The prestigious Huygens Scholarship Programme is open to excellent students from all countries. It is aimed at talented students who want to come to the Netherlands in the final phase of their bachelors studies or during their masters studies. PhD applications can only be accepted from excellent students with the Icelandic, Macedonian, Chinese, Croatian or Turkish nationality. Furthermore, the minister has allocated part of the total budget for excellent students following programmes in Dutch language and literature, or Neerlandistiek. The Huygens Scholarship Programme is highly competitive. To illustrate this: for the 2011 scholarship round it is expected that out of approximately 1,700 applications only 150 candidates will be awarded a scholarship.

If you want to take part in the Huygens Scholarship Programme, you must meet the following requirements: * You are an excellent student: you have obtained excellent results in all your previous studies and you are at least in the top 5% of students in your study or research programme. Please show this in your application file by including, for example, grade lists or reference letters. In case of equivalent qualification preference will be given to applications which show that you are among the top 5%. * The Dutch study programme should be registered in CROHO, the Central Register of Higher Education Programmes. You can find this information in the Dutch nomination letter provided by the Dutch host institution. * You should be in the final phase of your bachelors studies, or studying towards a masters degree in the Netherlands, and your study must be used to earn a degree at the Dutch institution. * Scholarships are only awarded for studies lasting at least 6 months, but no longer than 24 months. In case of equivalent qualification preference will be given to applications for 12 to 24 months. * Your studies or research in the Netherlands must constitute a deepening and broadening of your previous studies. * If you are already a graduate, you must have graduated less than one year ago. * It is possible to do research or practical training, but it must form part of your studies (a programme on the CROHO list), i.e. you must receive study credits for it. In case of equivalent qualification preference will be given to applications for study programmes. * At the start of the academic year (1 September) in which you study in the Netherlands, you must be no older than 35 years of age. In case of equivalent qualification preference will be given to a younger candidate. * You must have already attended a programme of education (e.g. high school or above) in a country outside the Netherlands.

There is no fixed number of available scholarships. The actual number is determined by the total cost of the variable components of the scholarships. Please note that 2011-2012 academic year starts on 1 September 2011. All scholarships awarded will start from that date, and not earlier. It is possible to start later in the academic year, but before 1 March 2012. The scholarships include the following components: * a generous contribution towards tuition fees or towards bench fees for the PhD thesis; * a monthly allowance of ? 1,380 (this includes a standard contribution towards healthcare insurance); * visa fees (standard contribution); * a one-off payment towards international travel costs (standard contribution based on nationality);

For more details visit to : http://www.nuffic.nl/international-students/scholarships/scholarships-administered-by-nuffic/huygens-scholarship-programme