General information

The College of Communication aims to attract the world’s brightest students to its international classrooms. Outstanding students from outside the European Economic Area can apply for an Amsterdam Merit Scholarship (AMS). The AMS is a scholarship that covers the tuition fee for the nominal duration of the programme.

You have to be accepted to our Bachelor's programme to be eligible for the AMS. Therefore we advise you to apply for the AMS and programme simultaneously. Make sure that you have applied for the programme, as well as for the AMS, before 15 January 2021. The application for the scholarship and programme are two different submissions.

General criteria

In order to be considered for the AMS scholarship applicants should:

• hold non-EEA nationality or nationalities;
• not be entitled to receive a Dutch study grant or loan (“Studiefinanciering”), for more information visit the DUO website. The scholarship office should be notified as soon as possible of any change in nationality, type of residence permit, and/or possible studiefinanciering support, throughout the academic year;
• have submitted a complete application to the Bachelor’s programme in Communication Science, including a sufficient English test score;
• have been (conditionally) admitted to the Bachelor’s programme in Communication Science;
• be able to comply with Dutch visa regulations. For more information, see the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation (IND) website;
• be enrolled at the UvA as a full-time student for the academic year and the programme for which the scholarship is awarded;
• have never before studied at an educational institution in the Netherlands;
• not receive a full coverage scholarship for the same period of study as the AMS scholarship;
• have above average academic results, i.e. belonging to the top 10% of your class;
• be a motivated student with extracurricular activities;
• have outstanding English language skills. Requirements regarding English language proficiency are*:
  • TOEFL: Internet test 100 (with a minimum score of 22 in each of the different components)
  • IELTS: 7 (with at least 7.0 in each of the four components)
  • Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A or Cambridge Certificate for Proficiency in English (CPE): grade C

* English language test results may not be older than 2 years. Some applicants are exempted from the English test (see our entry requirements). In that case, final examination grades will be considered.

Application instructions

You need to apply via postal mail before the specific application deadline. Please send your complete AMS application to:

College of Communication
Admissions Office (C7.02)
Postbus 15796 1001 NG Amsterdam
The Netherlands

A complete application consists of the following documents (sorted in this specific order, not stapled):

• Proof of belonging to the top 10% of your class; a statement that indicates your ranking. This statement is only accepted if it is signed by the examinations board or dean
• Certified grade transcript; including a GPA
• Application letter; in which the candidate explains the reasons for choosing the specific programme, the reasons for applying for the scholarship and why they consider themselves as outstanding
• Curriculum Vitae
• English proficiency test
• Description of extracurricular activities; such as participation in student committees, international experience, sports or music at a high level, volunteer work, etc.

The admissions committee will notify you early May if you have been awarded the scholarship.

Application deadline

Academic year 2020-2021: 15 January 2021.