Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation - Scholarships for the College of Europe

Scholarships for the College of Europe (Programa COE)

You will receive 23,500 EUR as a lump-sum grant for one academic year (approximately 9 to 10 months, September to June) to undertake a Master’s degree programme at the College of Europe abroad. The money will be paid in three instalments: 9,800 EUR in September following your arrival, 11,600 EUR in January following the submission of an interim report, and 2,100 EUR at the end of the programme following the submission of a final report. The grant is intended to cover living expenses. It does not cover the College of Europe’s tuition fees (approximately 27,000 to 30,000 EUR, depending on the location, including accommodation and meals), which you must pay separately. The scholarship is provided by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EU and Cooperation and is administered by its development agency, AECID. The College of Europe trains graduates in European affairs and has campuses in Bruges (Belgium), Natolin (Poland) and Tirana (Albania).

Who can apply

• Nationality: You are a Spanish national. If you are an EU citizen and simply live in Spain, you are not eligible to apply.
• Degree: You hold a university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent).
• Admission: You have already been admitted to the College of Europe for the relevant academic year. You must first apply to the College and then apply for this scholarship.
• Field of study: Your Master's is one of the College's subjects: international relations, economics, law, politics, interdisciplinary European studies (Natolin) or European transformation and integration (Tirana).
• Age: On 31 December of the school year, you will be no older than 27.
• Languages: You are fluent in English and French. Your proficiency in both languages will be assessed during the interview, and a lack of oral proficiency in either language will result in disqualification.
• No recent AECID funding: Over the last 3 years, you have not received either a MAEC-AECID grant for a period of 6 months or more, nor funding from the Fundación Carolina.

How to apply

First, apply directly to the College of Europe via its own portal, between around October and mid-January. If the College shortlists you, the AECID will invite you to a short face-to-face interview in Madrid (lasting approximately 15 minutes, conducted in English with some questions possibly in French). If you are admitted to the College and achieve the minimum score in the interview, you should then apply for the scholarship online via the AECID Electronic Office. You will have approximately 10 working days at the end of May or beginning of June to do this (for 2026/2027, the deadline was 3 June).

How realistic are your chances?

Up to 12 scholarships are awarded per cycle (for 2024/2025, 13 scholarships were offered). The number of applicants is not published.

You can find more scholarships in our guide Scholarships in Spain.