Grants
Dutch Students
EU students
Non-EU students
Dutch Students
You have to apply for a grant in plenty of time! In some cases, you may be entitled to a subsidy during the period between school and university (usually July and August) as well.
'Performance' grant
Your grant will comprise the following:
- A basic 'performance' grant. If you decide to live in digs, please inform the Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO) of this in plenty of time. But be warned! The residential address you give to DUO must be the same as the address you’re registered at on the Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie (GBA, or Municipal Personal Records Database). Please make sure that both addresses are identical.
- A student travel pass (the ‘OV-kaart’)
- Whether you are eligible for a supplementary grant will depend on your living situation and your legal parents’ income. The basic student grant may, if necessary, be supplemented by contributions from your parents, or by taking out a loan with DUO. For more information, please click here.
Applying for a grant
In order to get the right kind of grant and your student travel pass in time, you should send your application and the relevant data to DUO in Groningen preferably before 1 June. Please do this without fail, since student grants are never paid out retroactively. Your application form must be sent off at least three months before the commencing date of your grant. You should enter ‘1 September’ as the date on which your grant should commence: the date of commencement is always the first day of the month. For example, if you apply for a grant commencing on 2 September, you will not receive the grant until 1 October.
Bridging the gap between school and university
After your university entrance examinations, there are usually a couple of months between the end of the school year and the beginning of the new academic year. Dutch students are eligible for a subsidy to bridge this period in the following cases:
- If you are aged 18 and over. You will then receive a pre-university student subsidy for July and August. You should apply for this subsidy using the 'Wijzigingen Scholier' form. Please submit your application before the expiry date of the bridging period! You should make a separate application for your student grant; you will then receive this as from 1 September. If you have applied for the pre-university student subsidy and you fail your final examinations, you should inform DUO that your subsidy can be continued during the coming school year, and that you are postponing your student grant.
- If your 18th birthday is after 30 June. You yourself are not eligible for the subsidy, but your parents may apply for a subsidy known as a ' WTS 18+ Student expenses subsidy' for August and September. This is providing they have received an allowance during the year of application (2007-2008) and you are registered as a student on 1 October. You will still have to make a separate application for your grant, which you will then receive as from 1 October.
- Tip! Find out from DUO what exactly you have to do to arrange for your subsidy. You are only entitled to this subsidy if you are definitely going to study at the university. If you decide against going to university, you will have to pay the subsidy back.
If you have lived in the Netherlands for the last five years, you may be entitled to the 'performance grant' from DUO. The performance-related grant is a loan which is converted into a gift if you obtain your diploma within a ten-year period. If you are attending a four-year course, you will receive a performance-related grant for four years. After these four years, you may exclusively borrow for a further three years. Please see their website for more details.
If you haven't lived in the Netherlands for five years, but when you do work in the Netherlands on the basis of an official contract of employment, and when you work at least 32 hours a month, then you are also entitled to the 'performance grant'. Please see this website for further details.
In some cases, students originating from another EU member state, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland may be entitled to receive a grant, in the shape of a 'performance' education grant. In other cases, these students qualify for a loan tuition fee from DUO: a monthly loan intended specifically for the payment of tuition fees. Please visit the website of DUO to find all brochures and forms.
The Netherlands Student Grantfinder is an online search engine for those who want to study in the Netherlands and are looking for financial aid. The Grantfinder contains information on a range of Dutch scholarships for foreign students.
Non-EU students
Erasmus University Rotterdam does not offer grants or scholarships for foreign students.
However, there are several other possibilities for you to obtain a grant or scholarship:
- the Dutch government
- your home institution
- your local government
- international organisations (e.g. UN, World Bank etc)
- Federal Stafford Loan Programme
- in very little cases you might receive a grant from DUO. Please check the nationality chart.
The Netherlands Student Grantfinder is an online search engine for those who want to study in the Netherlands and are looking for financial aid. The Grantfinder contains information on a range of Dutch scholarships for foreign students.
For more information, please visit the Prospective Students site.
Any other questions?
If you’d like more information on grants for Dutch students and some EU-students, you can drop by one of DUO’s regional offices (Rotterdam DUO - IB-Group, Wilhelminakade 131a, Mondays to Fridays from 10.00 to 17.00 hours), or call DUO's national number: +31 - (0)50 - 599 77 55 (Mondays to Fridays from 09.00-17.00 hours).
You can also find DUO on the internet. You can use the website for passing on changes in your personal data and ordering brochures, and you can often download information as well. You can also send your questions by e-mail to DUO.
