The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) are fellowship programmes designed to promote capacity building within organizations in 60 developing countries by providing training and education to their mid-career staff members. The NFP is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the budget for development cooperation.

NFP fellowships can be obtained for a selected number of master’s degree programmes. The Dutch higher education institutions offer many international master’s degree programmes, covering almost every field of study.

Candidates can receive a postgraduate education and earn one of the following Dutch degrees: Master of Arts, Master of Science or a Professional Master’s degree. A Master of Arts or a Master of Science degree is an academic degree, usually awarded by traditional (research-oriented) universities on completion of a postgraduate research-oriented course of one to two years in duration. Professional master’s degrees are awarded by different types of higher education institutions that offer more professionally-oriented programmes. Professional master’s degrees are usually of shorter duration than a research-oriented master’s degree programme. The duration of the programmes varies between 9 and 24 months.

The Fellowship
An NFP fellowship is intended to supplement the salary that the fellowship holder should continue to receive (at least partially) during the study period. The allowance is considered to be a contribution towards the cost of living for one person, whether in the Netherlands or in another country. It should be noted that NFP allowances are not sufficient to support family members, either in the home country or in the Netherlands. The fellowship can cover the costs of tuition fees, visas, travel, insurance and thesis research, as specified in the NFP booklet ‘Rules and regulations for fellowship holders’. Different conditions may apply to e-learning courses or e-learning programmes.
An NFP fellowship is granted for the duration of the programme. Whilst the individual candidates are selected for a fellowship, the grants are awarded to the Dutch higher education institutions to enable the fellowship holders to pursue the chosen sub-programme.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Autonomous Palestinian Territories, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Burundi, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, DR Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan,Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

FIELD OF STUDY: All

LEVEL OF STUDY: Master

REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION
peference will be given to candidates from Sub-Saharan Africa, women and members of priority groups and/or marginalized regions
be a national of, and working and living in one of the developing countries on the NFP country list above at the time of application
be a mid-career professional with at least three years work experience
be nominated by his/her employer, who pledges to continue paying your salary and guarantees that you will be able to return to the same or an equivalent position at the end of your fellowship period
have been unconditionally admitted by the University of Twente to one of the master degree programmes. This means that you must have met all admission requirements set by the University of Twente
not already have received an NFP master’s degree fellowship
have completed an NFP Master’s Degree Programme application form and have submitted all the required documentation to the Netherlands embassy or consulate
not be employed by a multinational, UN organization, World Bank, IMF,bilateral or multilateral donor organization, or a large national, commercial organization
have completed and submitted an NFP master’s degree programme application, including all the required documentation, before the fellowship application deadline
be employed in an area to which the study will make a relevent contribution
have a clear-cut, functional relationship with a relevant organization and be in a position to introduce the newly acquired skills and knowledge into that organization
offer evidence of proficiency in speaking and writing the language of instruction
be available for the entire period of the programme and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION
Digital applications; 1 February 2011
Paper applications: 1 January 2011

For more details, please go to:
http://www.nuffic.nl/international-students/scholarships/scholarships-administered-by-nuffic/the-netherlands-fellowship-programmes/fellowships-for-masters-degree-programmes