Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - NWO - Promotiebeurs voor leraren

What the grant covers

If you are a teacher in the Netherlands, this grant frees you from up to half of your teaching duties for up to 5 years. That lets you work on a doctorate (PhD) alongside your job. The money does not go to you directly. Your school gets a subsidy to hire someone to cover your lessons. The yearly amount depends on your school type: 37,300 EUR per year for primary, secondary and special education, 38,200 EUR for senior vocational education (MBO), and 42,600 EUR for higher professional education (HBO). On top of that you get up to 5,000 EUR per year for travel, training, conferences, literature and open-access publishing. You have up to 6 years in total to finish your doctorate, and the first 5 are subsidised. The grant comes from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and is funded by the Ministry of Education.

Who can apply

• Your job: You work as a teacher at a school funded by the Dutch government, in primary, secondary, vocational (MBO), higher professional (HBO) or special education.
• Contract: You have a permanent contract of at least 0.4 fte, and at least half of your job is teaching-related tasks.
• Teaching qualification: You hold a teaching qualification. HBO lecturers do not need one.
• Not yet a doctor: You have not completed a doctorate. If you have already started PhD research, you can still apply, as long as you do not need the full 5 years to finish.
• Prior funding: You are not eligible if you have received 1.5 fte of public PhD funding in the past 5 years.
• Research topic: Any subject is allowed. You must be able to explain why the research matters for your own teaching or for education more broadly.
• How you apply: You apply on your own, not as a pair or group. You also need a supervisor (a professor or senior lecturer) at a recognised Dutch university.
• Preference: Women and teachers from primary, special, secondary and vocational education are especially encouraged to apply.

How to apply

You apply online through NWO's ISAAC system, in Dutch or English. You submit a research proposal (max. 3,000 words), a CV, a supervisor's statement and an employer's statement. There are two rounds a year, with deadlines in January and June. If your proposal ranks highly, you are invited to an interview to present your research idea to the assessment committee, which then advises on the final decision.

How realistic are your chances?

Eligibility is limited to permanently employed teachers at Dutch state-funded schools, so only a specific group can apply. Competition is still real: the first 2026 round has a budget of 5.5 million EUR and expects at most 24 awards. What decides it is a strong, well-designed proposal with a clear link to your teaching, plus a convincing interview. Note that the programme is being phased out, with the last two rounds planned for 2027. So if you fit, apply while the rounds still run.