Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic - National Scholarship Programme for the Support of Mobility of Slovak Students, PhD Students, University Teachers and Researchers

What You Get

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

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

The stipend covers living costs (accommodation, food, etc.) during your stay. Travel costs are not covered, but students and PhD students can apply for a separate travel grant — a one-off flat-rate payment based on the distance between your home and the host institution in Slovakia (ranging from 50 € for 200–300 km up to 1,500 € for distances over 7,000 km). If you come from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland and your stay is longer than 90 days, you can also claim up to 250 € reimbursement for the mandatory medical check required for a residence permit.

Stays last 1 to 10 months (for PhD students, teachers, researchers, and artists) or one to two full semesters (for Master's students).

Who Can Apply

The programme is open to nationals of any country except Slovakia. There are three applicant categories:

Master's/Diploma Students

• Enrollment: You are currently enrolled at a university outside Slovakia.
• Level: You are in the 2nd cycle of higher education (Master's/diploma level), OR you have completed at least 2.5 years in the same or a similar field.
• Purpose: You are coming for a study exchange, not to complete a full degree in Slovakia.
• Duration: 1–2 full semesters (approximately 4–5 or 9–10 months) or 1–3 full trimesters.

PhD Students

• Enrollment: You are a doctoral student or researcher in training at an institution outside Slovakia.
• Host: A Slovak university or research organisation that is authorised to run doctoral programmes has agreed to accept you.
• Duration: 1–10 months.

University Teachers, Researchers, and Artists

• Invitation: A Slovak higher education institution, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, a state/public research institute, or an NGO active in research and development has invited you in writing (invitation letter must not be older than 3 months at the deadline).
• Duration: 1–10 months.

Who Cannot Apply

• You want to complete a full degree programme in Slovakia (not an exchange stay).
• You are a teacher, researcher, or artist without a PhD and with more than 4 years of relevant work experience (limited exceptions apply up to 7 years).
• You have spent 15 or more months in Slovakia in the 36 months before the application deadline.
• You are receiving funding from another publicly financed programme at the same time (e.g. Erasmus+, CEEPUS, Visegrad Fund, bilateral agreements).
• You received an NSP scholarship that ended fewer than 2 years before the current application deadline.

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 may submit only one application per deadline round.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted online at www.scholarships.sk. The online system opens at least six weeks before each deadline. All documents must be uploaded and the application submitted (by clicking 'SEND') before the deadline. Documents must be in Slovak or English; documents in other languages must be officially translated.

University teachers, researchers, and artists need to submit:

• CV
• Detailed plan for the teaching/research/artistic stay (including host institution, start date, and duration)
• Scan of your highest academic degree certificate
• List of publications or artistic activities (in the required format)
• Invitation letter from the Slovak host institution

Students need to submit an acceptance/invitation letter from their Slovak host institution with the online application. The original physical letter must be posted or delivered to SAIA in Bratislava no later than three working days after the deadline (by 12:00).

Selection

SAIA first checks that all applications meet the formal requirements. A selection committee then evaluates the quality of eligible applications. The number of scholarships awarded depends on the funds available and the quality of applications — there is no fixed quota.

Contact

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

Sasinkova 10, 812 20 Bratislava 1, Slovak Republic