Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic - Scholarships for Foreign Students and Researchers for the Slovak Republic

What You Get

The National Scholarship Programme (NSP) of the Slovak Republic gives foreign students, PhD students, university teachers, researchers, and artists a monthly grant to study, research, or teach at a Slovak university or research institution. The monthly amount depends on your category:

• Master's students: €620 per month
• PhD students: €1,025.50 per month
• University teachers, researchers, or artists with a PhD and fewer than 10 years of experience: €1,370 per month
• University teachers, researchers, or artists with a PhD and more than 10 years of experience: €1,470 per month
• University teachers, researchers, or artists without a PhD and fewer than 4 years of experience: €1,025.50 per month

The grant is paid monthly and is meant to cover living costs (accommodation, food, etc.) during your stay in Slovakia.

Travel Grant

Master's students and PhD students can also receive a one-off travel grant, paid at the end of the stay. The amount depends on the distance between your home address or home institution and your host institution in Slovakia:

• Up to 200 km: €0
• 200-300 km: €50
• 300-500 km: €100
• 500-1,000 km: €250
• 1,000-2,000 km: €350
• 2,000-3,000 km: €500
• 3,000-5,000 km: €750
• 5,000-7,000 km: €1,100
• More than 7,000 km: €1,500

If you come from a country outside the EU, EEA, or Switzerland and stay longer than 90 days, you may also be reimbursed up to €250 for the medical examination required for a residence permit.

Duration

• Master's students: 1-2 full semesters (roughly 4-5 or 9-10 months) or 1-3 full trimesters
• PhD students: 1-10 months
• University teachers, researchers, and artists: 1-10 months

Who Can Apply

Citizens of any country except Slovakia are welcome to apply. You must fall into one of the three categories below.

A) Master's students - all three conditions must apply:

• Current enrolment: You are enrolled at a university outside Slovakia.
• Study level: You are in a Master's programme, or you have completed at least 2.5 years in the same or a similar field.
• Host institution: A public, private, or state university in Slovakia has accepted you for an academic mobility stay.

B) PhD students:

• Current study/research: You are pursuing higher education or academic training outside Slovakia.
• Host institution: A university or research institution in Slovakia (e.g. the Slovak Academy of Sciences) has accepted you and is authorised to run doctoral programmes.

C) University teachers, researchers, and artists:

• Invitation: A Slovak institution with a valid certificate to carry out research and development (not a commercial company) has invited you for a teaching, research, or artistic stay.

Who Cannot Apply

• Students or PhD students admitted to or already completing a full degree (Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD) in Slovakia.
• Teachers, researchers, or artists without a PhD who have more than 4 years of professional experience (with a limited exception up to 7 years).
• Anyone who has spent 15 or more months in Slovakia in total during the 36 months before the application deadline.
• Anyone currently receiving another publicly funded scholarship (e.g. Erasmus+, CEEPUS, Visegrad Fund, bilateral agreements).
• Previous NSP recipients who have not waited at least 2 years since their last NSP-funded stay ended.

Application Deadlines

• 30 April, 16:00 CET - for stays starting in the following academic year
• 31 October, 16:00 CET - for stays starting in the summer semester of the current academic year

You can submit only one application per round. The online application system opens at least six weeks before each deadline.

How to Apply

All applications are submitted online at www.scholarships.sk. The documents you need depend on your category.

Master's students must provide:

• Online application form
• CV
• Motivation letter
• Official academic transcript
• Proof of language skills (Slovak or English)
• Acceptance/invitation letter from the Slovak host institution (original must reach SAIA in Bratislava by 12:00 on the third working day after the deadline)

PhD students must provide:

• Online application form
• CV
• Motivation letter or research plan
• Academic degree certificate or diploma
• Reference letter from your supervisor at your home institution
• Acceptance/invitation letter from the Slovak host institution (same original deadline as above)

University teachers, researchers, and artists must provide:

• Online application form
• CV
• Short description of the planned teaching, research, or artistic project
• Invitation letter from the Slovak host institution (same original deadline as above)

Selection

A selection committee at SAIA (Slovak Academic Information Agency - the body that administers the programme) reviews all applications based on academic or professional background, the relevance of the project, and the overall quality of the application. There is no interview. You will be informed of the result by email.

Contact

SAIA, n. o. (Slovak Academic Information Agency)

Sasinkova 10, 812 20 Bratislava 1, Slovak Republic

Phone: +421-2-5930 4700 / 5930 4711

• International students: nsp-foreign2@saia.sk
• International PhD students: nsp-sk@saia.sk
• International teachers and researchers: nsp-foreign@saia.sk