Netherlands Scholarships for Pakistani Students 2027: Deadlines

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Pakistani students can apply for several Dutch scholarships for September 2027, and the first deadlines are close: Leiden University Excellence Scholarship and TU Delft's Justus and Louise van Effen scholarship both close on 1 December 2026. After those come the University of Amsterdam's merit scholarships, Radboud's scholarships, Twente's scholarship and the national NL Scholarship. Of the awards below, only TU Delft's covers full tuition plus living costs; the rest are partial, so families should plan for the rest.

In the Netherlands, almost every scholarship is run by the university itself, and you usually apply for it with your master's application. We read each university's own scholarship page on 24 October 2026. Where a page still shows last year's round, we say so.

Deadlines at a glance (September 2027 entry)

Scholarship	University	What it gives	Apply by
Justus and Louise van Effen Excellence Scholarship	TU Delft	Full first-year tuition plus a living contribution; second year if you pass 48 of 60 credits	1 December 2026, 23:59 CET
Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS)	Leiden	€10,000 to €19,000 off the tuition fee	1 December 2026
Amsterdam Merit Scholarship (Faculty of Science)	University of Amsterdam	€26,125 paid monthly (one award in this faculty)	15 January (2027 for this intake)
NL Scholarship at Radboud	Radboud University	€5,000 in the first year	Submit by 31 January 2027, complete by 14 February 2027
University of Twente Scholarship	Twente	€3,000 to €22,000 for the first year	1 April 2027, 16:00 CET (form open since 15 October 2026)
NL Scholarship at other universities	Participating universities	€5,000 in the first year	Set by each university

Times are Dutch time (CET), which is four hours behind Pakistan in winter. So a 23:59 CET deadline is 3:59 am the next day in Pakistan.

TU Delft: Justus and Louise van Effen Excellence Scholarship

TU Delft's scholarship page lists 16 full scholarships for its regular two-year MSc programmes, two per faculty. It covers full first-year tuition plus a contribution to living costs, and continues into the second year if you complete at least 48 of 60 credits in the first.

You need a conditional admission to a regular TU Delft MSc, and results in roughly the top 10% of your class (no proof of ranking is needed).
Send your MSc application, the scholarship application form, one reference letter and an English certificate (unless exempt) by 1 December 2026, 23:59 CET.
Results come by the end of March 2027.

TU Delft's page also lists up to two partial scholarships for its MSc Electrical Engineering (Microelectronics track), with the same deadline, for applicants with a bachelor's CGPA of at least 80% of the scale.

Because a reference letter is required, ask your teacher now. Our request for a recommendation email and academic recommendation letter sample help.

Leiden University Excellence Scholarship

Leiden's LExS page says it gives about 25 awards a year from over a thousand applicants, at five fixed levels: €10,000, €15,000, €17,500, €18,500 or €19,000 off the tuition fee. It is not a full scholarship, so you still pay part of the fee and all living costs.

Open to non-EEA students for full-time master's programmes starting in September (Leiden Law School's LLM and MSc programmes are excluded, except the Advanced LLMs).
Excellent results; top 10% of your class is given as a guide.
In your master's application, tick the LExS option and upload a motivation letter of up to 500 words. The deadline is 1 December 2026, and late applications are not considered. Leiden's own application fee applies if your programme charges one.
Everyone hears by the end of March 2027. See our Leiden scholarship page.

University of Amsterdam: Amsterdam Merit Scholarship

At the University of Amsterdam, each faculty runs its own merit scholarships. The Faculty of Science page offers one Amsterdam Merit Scholarship of €26,125, paid in monthly instalments. It does not reduce tuition, which you still pay. You need to be in the top 10% of your class, apply by 15 January, and tick the scholarship box in your MSc application. Other faculties set their own amounts and dates, so read your programme's scholarship page.

Radboud University: NL Scholarship and Radboud Scholarship Programme

Radboud's NL Scholarship page offers up to 26 awards of €5,000 for 2027-28 on English-taught master's programmes. Submit your application in OSIRIS by 31 January 2027 and complete it by 14 February 2027. You must also apply for the Radboud Scholarship Programme, which in 2026-27 reduced tuition to €2,695 (from about €18,000, depending on the programme); the Radboud Scholarship Programme page still shows the 2026-27 round, so check it again before you apply. Radboud's NL Scholarship page mixes 2026 and 2027 dates in places, and Radboud's scholarship team (scholarships@ru.nl) can confirm them.

University of Twente Scholarship

Twente's page gives €3,000 to €22,000 for the first year to non-EEA students in the top 5 to 10% of their class who are admitted to a master's starting in September 2027. You need IELTS 6.5 (at least 6.0 in speaking) or TOEFL iBT 90. Get your admission first, then use your student number to fill in the scholarship form, which is open from 15 October 2026 to 1 April 2027. Results come in the first week of May 2027. See our Twente scholarship page.

The NL Scholarship (formerly Holland Scholarship)

The NL Scholarship is €5,000 in your first year, funded by the Dutch education ministry and participating universities. It is for non-EEA students starting a full-time bachelor's or master's who do not already have a Dutch degree. It is "not a full-tuition scholarship", in the page's words.

On 24 October 2026 the national page still listed the 2026-27 universities (11 research universities and 23 universities of applied sciences) and said that round opened on 1 November 2025. It has not yet published the 2027-28 list, and the list changes every year. Each university sets its own deadline, so check the university's page. Our NL Scholarship page has more.

Changed this year: Utrecht

Utrecht University says its Utrecht Excellence Scholarship is no longer offered for programmes starting from 2026-27, and no new applications are accepted. Many websites still list it. Utrecht points to other options, such as the NL Scholarship.

What families should budget for

Most of these awards leave a gap. On top of what any partial award covers, you will need the rest of the tuition, housing and the money the Dutch immigration service (IND) asks you to show for your residence permit. Our Netherlands country guide explains tuition, living costs and the visa, and our cost calculator adds them up in PKR. Scholarships are applied for free on university websites; never pay an agent to "secure" one.

Your next step

If you want TU Delft or Leiden, finish your master's application, motivation letter and reference this month, because both close on 1 December 2026. For the others, note the dates in our deadlines calendar and check Find my matches for more options. Always confirm the deadline and rules on the university's own page before you apply.