VLIR-UOS Masters Scholarships (ICP) 2023/2024 by Belgium Government for Developing Countries

VLIR-UOS offers full Masters Scholarships in Belgium for students from Developing countries – half of this scholarship will be offered to African students and preference will be given to Women. The eligible training or Masters programmes are taught in English.

Application Deadline: Application Deadlines depend on the candidate’s chosen programme (See ‘How to Apply’ link below); deadlines generally Between January and April 2023.

Eligible Countries

• 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

To be taken at (country): Belgium

Accepted Subject Areas: Only the following English-taught courses at Belgian Flemish universities or university colleges are eligible for scholarships:

One-year master programmes

• Master of Human Settlements – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Development Evaluation and Management – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Governance and Development – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Globalization and Development – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023

Two-year programmes

• Master of Science in Food Technology – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Science in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Aquaculture (IMAQUA) – Deadline for applications: 1 March 2023
• Master of Epidemiology – Deadline for applications: 28th Feb 2023
• Master of Agro-and Environmental Nematology – Deadline 1st Feb 2023!
• Master of Rural Development – Deadline online application: 21 February 2023– deadline hard copies: 28 Feb 2023
• Master of Statistics – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Water Resources Engineering – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Sustainable Development – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023
• Master of Transportation Sciences – Deadline for applications: 1 February 2023

About the Award: VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from developing countries to study for a master or training programme in Flanders, Belgium. VLIR-UOS funds and facilitates academic cooperation and exchange between higher education institutions in Flanders (Belgium) and developing countries, aiming to build capacity, knowledge and experience for sustainable development.

The master programmes focus on specific problems of developing countries. These are designed to enable graduates to share and apply acquired knowledge in the home institution and country. In the shorter training programmes the focus is on transferring skills rather than knowledge, thus creating opportunities for cooperation and networking.

Selection Criteria: The following criteria will be taken into account for the selection of candidates for a scholarship:

• Motivation. The candidate unable to convincingly motivate his application, is unlikely to be selected for a scholarship.
• Professional experience: Preference will be given to candidates who can demonstrate a higher possibility of implementing and/or transferring the newly gained knowledge upon return to the home country.
• Gender. In case of two equally qualified candidates of different sexes, preference will be given to the female candidate.
• Regional balance. The selection commission tries to ensure that 50% of a programme’s scholarships are granted to candidates from Sub-Saharan Africa, provided a sufficient number of qualifying candidates from this region.
• Social background. In case of two equally qualified candidates, preference will be given to candidates who can demonstrate that they belong to a disadvantaged group or area within their country or an ethnic or social minority group, especially when these candidates can provide proof of leadership potential.
• Previously awarded scholarships: Preference will be given to candidates who have never received a scholarship to study in a developed country (bachelor or master).

Eligibility: You can only apply for a scholarship if you meet the following requisites.

1. Fungibility with other VLIR-UOS funding: A scholarship within the VLIR-UOS scholarship programme is not compatible with financial support within an IUC- or TEAM-project. Candidates working in a university where such projects are being organized, should submit a declaration of the project leader stating that the department where the candidate is employed is not involved in the project.
2. Age: The maximum age for an ICP candidate is 35 years for an initial masters and 40 years for an advanced masters. The maximum age for an ITP candidate is 45 years. The candidate cannot succeed this age on January 1 of the intake year.
3. Nationality and Country of Residence: A candidate should be a national and resident of one of the 31 countries of the VLIR-UOS country list for scholarships (not necessarily the same country) at the time of application.
4. Professional background and experience: VLIR-UOS gives priority to candidates employed in academic institutions, research institutes, governments, social economy or NGO’s, or aim a career in one of these sectors. However, also candidates employed in the profit sector (ICP and ITP) or newly graduated candidates without any work experience (ICP) can be eligible for the scholarship. The ITP candidate should have relevant professional experience and a support letter confirming (re)integration in a professional context where the acquired knowledge and skills will be immediately applicable.
5. Former VLIR-UOS scholarship applications and previously awarded scholarships: A candidate can only submit one VLIR-UOS scholarship application per year, irrespective of the scholarship type. Consequently, a candidate can only be selected for one VLIR-UOS scholarship per year.
6. The ICP candidate has never received a scholarship from the Belgian government to attend a master programme or equivalent or was never enrolled in a Flemish higher education institution to attend a master programme or equivalent before January 1 of the intake year

Number of Awardees: VLIR-UOS will award up to 180 scholarships.

Value of Scholarship: The scholarship covers ALL related expenses (full cost).

Duration of Scholarship: The master programmes will last for one or two academic years.

How to Apply: 

• To apply for a scholarship, you first need to apply for the Master programme.
• To apply for the Masters programme, visit the website of the Master programme of your interest. Follow the guidelines for application for the programme as mentioned on its website.
• In the programme application, you can mention whether you wish to apply for a scholarship. In case you do,  the programme coordinator forwards your application to VLIR-UOS.
• Applications submitted by the candidates to VLIR-UOS directly will not be considered!

Visit Scholarship Webpage for more details