidate at 6 of our 9 faculties at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. As a visiting PhD candidate your stay at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam can be of a max. 24 months. Candidates are to return to their home institutions in China for their dissertation defense upon completion of their research visit at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Which faculty?
The eligible faculties for CSC candidates are listed below:
- Faculty of Humanities
- School of Business and Economics
- Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Religion and Theology
Application
The scholarship includes:
- Exemption from registration fee, tuition fee, research fee and other allowances as specified in the Memorandum of Understanding with the China Scholarship Council and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (link to the MoU)
- Living allowance of €1,350 per month (including health insurance)
- International airfare (China – Amsterdam)
The living allowances will be paid via CSC. Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange will book the tickets for the departure from Beijing, and the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands will book the return tickets.
Requirements
- Candidates are citizens and permanent residents of the People’s Republic of China at the time of application.
- Doctoral candidates must have a Master’s degree and be under the age of 35.
- Academic requirements are set by each faculty/department, however standard requirements for all PhD candidates are successful completion of a Masters degree and a good level of English:
IELTS (academic): 6.5 overall - Most programmes do not accept subscores below 6.0.
TOEFL Internet-based test: 92. - In accordance with the CSC regulations, candidates must return to China upon completion of their research.
- The current CSC scholarship allowance of €1,350 per month is lower than the Dutch income requirements to obtain a visa to the Netherlands. Please be aware that you will need to show proof of a top-up from your hosting faculty/department to cover the difference between your scholarship and the income requirements.
Housing:
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has limited housing options available for all degree students and doctoral candidates. Once you have been accepted by the CSC, we will contact you on how to apply. You can find more information on housing here.
Immigration:
Once you have been selected as a CSC scholar at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam we will contact you regarding submitting your visa application.
The current CSC scholarship allowance of €1,350 per month is lower than the Dutch income requirements to obtain a visa to the Netherlands. Please be aware that you will need a complementary top-up from VU Amsterdam.
How to apply?
Your first step is to identify a potential supervisor. All Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam professors can be found here. You can contact a supervisor based on their research expertise and how it aligns with your PhD research proposal. Each supervisor will conduct their own interviews and assessment of your candidacy. If you are successful in obtaining support from a supervisor, they will support your CSC application by providing a conditional offer letter. The letter is conditional upon receipt of a CSC scholarship. Once you have obtained the letter, the supervisor will contact the International Office who will issue a conditional offer letter from the institution (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). You can use both letters in your application to the CSC.
If you prefer that we help facilitate the contact to a professor, you may submit an application form and we will make contact on your behalf. Please note that your application form must include the following:
- Your CV
- Your Research Proposal
- The name of your preferred supervisor
Application timeline
Activity Date Contact preferred supervisor or fill in application form until February 2025 Interviews conducted by supervisor (online) until March 2025 Final selection and conditional offer letter issued by mid March 2025 Candidate applies through the CSC website to be announced Decision by CSC May/June 2025 Onboarding process at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (immigration, housing, general set-up in systems) June-August 2025 Starting your PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam September 2025-January 2026 Memorandum of Understanding
In 2019, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China Scholarship Council (CSC). Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the CSC collaborate to provide high quality research training to qualified students and postdoctoral fellows from Chinese universities. They prioritize support in the following areas of study: Environment, Medicine, Life- and Neuroscience, Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Economics, Business, Law, International studies and Social Sciences.
Contact
E: phd@vu.nl
- Full PhD candidates: selected Chinese candidates can enrol as a PhD candidate at 6 of our 9 faculties at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. PLEASE NOTE that we are not accepting application for the Faculty of Science (BETA).
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Aon Scholarship
For decades, Aon has been actively involved in insuring international talent who come to the Netherlands for their education. To provide some of these students with additional financial support, Aon has established the Aon Scholarship Programme in collaboration with Nuffic.
Coverage
This programme offers scholarships of €6,000 to students whose studies focus on environmental, social and governance topics and who want to apply for financial support to complete their thesis. The AON scholarship aims to support the completion of the thesis (research, fieldwork, material or dissertation writing).This year, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam can present a maximum of 6 candidates, but only 2 scholarships will be allocated.
Target group
The primary target audience for the Aon Scholarship Programme is:- Students from a non-EU/EEA or EU/EEA country who, as of the 2025-2026 academic year, are enrolled as students at VU Amsterdam.
- Students who are working on a thesis or dissertation as part of their Bachelor's, Master’s or PhD programme in the 2025-2026 academic year and who are enrolled in the following programmes:
- Environment and Resource Management
- Ecology and Evolution
- Information Sciences
- Law
- Int Business Law: Climate Change and Corporations
- Psychology
- Culture, Organization and Management
- Social and Cultural Anthropology
- Finance
- Transport and Supply Chain Management
- Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics
Application
If you are interested in applying, please follow these steps:- Send an email to scholarships.incoming@vu.nl with the following documents:
- Copy passport / ID
- Proof of registration/ admission at your institution for the academic year 2025-2026
- Diploma or study transcript of your previous and current higher education
- CV
- Motivation letter (combined in one PDF) which should include:
- Motivation for the selected Bachelor / Master and Dutch institution
- Description and motivation for the (research) project
- Explanation of the needed scholarship / financial support
- Reference letters combined in 1 PDF:
- The reference letter must be provided by a current or previous professor or supervisor.
- If the scholarship is for a (research) project, include a reference from the supervisor describing the relevance of the research project.
- The reference letter should include the need for financial support for the candidate.
- Once the documents are submitted to the scholarships office, the pre-selected candidates will be invited to submit their application in the Delta system.
- Nuffic and AON will review and assess the applications based on the information provided by the student. If necessary, Nuffic will consult with the educational institution.
- After the selection process, Nuffic will provide a recommendation to Aon.
- Aon will then announce the scholarship recipients, in principle, within two weeks of receiving Nuffic's recommendation.
- Selected students will be notified by Nuffic.
- Payment of the scholarship will be done in three installments.
Timeline and deadlines
What happens Deadline 1 Send the documents by email to VU Amsterdam scholarships.incoming@vu.nl 10 June 2 Pre-selected candidates receive an email from the VU with the link to submit their application online in Delta 15 June 2025 3 Candidates submit their applications online via Delta Delta 30 June 2025 4 Selected candidates are informed Nuffic Around end of July 5 First disbursement Nuffic August 6 Second disbursement after checking enrollment status at VU Amsterdam Nuffic November 7 Third (and last) disbursement after students receive their diploma or final transcripts Nuffic July / August Questions?
In case you have questions please send an email to scholarships.incoming@vu.nl.