VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship 2027-2028: Eligible Countries, Programmes and Deadlines

The VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship is a full Belgian scholarship for nationals of 25 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America who want to study one of 12 English-taught programmes at Flemish universities and colleges. It pays tuition, travel, insurance and living costs for the whole programme, whether that is a one-year advanced master’s, a two-year master’s or a three-year professional bachelor’s.

The call for the 2027-2028 intake is open now. Each programme sets its own deadline, from 30 November 2026 for the Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems master’s to 28 February 2027 for the latest ones, and classes start in September 2027. You apply to the university, not to VLIR-UOS, and you may apply for only one ICP Connect programme a year.

VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship 2027-2028: key facts

The scholarship is paid as a monthly allowance. Depending on the institution, you either pay your own insurance, tuition and housing from it, or the institution pays them directly and deducts them. VLIR-UOS does not publish the monthly amount on its call page, and it gives no partial awards or extensions beyond the official programme length.

VLIR-UOS eligible countries

That is the 25-country list on the VLIR-UOS website. The 2027-2028 call page also says Mali was recently added, but Mali did not appear on the country list when I checked, so Malian applicants should confirm with the programme before applying. Some listing sites still name Rwanda, Cambodia, Haiti and Nicaragua, but those countries are not on the current VLIR-UOS list.

You need both nationality and residence in listed countries, though they do not have to be the same country. A Kenyan living in Uganda qualifies; a Kenyan living in the UK does not. Nationals of countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, India or Pakistan are not eligible.

ICP Connect programmes for 2027-2028 and their deadlines

The three IOB rows use IOB’s 2026 dates (opened 1 November 2025, scholarship deadline 1 February 2026) moved forward one year, because the VLIR-UOS programme pages leave those fields blank (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens). All other dates are from the VLIR-UOS programme pages for the 2027 intake.

Two notes on the table. VLIR-UOS lists Applied Computer Science as a three-year bachelor’s, but its programme page shows September 2027 to September 2029, so check the length with Thomas More. And IOB’s own site described 2026-2027 as the last VLIR-UOS funded year for its programme, while VLIR-UOS still lists the three IOB master’s for 2027-2028. Email IOB before you choose one of them.

Programmes no longer funded in 2027-2028

VLIR-UOS has dropped eight programmes from the scholarship for this intake. You can still study them as a self-funded student, but not with an ICP Connect award:

• International Master of Science in Agro- and Environmental Nematology
• International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD)
• Master of Human Settlements
• Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies (CADES)
• Master of Epidemiology
• Master of Statistics and Data Science
• Master in Sustainable Development
• Master of Science in Water Resources Engineering (WRE)

Many listing sites still show these programmes as funded. If you wanted Statistics and Data Science or Sustainable Development at KU Leuven, look at the Science@Leuven Scholarship instead.

VLIR-UOS scholarship eligibility rules

1. Nationality and residence: a national of one of the 25 countries, living in one of them when you apply.
2. Age for bachelor’s and initial master’s: no older than 35 on 1 January of the intake year (1 January 2027 for this call).
3. Age for advanced master’s: no older than 45 on that date.
4. Minimum age for bachelor’s: at least 19 by 1 January 2027.
5. One application: one ICP Connect programme per year, and no other scholarship or grant for the same or another programme at the same time.
6. No earlier Belgian study: you have never received a Belgian government study scholarship and were not enrolled at a Belgian higher education institution before 1 January of the intake year.
7. Programme admission: you meet the programme’s own academic and English requirements, which each host lists on its page.

Who gets priority in selection

• People working in higher education, government or civil society, or aiming for those sectors. Recent graduates and private-sector staff can still be selected with a strong profile and motivation.
• Candidates who can show how they will use the degree for sustainable development at home.
• Women, who are encouraged to apply, and a balance across regions.
• Equally qualified candidates from vulnerable groups, under the “Leave No One Behind” principle.
• Candidates who have never had a scholarship to study in a higher-income country.

How to apply for the VLIR-UOS ICP Connect Scholarship

1. Check eligibility: nationality, residence, age on 1 January 2027 and the no-earlier-Belgian-study rule. Most rejections happen here.
2. Choose one programme: read its VLIR-UOS page and then the host institution’s page for admission rules, English requirements and extra scholarship criteria.
3. Join the information session (optional): VLIR-UOS runs an online session on 26 November, 14:30 to 16:30 CET, with a Zoom registration link on its scholarship page.
4. Apply on the institution’s portal: submit the programme application and, in the same application, state that you are applying for the ICP Connect scholarship.
5. Upload your documents: typically certified diplomas and transcripts, an English test result or proof of English-medium study, a CV, a motivation letter, recommendation letters and a passport copy. Each host sets the exact list.
6. Submit before the programme’s deadline: check the closing time on the host’s portal, since it can differ from your local time.
7. Wait for the result: VLIR-UOS emails selected and waiting-list candidates by mid-May; the programme tells everyone else.

For your references, our recommendation letter samples help if your employer or professor has never written a scholarship reference before.

Writing the ICP Connect motivation letter

Selectors score you on motivation and on your potential as an “agent of change” for sustainable development. They want to read about a problem in your country, your part in solving it, and the skills the programme will add.

1. The problem: a specific development issue you work on or plan to work on.
2. Your track record: your job, research or volunteer work on it, with results.
3. The skills gap: what you cannot yet do, and which courses in the programme teach it.
4. Your return plan: the organisation or institution you will go back to and what you will change there.

A short example opening for the Road Safety master’s: “I am a traffic engineer with the city roads department, and last year our three busiest junctions had more pedestrian deaths than the rest of the city combined. We redesign junctions with no crash data analysis at all.” The jury sees a real job, a real problem and an obvious reason to fund you.

Common mistakes

• Applying for two ICP programmes in the same year.
• Choosing a programme that VLIR-UOS no longer funds for 2027-2028.
• Forgetting to state the scholarship request in the programme application.
• Working out your age on the wrong date: the cut-off is 1 January 2027, not the deadline.
• Applying while living outside the eligible countries.
• Holding another scholarship for the same study, which leads to exclusion.

What happens after you apply

1. Institution review: the host checks eligibility and admission, then ranks eligible scholarship candidates.
2. VLIR-UOS screening: VLIR-UOS checks the institution’s ranking against its own criteria and balances.
3. Results: selected and waiting-list candidates get an email from VLIR-UOS no later than mid-May.
4. Visa and travel: you apply for a Belgian student visa with your admission and scholarship documents, then travel for the September start.

Questions about your application or the selection go to the host institution, not VLIR-UOS. IOB, for example, says it has 10 full scholarships per advanced master’s, with 10 substitutes on a reserve list.

Costs the VLIR-UOS scholarship does not cover

• Anything after the official programme end date, since there are no extensions.
• Extra activities such as fieldwork trips back to the Global South, unless the programme has its own fund.
• Costs before you travel, such as your English test, certified copies, couriers and passport fees.

VLIR-UOS compared with other Belgian scholarships

ARES is the French-speaking counterpart and asks for work experience; VLIR-UOS does not require it, although it prefers it. If your country is on neither list, Master Mind is open to almost every nationality. Our guide to scholarships in Europe covers more options.

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply if you hold the nationality of an eligible country, live in one, fall within the age limit, and work (or plan to work) in a university, government body or NGO on a problem one of the 12 programmes addresses. Mid-career applicants with a clear plan to return home are exactly who the scheme was built for.

Skip it if you have studied in Belgium before or held a Belgian government scholarship, live outside the eligible countries, are over the age limit, or want one of the eight programmes no longer funded. I would also look elsewhere if your plan is to settle in Europe after graduating, because the selection rewards return plans.

VLIR-UOS scholarship FAQs

Which countries are eligible for the VLIR-UOS scholarship?

Twenty-five: 16 in sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco and Palestine, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Peru, and Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. You must be a national of one and live in one when you apply.

What is the VLIR-UOS scholarship deadline for 2027?

It depends on the programme: 30 November 2026 for TROPIMUNDO, 15 January 2027 for Applied Computer Science, 31 January 2027 for Hotel Management, 1 February 2027 for most others, and 28 February 2027 for IMAQUA, Nutrition and Food Systems and Sustainable Land Management.

What is the age limit for the VLIR-UOS scholarship?

35 for bachelor’s and initial master’s, and 45 for advanced master’s, counted on 1 January 2027. Bachelor’s applicants must also be at least 19 on that date.

Can I apply for two VLIR-UOS programmes?

No. You may apply for only one ICP Connect scholarship a year, and a second application gets you excluded.

Sources and updates

Coverage, eligibility, selection criteria, the programme list, discontinued programmes, results timing and the information session come from the VLIR-UOS ICP Connect scholarships page, its 2027-2028 call page and its study scholarships page. The country list is from the VLIR-UOS ICP Connect country list page. Host institutions, opening dates and deadlines come from each programme’s page on vliruos.be. IOB dates and scholarship numbers come from the University of Antwerp IOB admissions and ICP Connect pages. Information checked on 25 October 2026; I will update this post as programmes confirm their dates.

Jude Chinecherem

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.