The Leiden University Excellence Scholarships is for excellent students joining a full-time Leiden University Master's degree programme - with the exception of all Humanities programmes and of LLM (non-advanced) and MSc programmes at Leiden Law School.
About Leiden University
Leiden University was founded in 1575 and is one of the leading international research universities in Europe. It has seven faculties and a campus in both Leiden and The Hague. Its motto is Praesidium Libertatis – Bastion of Freedom.
The five disciplinary clusters in which Leiden University and the Leiden University Medical Center excel are:
Fundamentals of Science
Life Sciences
Health and Wellbeing
Law, Politics and Administration
Languages, Cultures and Societies
The University’s academic partners in the province of Zuid-Holland are Delft University of Techn... continue reading
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Leiden University Excellence Scholarship
Aim and Benefits of Leiden University Excellence Scholarship
The LExS is awarded for the duration of the study program. There are three available levels of awards:
- € 10,000 of the tuition fee
- € 15,000 of the tuition fee
- Total tuition fee minus the statutory tuition fee
The LExS is not a full scholarship. Non-EEA LExS recipients must still submit ‘proof of sufficient funds’ for their student visa/residence permit application.
Requirements for Leiden University Excellence Scholarship Qualification
1. Study programme requirements
Applicants for all Master's programme at Leiden University starting in September, with the exception of :
- Humanities programmes
- Leiden Law School's LLM (non-advanced) and MSc programmes.
2. Nationality requirements
Applicants must have a non-EEA/non-EFTA* passport, and may not be eligible for student finance via the Dutch government (Studiefinanciering) – with the exceptions of students applying for the programmes listed below for which no nationality restrictions apply:
- All LLM Advanced Studies programmes
- MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy
EEA/EFTA: All EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
Additional note for UK students
As the UK is a non-EEA country, students from the UK are eligible to apply for the LExS. Note: this does not apply to applicants who were already living in the Netherlands and registered in their Dutch municipality's BRP before 1 January 2021. More information on Brexit can be found in the Brexit dossier.
3. Academic requirements
Students must have achieved excellent academic results in their previous study programme(s), which must be relevant to the Master's programme for which they are applying. As an indication, the student is amongst the top 10% of graduates in their previous study programme. Note that proof of ranking is not required – this information is purely to indicate the level of competitiveness.
Obligations
Students who are granted a LExS must comply with, and confirm in writing, their agreement with the Terms and conditions attached to the scholarship prior to the awarding of the scholarship.
Exclusions
- Scholarships cannot be awarded to applicants who have already obtained a Leiden University Master’s degree, with the exception of students applying for a Master programme for which a specified previous Master programme or work experience is mandatory (e.g. LLM Advanced Studies programmes).
- Scholarships cannot be awarded to students who will follow:
- a master at the Faculty of Humanities, or
- an LLM (non-advanced) or MSc programme at Leiden Law School, or
- a study programme starting in February.
- Scholarships cannot be awarded to students who do not meet the nationality requirements stated above.
- It is not possible to combine the LExS with another full scholarship from an external provider. Students are obliged to notify the scholarships department if they receive a full scholarship from another source. In some circumstances, the LExS may be combined with a partial scholarship from an external provider. Contact the Scholarships Team for further details.
Interview date, Process and Venue for Leiden University Excellence Scholarship
Selection process
- The faculty selection committees will nominate their LExS recipients within 6 weeks of the LExS deadline.
- All applicants will receive an email notifying them whether they have been awarded a LExS at the end of April.
Application Deadline
February 1, 2025How to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to
Leiden University on www.studielink.nl to apply
- Apply online for admission to a Master's programme at Leiden University and pay the application fee if applicable.
- Note: it can take up to 2 days to create/submit an application for admission, so start your application well before the LExS deadline.
- After submitting your application for admission, return to the Apply screen in your online application and click on Scholarships. If you are eligible to apply for the LExS, it will now be visible in the scholarships section.
- Note: if you cannot see the LExS in your scholarships section, you have either not yet submitted your application for admission, missed the deadline or are not eligible for the LExS.
- Indicate that you want to apply for the LExS then upload your LExS motivation letter. This must be a PDF file of max. 500 words, in which you explain why you would like to be considered for the award.
- Submit your scholarship application before the LExS deadline. Please be aware that after submitting your scholarship application, you cannot make changes to it either online or by sending additional items by email.
- If you are applying for more than one study programme/specialisation and wish to apply for a LExS for each, you must submit a LExS application and motivation letter within each separate online application for admission.
Late applications
Late scholarship applications will not be considered. It is the responsibillity of the student to make sure they create/submit both their application for admission and their application for a scholarship before the LExS deadline.
For more details, visit Leiden University webpage
