Talented students sign scholarship contracts

The University of Twente Scholarship is a scholarship awarded to excellent international students, who are applying for a Master program at the UT. This year the scholarship was given to twenty foreign students, who all met up on the 18th of November 2014 to sign their scholarship contracts and share their experience from their first few months in the Netherlands.

Photo by: Gijs van Ouwerkerk

The University of Twente Scholarship (UTS) is a part of the university´s general effort for bigger internalization, and is therefore awarded to international students only. Its main goal is to allow talented people from all over the world to study at UT. Without it, studying in Twente would not be financially affordable for many gifted students.

How does it work?

Any international student, who is accepted to a Master´s program at UT, can apply for the scholarship. Apart from outstanding academic results and formal documents, the applicants also need to provide a motivation letter explaining why they wish to come to UT. Their applications are sent directly to the faculty they are applying to. Each faculty has its own committee that decides which of the students to choose.

As the name suggests, the scholarship is funded by the University of Twente itself. Awarded students are given a certain amount of money on monthly basis. This money should be used for study-related costs, such as tuition fees or accommodation.

Big competition

Receiving the University of Twente Scholarship is certainly not easy. During the application period, the university receives a dozen of applications every day, but only several students are selected for the scholarship. There are approximately 20 to 30 scholarships available each year, depending on the scholarship value awarded. Only the best applicants with excellent academic records and true desire to study at UT are picked. This year, nearly 400 people applied, but only 20 students received the scholarship.

Signing event

These twenty lucky students from all different continents met up during a signing ceremony that took place on the 18^th of November 2014. This event served as a formal welcome to the new students and it allowed them to share their experience with other students, but also with the staff from the International Office that organized the ceremony. After a lively lunch, each student signed their own scholarship contract, which officially marked the beginning of their journey at the UT.