Stichting Studiefonds Robert van der Rest - Studiefonds Robert van der Rest scholarship

Studiefonds Robert van der Rest scholarship

You get a gift, not a loan, to fund the part of your studies you cannot pay for yourself. A Dutch foundation near Dordrecht hands out these grants each year. The amount depends on which track fits you:

• Study abroad (BL-beurs): up to 30,000 EUR per year for a degree at a foreign university. There are 10 to 12 of these grants each year.
• Study in the Netherlands (NL-beurs): up to 5,000 EUR, only for school-leavers from the Dordrecht region.
• Dordrecht grant: in rare cases a full, multi-year grant for a foreign degree that can go above the 30,000 EUR ceiling. It is awarded once a year to an outstanding VWO graduate from the Dordrecht region.
• PhD abroad: up to 24,000 EUR per year for a maximum of 2 years, for research on a topic of clear social importance.

For a multi-year degree you reapply each year. If your studies go well, funding normally continues. The money is paid only against the funding gap you can prove, and only for real costs such as tuition and rent.

Who can apply

• Grades: You have a VWO diploma (Dutch pre-university school-leaving certificate) or a bachelor's degree with an average of 8 or higher, and no grade below 7.
• For a PhD: You completed your bachelor's and master's cum laude (with distinction).
• Nationality: You are a Dutch citizen.
• Region: Students from Dordrecht, Zwijndrecht, Papendrecht and Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht get priority. Applicants from elsewhere are considered only if there is capacity.
• Age (abroad): You are 25 or younger for a study-abroad grant.
• First time abroad: This is your first foreign degree and it has not started yet.
• Financial need: You can prove a gap in funding your studies. The grant covers only that gap.
• Field of study: Any subject, as long as you aim for the best university in that field.
• Effort abroad: For a study-abroad grant, you show that you applied for at least four other scholarships, plus their outcomes.

How to apply

You apply through the online form, which opens on 1 January each year and stays open until 1 March. The board decides at the end of March. To continue funding for a multi-year degree, announce it by 1 March and submit the final request by 1 June. Students from the Dordrecht region can request the form by email at any time, even outside these dates.

How realistic are your chances?

The award is cut narrowly: you need Dutch nationality, top grades and a documented funding gap, and only 10 to 12 study-abroad grants exist each year. If you come from the Dordrecht region you get priority, so a well-matched local applicant has good prospects. Budgets fill up fast, so applying at the start of the January window matters.