The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship Programme (LExS) is open to outstanding non-EEA/non-EFTA students enrolling in a full-time master’s degree programme at Leiden University.

  • Afghanistan
  • Aland Islands
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • American Samoa
  • Andorra
  • Angola
  • Anguilla
  • Antarctica
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Aruba
  • Australia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahamas
  • Bahrain
  • Bangladesh
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belize
  • Benin
  • Bermuda
  • Bhutan
  • Bolivia
  • Bonaire, Sint-Estatius and Saba
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Botswana
  • Bouvet Island
  • Brazil
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cambodia
  • Cameroon
  • Canada
  • Cape Verde
  • Cayman Islands
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Chile
  • China
  • Christmas Island
  • Cocos Islands
  • Colombia
  • Comoros
  • Congo
  • Congo
  • Cook Islands
  • Costa Rica
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Cuba
  • Curacao
  • Djibouti
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • Eland Islands
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
  • Faroe Islands
  • Fiji
  • French Guiana
  • French Polynesia
  • French Southern and Antarctic Lands
  • French Southern Territories
  • Gabon
  • Gambia
  • Georgia
  • Ghana
  • Gibraltar
  • Greenland
  • Grenada
  • Guadeloupe
  • Guam
  • Guatemala
  • Guernsey
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Guyana
  • Haiti
  • Heard Island and McDonald Islands
  • Honduras
  • Hong Kong
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Isle of Man
  • Israel
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • Jersey
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Kiribati
  • Kosovo
  • Kuwait
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos
  • Lebanon
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Macao
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Maldives
  • Mali
  • Marshall Islands
  • Martinique
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Mayotte
  • Mexico
  • Micronesia
  • Midway Islands
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Montserrat
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Myanmar
  • Namibia
  • Nauru
  • Nepal
  • New Caledonia
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Niue
  • Norfolk Island
  • North Korea
  • North Macedonia
  • Northern Mariana Islands
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Palau
  • Palestine
  • Panama
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Pitcairn
  • Puerto Rico
  • Qatar
  • Reunion
  • Russian Federation
  • Rwanda
  • Saint Barthelemy
  • Saint Helena
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Samoa
  • San Marino
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • Sint-Maarten
  • Solomon Islands
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  • South Korea
  • South Ossetia
  • Southern Sudan
  • Sri Lanka
  • St. Maarten
  • Sudan
  • Suriname
  • Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
  • Swaziland
  • Syrian Arab Republic
  • Taiwan
  • Tajikistan
  • Tanzania, United Republic of
  • Thailand
  • Timor-Leste
  • Togo
  • Tokelau
  • Tonga
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • Turkmenistan
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Tuvalu
  • Uganda
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • United States Minor Outlying Islands
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Vatican
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam
  • Virgin Islands, British
  • Virgin Islands, U.S.
  • Wallis and Futuna
  • Western Sahara
  • Yemen
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Deadline: n/a

Comments: 1 Feb/1 Oct (annual). Next course starts Sept/Feb 2022

  • Accounting
  • Aerospace, Aeronautical & Marine Engineering
  • Agriculture, Forestry, Animal & Related Sciences
  • Animation
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Sciences & Professions
  • Art
  • Art & Art History
  • Astronomy
  • AuPair
  • Behavioral Science
  • Bio & Biomedical Engineering
  • Biology
  • Biomedicine
  • Business
  • Business & Technology
  • Business Administration
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil & Private Law
  • Civil Engineering, Architecture & Construction
  • Climate Studies & Meteorology
  • Communications
  • Computer Science & IT
  • Criminal Law and Criminology
  • Dentistry
  • Design
  • Development & Social Policy and Planning
  • Earth Sciences
  • Ecology, Biodiversity & Conservation
  • Econometrics
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electronics & Embedded Technology
  • Energy Engineering
  • Engineering & Business
  • Engineering & Technology
  • Engineering Physics
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Biotechnology
  • Environmental Chemistry & Toxicology
  • Environmental Economics
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Impacts & Human Health
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Environmental Systems Analysis
  • Ethnic Studies
  • European Law
  • Family and Consumer Science
  • Fashion, Textiles and Luxury goods
  • Film and Theatre Studies
  • Finance
  • Gender Studies
  • Geo-information
  • Geography
  • History
  • Hospitality and Tourism Management
  • Human Medicine
  • Human Resource Management
  • Humanities
  • Hydrology & Water Management
  • Information Science
  • International Law
  • Internship + English
  • Journalism and Mass Communications
  • Language, Literature and Cultural Studies
  • Law
  • Life Sciences, Medicine & Health
  • Management
  • Management & Organisation
  • Marketing studies
  • Materials Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Military Science
  • Music
  • Natural Sciences
  • Nursing
  • Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physics
  • Physiotherapy
  • Political Science & International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Administration
  • Public Health
  • Public Law
  • Religious Studies and Theology
  • Social Sciences
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
  • Soil Science & Soil Ecology
  • Sport
  • Supply Chain Management & Logistics
  • Sustainable Management, Policy & Governance
  • Veterinary Medicine

Finaid max:  

Quota: The number and type of award of the scholarship depends on the budget available for each Faculty department.

The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship programme has 3 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.

The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship programme has 3 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.

Students must have achieved excellent study results in their previous education, this being relevant to the Master’s programme for which they are applying. As an indication, the student is amongst the top 10% of graduates in his/her previous study programme. Note: proof of ranking is not required – this information is purely to indicate the level of competitiveness.

Applicants must have a non non-EEA/non-EFTA* passport and may not be eligible for support under the Dutch system of study grants and loans (Studiefinanciering) – with the exception of students applying for the LLM Advanced Studies programmes or the MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy, for which no nationality restrictions apply.

*All EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland)

You must first apply online for admissions to a Master’s programme at Leiden University. In your application, you must indicate clearly that you would like to apply for the LExS scholarship on the scholarship section and upload your letter of motivation for the LExS scholarship. The deadline for programmes starting in September is 1 February (exception – Advanced LLMs: 1 March) while programmes starting in February has a deadline of 1 October.

It is important to visit the official website (link found below) to access the online application form and for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.