You have to be accepted to our Bachelor's programme to be eligible for the AMS. Make sure that you have applied for the Bachelor's programme before 1 January. Read the application instructions below for more details.

The scholarship consists of an amount equal to the tuition fee. Please note that the scholarship cannot be used as a (partial) tuition waiver. The applicant must still pay the full amount of tuition due, and can do this in instalments. Scholarship holders will also receive their grant in monthly instalments.

A scholarship granted for one academic year cannot be transferred to another academic year. Students who are granted an Amsterdam Merit Scholarship are required to assent to the conditions applying to the scholarship in writing before the scholarship will be remitted.

In order to be considered for the AMS scholarship applicants should:

• hold non-EEA nationality or nationalities;
• not be entitled to receive a Dutch study grant or loan (“Studiefinanciering”), for more information visit the DUO website. The scholarship office should be notified as soon as possible of any change in nationality, type of residence permit, and/or possible studiefinanciering support, throughout the academic year;
• have submitted a complete application to the Bachelor’s programme in Communication Science, including a sufficient English test score;
• have been (conditionally) admitted to the Bachelor’s programme in Communication Science;
• be able to comply with Dutch visa regulations. For more information, see the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation (IND) website;
• be enrolled at the UvA as a full-time student for the academic year and the programme for which the scholarship is awarded;
• have never before studied at an educational institution in the Netherlands;
• not receive a full coverage scholarship for the same period of study as the AMS scholarship;
• have above average academic results, i.e. belonging to the top 10% of your class;
• be a motivated student with extracurricular activities;
• have outstanding English language skills. Requirements regarding English language proficiency are*:
  • TOEFL: Internet test 100 (with a minimum score of 22 in each of the different components)
  • IELTS: 7 (with at least 7.0 in each of the four components)
  • Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A or Cambridge Certificate for Proficiency in English (CPE): grade C

*English language test results may not be older than 2 years. Some applicants are exempted from the English test (see our entry requirements). In that case, final examination grades will be considered.

Make sure to submit your Bachelor application before 1 January in order to receive our questionnaire. Make sure you have all the required AMS documents (as written above) before 31 January. The admissions committee will notify you early May if you have been awarded the scholarship. Other applicants will be notified half of May.

The selection procedure will strongly focus on academic performance and consists of five steps:

1. Apply to the Bachelor's programme before 1 January.

2. Fill out a questionnaire before 22 January. 

You will receive a questionnaire before 15 January if you have a non-EEA nationality and have applied to the Bachelor’s programme per September of the relevant year. In this questionnaire, you will be asked whether you want to apply for the AMS scholarship and you will be requested to write a brief explanation to support your candidacy.

3. Review and first selection. 

After 22 January our AMS committee will review the applications of the students who meet the abovementioned eligibility criteria. In your applications the committee will look at:

• your motivation
• your GPA
• your extracurricular activities (cv)
• your English proficiency 

4. Invitation for AMS application

Based upon these documents our committee will select the eight most outstanding candidates from outside of the EEA. These students are invited to submit a complete AMS application file. The complete application file consists of:

• Application form AMS

• Proof of belonging to the top 10% of your class; a statement that indicates your ranking. This statement is only accepted if it is signed by the examinations board or dean
• Certified grade transcript; including a GPA
• Motivation letter, in which the candidate explains the reasons for choosing the specific programme, the reasons for applying for the scholarship and why they consider themselves as outstanding
• Curriculum Vitae, including description of extracurricular activities; such as participation in student committees, international experience, sports or music at a high level, volunteer work, etc.
• English proficiency test

5. Selection

After receiving the complete application packages from the eight invited candidates, our selection committee will select the AMS recipients. The selection is only amongst applicants from the Communication Science programme. Candidates will receive an email about the outcome in March.

If you have any questions regarding the AMS please send an email to admissions-cs@uva.nl.