The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) for PhD studies can be
followed at 21 Dutch universities and institutes for international
education.
-
The PhD must be pursued according to a ‘sandwich’ or ‘picnic’
model, which means that at least a quarter of the PhD research will take
place in the candidate’s home country;
- The maximum duration of a PhD fellowship is four years;
- The maximum NFP budget available for a PhD study is € 85,000. This
amount is intended as a contribution towards the cost of living and to
cover the costs of visas, travel, insurance, tuitionfee, thesis costs
and so on, as specified in the NFP Rules and regulations for fellowship
holders, which can be downloaded at www.nuffic.nl/nfp. PhD students are
allowed to seek alternative sources of funding.
- Eligibility
- A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for a PhD degree programme must:
- be a mid-career professional with at least three years’ relevant work experience;
- be a national of, and working and living in one of the developing
countries on the NFP country list valid at the time of application;
- be nominated by his or her employer, who pledges to continue paying
the candidate’s salary and guarantees the candidate will be able to
return to an equivalent position after the termination of the fellowship
period8;
- be unconditionally admitted to a Dutch institution as a PhD
student. This means that the candidate must have met all the academic
requirements set by the Dutch university or institution;
- not already have received an NFP PhD fellowship;
- not be employed by:
o a multinational corporation (for instance Shell, Unilever etc.) or
o a large national and/-or commercial organisation or
o a bilateral donor organisation (for instance USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid etc.) or
o a multilateral donor organisation, (for instance a UN organisation,
the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development
Bank, IADB, etc.) or
o an international NGO (for instance Oxfam, Plan, Care, etc.)
- have completed and submitted an NFP PhD fellowship application with
all the required documentation before the NFP fellowship application
deadline;
- be employed in an area to which the study will make a relevant contribution;
- - have a clear-cut, functional relationship with a relevant
organisation and be in a position to introduce the newly acquired skills
and knowledge into that organisation;
- be available full-time to pursue the PhD without interruption, and
be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme;
- endorse the objective and the aim of the NFP. The aim of the NFP
cannot be reached if the fellowship holder does not return to his or her
own country. Nuffic would like to urge fellowship holders to return to
their home country upon finishing the course or programme to meet the
NFP aim in the most effective way.
Fellowship application procedure
As stated above, to be eligible for an NFP fellowship, candidates need
to be admitted as a PhD student by one of the Dutch institutions.
Obtaining admission as a PhD student
Candidates first apply for admission directly to the Dutch institution
of their choice. Admission requests must always be directed to the Dutch
institution. Senior academic staff or a specific PhD committee decides
if an candidate will be accepted. Usually, the admission decision is
based on the research proposal submitted by the candidate.
The Dutch institution assesses the application and decides whether or
not to admit the candidate as a PhD student. Candidates will receive a
letter informing them if they have been admitted. Nuffic has no part in
the academic admission process. A candidate applying for an NFP
fellowship must have been unconditionally admitted to a Dutch
institution for the course or programme for which the candidate applies
for an NFP fellowship. This means that the candidate must have met all
the academic and administrative requirements set by the Dutch
institution.
Candidates are strongly advised to apply as early as possible for
admission to the Dutch institution because these institutions need
enough time to process all the applications for admission in time.
Academic admission deadline
The academic admission process for a PhD study is an individual track.
Candidates who wish to be admitted as a PhD student have to check with
the Dutch institution if an academic admission deadline applies.
Applying for an NFP fellowship
A candidate can apply for a PhD fellowship only after a research
proposal has been agreed between the candidate and the Dutch
institution. Candidates can only apply for a fellowship for one PhD
study per fellowship application deadline. Being admitted to more than
one PhD study with the same fellowship application deadline means that
candidates can only apply for a fellowship for one of the PhD studies.
Applications have to be submitted through Scholarships Online (SOL).
Through SOL candidates can apply for fellowships online and they can
check the status of an application. Other parties such as the Dutch
institutions, the embassies and consulates will use SOL to assess NFP
fellowship applications.
SOL can be accessed through www.nuffic.nl/nfp. This page contains more instructions about applying online.
What does an NFP PhD fellowship application consist of?
-
a completed online NFP fellowship application submitted via SOL9;
- an employer’s statement nominating the candidate for an NFP fellowship;
- a copy of a valid official identity document;
- a Statement of Government Authority (if applicable10);
- a motivation on why you wish to pursue this PhD study;
- a motivation on the relevance for your organisation (how will your
organisation benefit from the research you wish to conduct?);
- a motivation on the relevance for your country (how will your country benefit from the research you wish to conduct?);
- a plan of action (how will you put your new skills and knowledge to work when you return to your employing organisation?).
Fellowship application deadline
Two fellowship application deadlines have been introduced for submitting PhD fellowship applications.
Applications for fellowships for PhD studies starting in the academic
year 2012-2013 must be submitted before the following fellowship
application deadlines: 7 February 2012 & 2 October 2012
The deadlines for paper fellowship applications are always one month
before the online application deadline. The paper fellowship application
deadlines are: 1 January 2012 and 1 September 2012.
Fellowship applications or additional documents received after the fellowship application deadline are not considered.
What happens after an application is submitted?
The Dutch institution will indicate in Scholarships Online if the
candidate has been admitted. Each application will be assessed against
the eligibility criteria listed above and, if formulated, against the
country-specific priorities.
Selection procedure
Nuffic selects the candidates who will receive PhD fellowships based on
the relevance of the proposed research for the candidate’s employing
organisation and home country. Nuffic gives priority to applications
which:
-
propose that the PhD study be co-supervised by an institution in a developing country;
- have a proven link with other activities that are financed by the NFP or other Dutch government-funded activities;
- are submitted by female candidates;
- are submitted by candidates from Sub-Saharan Africa;
Finally, Nuffic awards the grant to the Dutch institution to cover the
fellowship holders’ costs, including the tuition fees. The Dutch
institutions will make the logistical arrangements and pay the
fellowship holder a monthly allowance for the duration of the PhD study.
The Dutch institution also administers the fellowships and gives
guidance to the fellowship holders.
The selection procedure has a very strict time frame. Between 10 to 16
weeks after the fellowship application deadline candidates have to
respond to an availability request. Indicating availability means that
if selected the candidate is still available for an NFP fellowship. The
candidate needs to respond within 7 days after the request has been
sent.
Credit : Kesma BEM KM Undip
