The Eric Bleumink Scholarship (officially the Eric Bleumink Fellowship) is a fully funded master’s award at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands for students from low-income and least developed countries. It pays your full tuition, a living allowance of €1,250 a month, return flights, health insurance and money for books, for a one-year or two-year master’s starting in September.
You cannot apply for it directly. The University nominates candidates from people who have applied for a Groningen master’s, so the date that matters is the admission one: complete your master’s application by 1 December 2026 for September 2027 entry. Only four fellowships are awarded each year from hundreds of applicants, which is why the details below on nomination, country preference and timing matter so much.
Key facts about the Eric Bleumink Scholarship
- Official name: Eric Bleumink Fellowship (EBF) Talent Grant. Some University pages and listing sites call it the Eric Bleumink Fund.
- Host: University of Groningen (UG), with funding from alumni and staff donations.
- Started: 2000. In 2025 the University marked 25 years and said more than 100 students from 30 countries had graduated with it.
- Number of awards: four a year, according to the official Rules and Regulations.
- Study level: one-year or two-year master’s programmes (MSc, MA, LLM) that start in September.
- Subjects: any master’s programme at the University.
- Nationality: citizens of 79 listed developing countries, ranked in three preference groups.
- How you enter: nomination by the Admissions Office and faculty admission boards. There is no application form.
- Deadline: complete your master’s application by 1 December 2026.
What the scholarship covers
The figures below come from the EBF Rules and Regulations, updated in November 2024.
| Item | Covered? | Amount or details |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition fee | Yes, in full | Groningen’s non-EU master’s fees run from €19,900 to €24,900 a year |
| Living allowance | Yes | €1,250 a month for food and housing, paid at the end of the previous month |
| Settling-in allowance | Yes | €275 once, on arrival |
| Books and study materials | Yes | €310 a year |
| Return flights | Yes | Economy, between Amsterdam and the airport nearest your home, with taxes and travel insurance |
| Train to Groningen | Yes | Schiphol to Groningen and back, second class |
| Entry visa fee | Yes | Paid through the Mobility and Scholarship Desk |
| Health and liability insurance | Yes | A private policy (currently AON) from arrival to departure |
| Excess baggage | No | Not reimbursed |
| Family members | No | No travel or support for a spouse or children |
| Clothing and uninsured costs | No | Your own expense |
Is €1,250 a month enough?
It is tight but workable for one person. The University estimates that students spend €1,200 to €1,600 a month in Groningen excluding tuition, so the allowance sits at the lower end of that range. Room prices are the main pressure. I would start looking for housing the day you hear you have been selected, and bring a small cushion for the first month, since the allowance starts on arrival.
Who is eligible
To be nominated you need all of the following:
- Provisional or unconditional admission to a Groningen master’s programme before February.
- Excellent academic results, ideally backed by letters of recommendation.
- Excellent grades in your bachelor’s degree.
- English at the level your programme requires.
- Availability for the whole programme, starting 1 September.
- Good enough health for Dutch health insurance to be arranged.
- Citizenship of a country on the EBF list (Appendix 1).
- No other way to pay for your studies.
Eligible countries and preference order
The official list has 79 countries. The selection committee prefers candidates in this order:
| Preference | Group | Examples from the list |
|---|---|---|
| First | Least Developed Countries (OECD DAC list) | Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen |
| Second | Other low-income countries | Countries with GNI per head at or below US$1,135 (2022 data) |
| Third | Lower-middle-income countries | India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Ukraine |
The full list on the University’s fellowship page is: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Dem. Rep.), Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Some listing sites still print an older list that includes countries such as Armenia, Indonesia, Kosovo and Moldova, and leaves out Kenya, Egypt and Pakistan. Go by the University’s own page.
Partner universities get extra preference
Graduates of universities that have cooperation agreements or NICHE projects with Groningen are preferred. The Rules name partner institutions in Angola, Benin, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Cambodia and Myanmar. If your home university is one of them, mention the link in your motivation letter.
What the selection committee looks for
Good grades get you nominated. The committee then chooses between nominees using these points:
- How your degree will strengthen scientific capacity in your home country.
- Whether you can help build a long-term link between your home university and Groningen.
- A balance of men and women, disciplines and world regions across the four awards.
- Honest disclosure of any other funding you have applied for.
You cannot hold another University of Groningen scholarship at the same time, and the committee’s decision is final.
Eric Bleumink Scholarship deadline and timeline
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Studielink opened for 2027 entry | 1 October 2026 |
| Complete your master’s application | 1 December 2026 |
| Nominees chosen | First week of January 2027 |
| Motivation letter from nominees | Within one week of being nominated |
| Nomination files sent to the committee | Before 1 February 2027 |
| Results announced | Before 1 March 2027 |
| Programme starts | 1 September 2027 |
The 2026 round, for September 2026 entry, also used 1 December as the cut-off. Most Groningen master’s programmes accept non-EU applications until 1 May 2027, but that later date is far too late for this fellowship.
Silence means no
If nobody from the University has contacted you by 1 February 2027, you were not selected, and the University says it will not enter into further correspondence about the procedure.
How to get nominated, step by step
- Choose your programme: check the entry requirements on the programme page, including the English test score.
- Register in Studielink: this is the Dutch national enrolment system. It opened for 2027 entry on 1 October 2026.
- Complete the University application: upload transcripts, degree certificate, CV, motivation letter, references and your English test result. There is a €100 application fee for non-Dutch diplomas.
- Finish by 1 December 2026: the Admissions Office needs time to assess you and issue an offer before February.
- Meet any conditions: if you receive a provisional offer, keep working towards its conditions.
- Watch your email in early January: nominees are contacted and must send an EBF motivation letter within a week.
- Wait for the result: the committee decides before 1 March 2027.
There is nothing to submit to the fellowship itself before nomination, and the University asks applicants not to send EBF applications by email.
Documents for your Groningen master’s application
| Document | What to check |
|---|---|
| Bachelor’s transcript and degree certificate | Certified copies, with English translations if needed |
| CV | Put research, publications and relevant work first |
| Programme motivation letter | Separate from the EBF letter you write after nomination |
| Reference letters | The EBF criteria ask for excellent results “preferably confirmed” by recommendations, so choose referees who know your academic work |
| English test | IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge, PTE or LanguageCert at your programme’s level, unless you qualify for an exemption |
| Passport | Your name must match across all documents |
| Application fee | €100 for applicants with a non-Dutch diploma |
Strong references matter twice here: first for admission, then as evidence for the nomination.
How to write the EBF motivation letter
You only get a week, so draft it before you are nominated. The committee’s criteria tell you what to cover:
- The problem at home: one specific gap in your country that your master’s addresses.
- Why this programme: two or three courses, labs or staff in Groningen that fit that gap.
- Your record: results, research or work that show you will finish the degree well.
- Your return plan: the job, institution or project you will go back to. The fellowship requires you to return home after your studies.
- The long-term link: how you could connect your home university or employer with Groningen.
A sample opening (invented for illustration): “In my district in northern Malawi, two in five boreholes fail within five years. The MSc in Energy and Environmental Sciences at Groningen would give me the groundwater modelling skills our water board lacks, and I have a position waiting there when I return.”
What happens after you are selected
The University applies for your Dutch residence permit, and the Mobility and Scholarship Desk pays your entry visa fee, and the fellowship pays your economy flight. Your allowance starts on the day you arrive, which may be no more than one week before the programme begins, and stops five days after the programme ends. Insurance runs for the same period. Extensions are possible only for serious illness, a family emergency at home or circumstances outside your control, and the EBF Board decides those case by case.
Rules you agree to as a fellow
- Return to your home country when the fellowship ends.
- No paid work and no commercial or political activity in the Netherlands.
- Report on your studies and take part in evaluations.
- Arrive on time and make good progress; false declarations, rule breaches or poor progress can end the grant, with possible repayment.
- The University applies for your residence permit, and you register with the authorities as your entry visa instructs.
Common mistakes
- Applying for the master’s in spring, as many students do for Dutch universities. For this fellowship that is months too late.
- Assuming a separate scholarship form exists and waiting for it.
- Relying on an old country list from a listing site.
- Leaving the master’s application incomplete, with missing references or no English score, so no offer comes before February.
- Writing a motivation letter with no plan to return home or no link to your country’s needs.
How it compares with other Netherlands scholarships
| Scholarship | Level | What it pays | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Bleumink Fellowship (Groningen) | Master’s | Full tuition, €1,250 a month, flights, insurance | 1 Dec 2026 (admission) |
| NL Scholarship and other Dutch government options | Bachelor’s and master’s | €5,000 once, in the first year | Varies by university |
| HAN University scholarships | Bachelor’s and master’s | Up to €12,500 (bachelor’s) or €5,000 (master’s) | 1 May 2027 |
| Maastricht Global Studies Scholarship | Bachelor’s | Tuition plus €20,150 a year | 10 Dec 2026 and 1 Feb 2027 |
With only four places, apply for one or two of these as backups. Our guide to scholarships in the Netherlands without IELTS lists more options.
Who should apply, and who should not
Apply if you are from a listed country, have top grades, can complete your Groningen application by 1 December 2026 and genuinely plan to work at home after the degree. Graduates of Groningen’s partner universities have an advantage.
Skip it if you want a PhD (the fellowship is for master’s study only), if your programme starts in February, if you already have funding, or if you intend to stay in Europe after graduating. In those cases the return-home rule alone makes it a poor fit.
FAQ
How do I apply for the Eric Bleumink Scholarship?
You do not apply directly. Complete a University of Groningen master’s application by 1 December 2026, and the Admissions Office will contact you if you are nominated.
How much is the Eric Bleumink stipend?
The living allowance is €1,250 a month, plus €275 on arrival and €310 a year for books. Tuition, flights, visa fee and insurance are paid on top.
Is the Eric Bleumink Scholarship available for PhD?
No. It is for one-year and two-year master’s programmes starting in September.
Which countries are eligible for the Eric Bleumink Scholarship?
The University lists 79 developing countries, including Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ukraine and Vietnam, with Least Developed Countries given first preference.
Sources and updates
Checked on 25 October 2026 against the University of Groningen’s Eric Bleumink Fellowship page, its “Applying for a grant” page, the EBF Talent Grant Rules and Regulations (updated November 2024), the University’s 2027 international guide and programme pages for fees, and the University’s December 2025 news story on the fellowship’s 25th anniversary. We compared it with the Scholars4Dev listing, which uses an older country list and does not mention the four-award limit or the allowance amounts. We will update this page if the University changes the timeline or the allowance.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
