[Master Degree] VLIR-ICP Master's Scholarship at KU Leuven, Belgium (Fully Funded)

University of Leuven (KU Leuven) is a research university in the Dutch-speaking city of Leuven in Flanders, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in the sciences, engineering, humanities, medicine, law, and social sciences. KU Leuven is an institution for research and education with international appeal. All programmes at this University are based on the innovative research of its scientists and professors.

KU Leuven situated in Belgium, in the heart of Western Europe, KU Leuven has been a centre of learning for nearly six centuries. Today, it is Belgium's largest university and, founded in 1425, one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Europe. Since its founding, KU Leuven has been based in the city that shares its name. Leuven is a pleasant, safe and bustling student town, where centuries-rich history meets cutting-edge science. The university also offers degree programmes at campuses in 11 Belgian cities, including Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp. KU Leuven ranks among the best 50 universities worldwide.

Benefit:

Allowance
All costs included. Possible indexation January 2022. One-time payment
Indirect travel costs
Logistical allowance
Programme related travel costs
Insurance
Airline ticket: 1 ticket to Belgium, one ticket to the home country, economy class Per academic yearTuition fee

*It only provide scholarships for the full duration of the master programme. It is not possible to apply for a partial scholarship.
*The detailed current amounts and more information on the different allowances can be found in the document ‘Allowances and guidelines for VLIR-UOS scholarships’.
*Scholarship amounts can change at any time in line with decisions of the funding government.

Requirements:

Please check your eligibility before applying! You must meet the following two conditions in order to apply for the VLIR-ICP Master's Scholarships at KU Leuven.

The applicant must be a national and resident of one of the 31 scholarship countries (not necessarily the same country) at the time of application:

Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Niger
Asia: Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Palestinian Territories, Vietnam
Latin America: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru

The applicant must be eligible for admittance to the selected Master programme at KU Leuven. Please click on each of the following five programmes offered at KU Leuven* to check the admission requirements for the programme of your choice:

*To see the full list of eligible programmes at Flemish universities for the VLIR-ICP scholarship please click here.
The maximum age for a Master programme candidate is 35 years for an initial masters and 40 years for an advanced masters. The maximum age for a training candidate is 45 years. The candidate cannot succeed this age on January 1 of the intake year.
Application for admission in one of the VLIR ICP programmes listed below leads automatically to a VLIR UOS scholarship application. No further action is needed if you meet all the prerequisites.
Please find the VLIR UOS eligibility criteria on the following website.

Application Documents:

Core documents
It is not possible to submit your online application without the following core documents:

PDF of your Letter of Motivation

Master of Water Resources Engineering: “How do the skills and knowledge that you will acquire through the programme help you achieve your future career plans?” (with maximum 500 words)
ICP Master in Sustainable Development: please motivate you track choice (‘ecology’ or ‘space and society’) and to indicate your research interests/possible topics for your dissertation. Changes of track are not possible after the scholarships have been awarded, so please make sure you select your track correctly (with maximum 500 words). More information can be found here and here.
Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies: A two-page statement of purpose that substantially describes your motivation and research interests.
Master of Food Technology: “Personal motivation and perspectives” with minimum 500 and maximum 1000 words.
Master of Human Settlements: “Personal motivation and perspectives” with minimum 500 and maximum 1000 words.

PDF of the Return to Job document

Certificate from employer stating your current employment and perspectives upon completion of studies. If you currently do not have a job, kindly upload a document stating you do not have a job.

PDF scans of your diplomas and transcripts of academic records

If you still need to graduate at the time of your application, you are requested to upload PDF scans of your intermediate official transcripts through the web application portal.
The Admissions Office reserves the right to ask for official or certified hard copies of transcripts (or diplomas) if required for the evaluation of the application.

PDF scan of the translation of your diploma and official transcripts

If your documents are not in English, Dutch, French or German please arrange for these documents to be translated by a registered translator. These documents must also be certified by the educational institution that issued them.

PDF of your CV

This link provides a useful format to prepare your CV.

English Proficiency Certificate

The tests accepted by KU Leuven are TOEFL certificate sent by ETS, IELTS certificate sent by the official IELTS test centre administered by The British Council or IDP Education, and ESOL Cambridge. At home testing and other alternative testing methods offered by these centres during the COVID-19 pandemic will be accepted for the 2021-2022 intake.
ETS: please use university code 0749 and, if required, department code 99
Official IELTS test centre administered by The British Council or IDP Education: the score card can be verified online by your case administrator.
The PDF scans of the TOEFL or IELTS certificates have to be uploaded in the web application. You should also request ETS or the British Council to make your test result available to KU Leuven in their online verification tool.

The minimum required score in the official English Tests (IELTS, TOEFL or ESOL Cambridge) for each programme can be seen in the following links:

If you still have to take the test by the time you want to submit your application file, upload a proof of registration for the TOEFL or IELTS test in the meantime. The proof of registration should mention the date when you will be taking the test. We have to receive your test score no later than 1 March 2021.

Only Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies does accept comprehensive English-based instruction at your university if you can upload the PDF scan of a proof of Medium of Instruction in English as well. Medium of instruction as a proof of English proficiency is not accepted for the other programmes.

PDF scan of the identity page of your passport
PDF of short personal statement that you do not have to pay the application fee (Attachment type: Proof of payment of the application fee).
Two Letters of Recommendation

Please use the template for the Recommendation Letters which also includes the referee contact details. Please note that Letters of Recommendation only in this format will be accepted. The letters have to be sent to the Admissions Office via email. We expect recommendation letters to be sent from an official email address (of the professor or recommending party). The subject line of the email should be: Your full name - VLIR ICP - your application number. The letter should be attached to the email in PDF. Please note that you can only send your recommendation letters after you submitted your complete application via the application portal first. Recommendation letters which are sent in before your application is submitted will not be accepted

Additional documents

PDF of relevant information concerning job experience/studies/professional internships (abroad) if applicable.
ONLY for students who apply for MA of Human Settlements: If you come from an architectural education, please upload your digital portfolio.
If the description of the grading system of your home university is not included in the PDF scan of your transcripts of academic records, please provide the grading table, or a document explaining the grading system of your home university (this can sometimes be found on the backside of a transcript, or on the diploma supplement). You can upload this document under document type “others”.

How to Apply:
To start your application at KU Leuven, login to the web app and complete your personal data (personal data, addresses, curriculum and languages). Fields marked with * are obligatory. After saving your data, return to the main page ('<' button on top of the page) and check the completeness of each section. You must also upload an id picture on the top left of the main page via the icon . This ID picture will also be used on your student card during registration at KU Leuven after having been granted admission. Consult the guidelines regarding the ID picture here.
Apply Here