The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) are demand-driven fellowship programmes designed to promote capacity building within organizations in 61 developing countries by providing training and education to their mid-career staff members. The NFP is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the development cooperation budget. The scholarships allow candidates to pursue Master studies, PhD studies, or short courses at Dutch Universities or academic institutions.
Course starts September 2014
Host Institution(s):
Dutch Universities and academic institutions.
Field(s) of study:
See the list of eligible programmes for 2014/2015 under different deadlines.
Target group:
The NFP target group consists of professionals who are nationals of and work and live in an NFP country. The chances of obtaining an NFP fellowship increase if you live and work in Sub-Saharan Africa and/or if you are a woman.
Scholarship value/inclusions:
The fellowship compensates for three main categories of costs: a) study-related fees b) travel and c) subsistence. Costs in the categories a) and b) are entirely covered by the fellowship, whereas the amount provided in category c) is a contribution towards the actual costs. If applicable, the fellowship holder is expected to cover the difference between the actual costs and the NFP subsistence allowance.
Eligibility:
You must meet a number of criteria that support the aim of the NFP to be eligible for a fellowship. You must:
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- • be a professional with at least three years’ relevant work experience;
- • be a national of, and working and living in one of the countries on the NFP country list valid at the time of application;
- • be nominated by your employer, who pledges to continue paying your salary and guarantees that you will be able to return to the same or an equivalent position at the end of your fellowship period;
- • have been unconditionally admitted by a Dutch institution to one of the Master’s degree programmes or Short courses on the course list, or have agreed upon a PhD research proposal with the Dutch institution. This means that you must have met all the academic requirements set by the Dutch institution;
- • not be employed by:
- – a multinational corporation (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft);
- – a large national and/or a large commercial organisation;
- – a bilateral donor organisation (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch ministry of Foreign affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid);
- – a multilateral donor organisation, (e.g. a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB);
- – an international NGO (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care).
- • have completed and submitted an NFP PhD study, master’s degree programme or short course fellowship application, including all the required documentation, before the applicable fellowship application deadline;
- • be employed in a subject area to which the study will make a relevant contribution;
- • have a clear-cut, work relationship with a relevant organisation and be in a position to introduce the newly acquired skills and knowledge into that organisation;
- • be available full-time for the entire period of the programme or course and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme;
- • endorse the objective and the aim of the NFP and use your new knowledge and skills to support your employing organisation and your country. Nuffic urges you to return to your home country upon finishing the course or programme to meet the NFP aim in the most effective way.
If you apply for an NFP PhD fellowship, you must:
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- • not have accepted an NFP PhD fellowship in the past;
- • pursue the PhD study following a ‘sandwich’ or ‘picnic’ model, which means that at least a quarter of the PhD study must take place in the candidate’s home country and/or region. A quarter of the PhD study is calculated from the start date of the PhD-study (research) until the end of the NFP-PhD fellowship.
If you apply for an NFP short courses fellowship, you must:
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- • not have accepted more than one NFP short course fellowship in the past;
- • not have accepted an NFP short course fellowship in the year prior to the fellowship application.
If you apply for an NFP master’s degree programme (NFP-MA) fellowship, you must not have accepted an NFP master’s degree programme fellowship in the past.
Application instructions:
To be eligible for an NFP fellowship, you must be admitted to the master’s degree programme, short course or PhD study, for which you would like to use the fellowship. Thus before applying for the scholarship, you need to apply for admissions directly at the Dutch institution that offers the degree programme of their choice. Candidates are strongly advised to seek academic admission as early as possible to allow the institution to process your application in time.
Fellowship applications then have to be submitted through Scholarships Online (SOL) by the deadline. For 2014-2015, the first deadline for fellowship applications is 4 February 2014 (Masters & Short courses). The next deadlines are 6 May 2014 (Masters & Short courses) and 7 October 2014 (PhD & Short courses). You are only allowed to apply for one NFP fellowship per deadline.
It is important to read the NFP Rules and Regulations 2014-2015 and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.
Website:
Official Scholarship Website: http://www.studyinholland.nl/scholarships/scholarships-administered-by-nuffic/netherlands-fellowship-programmes
