Call for Master Mind Scholarship now open – Deadline 25 February 2022

The Flemish Ministry of Education and Training awards scholarships for master’s programmes in Flanders and Brussels to outstanding students from around the world. Students need to first get (conditionally) accepted by the host institution in order to be eligible for the scholarship.

Please note that you need to have applied for a place at the VUB and have received an offical (conditional) letter of acceptance, issued by the VUB Education and Student Administration Office, before you can apply for the scholarship. Applications for a place at the VUB are possible from mid November on. (https://www.vub.be/en/studying-at-vub/how-to-apply)

Applications for 2022-2023 are now open.

Who can apply?

• Citizenship: all nationalities, with the exception of students having graduated from a Flemish Higher Education Institution and students who are currently enrolled at a Flemish Higher Education Institution
• Study fields: Any initial Master in any field is eligible, however the faculty needs to approve of your nomination
• Required degree: Bachelor/undergraduate degree
• Other (pre-existence of bilateral agreements, etc): see a), b) and c) below

a) Official letter of acceptance issued by the Education and Student Administration Office at the VUB is needed before one can apply for the scholarship

b) Minimum CGPA of 3.5 out of 4 (https://www.scholaro.com/gpa-calculator/)

c) Passing an English language test is compulsory and the required scores are higher than those for entry to the university:

• TOEFL iBT minimum 94 or
• IELTS academic module minimum Band 7.0 or
• B2 level with a minimum score of 170 on the Cambridge English Qualifications.

During the COVID 19 period also online versions of TOEFL and IELTS will be accepted. Attestations or other language tests than the above mentioned are not accepted.

What does the scholarship cover?

• Tuition fee/tuition waiver: Tuition fee is limited to amount paid by Flemish scholarship student (€115,80)
• Duration (in months or weeks): Duration of the Master programme (if 2-year Master: second year conditional)
• Health insurance included ? No
• Flight (per year or total for the period)? No
• Language preparation courses (up to X weeks or amount)? No

How to apply?

• Apply for a place at the VUB website.
• Only students having received an offical letter of acceptance issued by the VUB-Education and Student Administration Office can apply for the scholarship
• Application deadline for a Master Mind scholarship is  25 February 2022 – 5 pm Brussels time
• Application package should contain:
  • a. application form (to be downloaded here)
  • b. copy of the letter of acceptance issued by the VUB-Education and Student Administration Office
  • c. copy of acquired degree(s) and Transcript(s) of records; if written in another language than Dutch, English, German or French, a certified translation into one of these languages must be enclosed
  • d. copy of official language test (TOEFL, IELTS or CEQS) – passing a language test is compulsory
  • e. letter of motivation (max 2 A4 pages)
  • f. two letters of recommendation from professors of your (previous) Home university, written in English

Please note that incomplete applications or applications which do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be taken into account.

Selection procedure and timeline

Application deadline for the scholarship: 25 February 2022 at 5 pm Brussels time – late and/or incomplete applications will not be accepted

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel will nominate maximum 20 students for selection to the Flemish Ministry of Education.