Graduate School


Important update for applicants holding a Dutch master‘s degree


Scholarship program

Scholarships for MPhil students

TI runs its own merit-based scholarship program for students in the research master program. The scholarship program started in 2005 and is financed by the departments participating in TI. Since 2008, the Duisenberg school of finance is sponsoring the scholarships for students in the finance track. Scholarships always cover the tuition fee.

Over the years, we offered scholarships in varying amounts to 50-80% of the students that entered the program. Full scholarships are awarded to 30-60% or our first year students. Rates among second year students lie much higher: all second year students who pass their first year with adequate grades receive a full scholarship. In addition, Tinbergen Institute assisted students in applying for external scholarship.

Partial scholarships cover the tuition fees and costs for health insurance with a maximum of € 40 a month; full scholarships offer a monthly allowance of € 1.000,= a month on top of this (level academic year 2011/12).

Because the institute's resources are limited, prospective students are advised to apply for external funding as well (see e.g. Grantfinder ). Applicants who want to compete for a TI scholarship should indicate this on the application form.

The core (first-year) program leaves little or no time for any jobs. For second year students Tinbergen Institute offers a number of teaching assistantships. Many second-year MPhil students also find other research assistantships in one of the TI departments connected with MPhil thesis research.

For students from the Netherlands and other EEA countries government support is available: full-time students who are Dutch nationals and are under 30 years of age may be eligible for government support ("studiefinanciering") in the form of a performance grant, a loan, and a public-transport card. (Please check here for details.)

The same scheme is open for select groups of nationals of other countries. (Please check here for details or www.ib-groep.nl > Eu/eea students > Study finance).

Finally, EEA-nationals may be eligible for tuition fee restitution by the government. (Please check here for details.)

Tuition fees for MPhil students

In the master phase of the program a tuition fee is charged to all students. Full-time students who are nationals of an EEA-country and are under 30 years of age at the start of the academic year (September 1) are eligible for a low tuition fee. This fee ("wettelijk collegeld") is determined annually by the Dutch government. The annual tuition fees for the academic year 2012/2013 are € 12.000,= for non-EEA students at the University of Amsterdam and € 9.200,= for non-EEA students at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and VU University Amsterdam and € 1.771,= for EEA students. Tuition fees are due until all MPhil examinations, including the MPhil thesis, are passed.

All scholarships (partial and full scholarships) include a tuition waiver for university registration for the year for which the scholarship is awarded.

The Dutch government has raised the tuition fee for students who register for a second master program in the Netherlands. Tinbergen Institute wishes to prevent that the high tuition fees induce talented students with an interest in TI’s research master program to refrain from applying for admission to the TI master program. Hence, Tinbergen Institute will offer financial assistance, under certain conditions, to students holding a Dutch master degree and facing problems because of the raised fees.

Therefore, also students holding a master degree are explicitly invited to apply for TI’s research master program.

Funding for PhD students

Students in the programs' PhD phase are typically employed by one of the TI departments as PhD researchers ("promovendi"). These are full-time positions that come with all the benefits of employment, including a good salary. Most positions include a small teaching assignment to help the students gain teaching experience, which is useful for those considering an academic career.