Science@Leuven Scholarships for motivated and talented international students to study in Belgium
Science@Leuven Scholarships for motivated and talented international students to study in Belgium
The Faculty of Science and its alumni association Science@Leuven are proud to announce the Science@Leuven Scholarships!
Programmes you can apply for with the Science@Leuven Scholarship
Motivated and talented international students interested in participating in an international master programme of the Faculty of Science of the KU Leuven are invited to apply for a scholarship.
For the following masters you can apply for the Scholarship :
- Master of Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Master of Biophysics, Biochemistry and Biotechnology
- Master of Biology
- Master of Chemistry
- Master of Geography
- Interuniversity Master of Geology (only students applying for the specialisation Geodynamics and Georesources or Surface processes and Paleoenvironments can apply for the scholarship. Students applying for the other specialisations (enrollment at Ghent University) will not be considered for the scholarship.)
- Master of Mathematics
- Master of Physics
- Master of Statiscs and Data Science
- Master of Sustainable Development (ICP)
Students applying for the QASS-programme of the Master of Statistics are excluded from the Science@Leuven Scholarship, as this programme requires a master diploma, which is not allowed for the Science@Leuven Scholarship.
Do not apply for the Scholarship if you are interested in another Master Programme. Your application will not be considered.
Amount of Scholarship
The amount of the scholarship can be up to 12.000 Euro for 1 year. The Board of the Science@Leuven Fund will decide exactly how much a scholarship will be. The scholarship will always cover the tuition fee for 1 year, the insurance and a basic health insurance coverage. The amount awarded for living expenses can vary.
If a student is awarded the full scholarship of 12.000 Euro, it is still advisable to bring extra money. Here you can find an overview of living costs in Belgium .
Most master programmes of the Faculty of Science are two-year programmes. The scholarship for the second master year will only be continued on the condition that the student had outstanding results the first master year.
Requirements
Admission Requirements
Applicants must meet and prove the following requirements:
- the applicants have not studied or worked at the University of Leuven before,
- the applicants have a bachelor degree from a non-Belgian university that gives them access to the master programme they are applying for,
- the applicants have not yet acquired a master degree or a PhD,
- the applicants can prove excellent study results during their former training. The applicants are expected to obtain at least Distinction during their studies at the KU Leuven,
- the applicants can prove a very strong knowledge of English ( TOEFL (minimum score 94 internet-based with at least 19 for reading, 18 for Listening, 19 for speaking and 21 for writing) or IELTS (minimum score 7 overall, whilst at least 6,5 for reading, 6 for listening, 6 for speaking and 6 for writing),
- the applicants show strong motivation to follow a master programme at the Faculty of Science of the KU Leuven,
- the applicants have two reference letters from internationally renowned professors,
- the applicants are willing to act as ambassador for the programme.
PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU DO NOT MEET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS
The students that have been awarded a scholarship will be asked to sign a contract that stipulates the conditions of acceptance.
Language requirements
For all the English taught master programmes the following language requirements are requested. As the level of English is a selection criterium, these requirements are very important for applicants for the Scholarship.
PROOF OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH
All applicants must prove their proficiency in English. The accepted English proficiency tests are:
- TOEFL iBT: minimum overall score of 94, with minimum subscores of 19 for Reading, 18 for Listening, 19 for Speaking and 21 for Writing
- IELTS Academic test: minimum overall score of 7.0, with minimum subscores of 6.5 for Reading, 6.0 for Listening, 6.0 for Speaking and 6.0 for Writing
- Advanced or Proficiency Cambridge Certificates: minimum score of 185, with at least 176 for reading and 169 for listening, speaking and writing.
The following applicants are exempted from submitting an English proficiency certificate:
- Applicants who have obtained a previous university degree taught in English in Australia, English-speaking Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Their diploma and transcripts suffice, provided they confirm that the entire university study was completely taught in English in one of the previous countries.
CREDENTIALS REGARDING PREVIOUS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
An English version (or translation) of the course description for the courses that you deem most relevant as a preparation for the master. For each relevant course, you should provide a brief description of the course objectives, the main topics treated, the workload per course unit and the course materials used. If your university provides these descriptions online or via a syllabus, you can copy-paste these descriptions.
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.
Time Path of the application procedure
Deadline Application procedure
Only applications that have been submitted (through the KU Leuven Application Tool and registered on the website of the scholarship) before 15th of February will be considered for the scholarship.
Time Path Selection procedure
- 15th of February till end of March:
The admission committee of the programme of your choice will evaluate your application. Only when you have been admitted to the programme, will you be considered for the Science@Leuven Scholarship.
- Beginning of April:
The applicants that have been admitted by the beginning of April will be considered for the Scholarship. The first selection is based on the formal admission requirements for the scholarship.
- From mid-April till end of April
The Selection committee selects and ranks the eligible students and decide which students will be invited for an online interview.
- Beginning of May
The managment board of the Science@Leuven Fund awards the scholarships and the students are being notified of their status.
Application Procedure
- Apply for the master programme of your choice through the application tool of the KU Leuven. Please read the application instructions carefully.
- upload the following information via the KU Leuven application tool:
- a complete list of course titles for which you have obtained a credit (Transcript of Records). Indicate the course size (in ECTS-credits) and the result you obtained, preferably according to the ECTS-scale; if a different scale is used, please provide a summary explanation on the meaning of the scores;
- provide a short (about one half to one page) description for the courses from your previous/current programme that you deem most relevant as a preparation for the master programme that you are considering. Describe the courses according to the standard guidelines for an ECTS-study guide (example).
- two reference letters of internationally renowned professors;
- a letter of motivation for the programme.
- When you have completed and submitted your application for the master’s programme, you will get a message on the screen that you succesfully submitted the application.
- IMPORTANT! Take a screen shot of this message. You will have to upload the screenshot when you register for the Science@Leuven Scholarship. In case you were unable to take a screen shot of this message, you can also upload another screen shot proving that your application was submitted.
- Apply for the Science@Leuven Scholarship via this link.
- your registration is complete after you have received an email stating that you have been registered for the Science@Leuven Scholarship.
Important Notice
- Only students who have complied with all the above requirements will be considered for the Scholarship!
- You can apply for the scholarship immediately after you have applied for a certain programme, you do not need to wait until you are accepted by the master’s programme. However your application for the scholarship will not be considered when it is clear that you will not be accepted for the master’s programme.
Selection Procedure
The selection procedure involves several steps:
- The applicants apply for the Master Programme of their choice. Only students admitted to a Master Programme on this list are considered for the scholarship.
- The applicants who have submitted a complete file and who meet all the necessary requirements are selected for the first round.
- The list of applicants per master programme is sent to the respective programme director who ranks the students eligible for the Scholarship. The students are mainly ranked by study results. Other aspects, such as motivation and knowledge of the programme can also play a role.
- The selection committee receives the list of the selected applicants per programme and agrees on a ranking of all the applicants. The students are ranked, based on the study results, the knowledge of the English language and motivation. The main selection criterion is the chance of obtaining at least cum laude during their studies at the KU Leuven
- The selection committee selects a number of students (usually about 8) for an online interview.
- The selected applicants are interviewed online. Questions in the interview can be for example about their motivation, their future plans, their extra curriculum activities, their motivation to study at KU Leuven and the programme. The selection committee also takes into consideration how the applicants will perform as an ambassador for the Science@Leuven Fund.
- The selection committee makes a final ranking of all the candidates that have been interviewed.
- The management board of the Science@Leuven Fund defines how many scholarships are available and awards the scholarships.
Conditions for continuing the scholarship in the 2nd master year
The scholarship is initially awarded for one academic year. The scholarship will be continued for the second master year under the condition that the students have excellent grades in the first master year. Scholarship students have to take at least 60 credits the first year. They have to acquire all the credits they signed up for in the first master year before they will be awarded the scholarship for the second master year. The scholarship can only be awarded for two consecutive years.
Closing Date: 15 February 2024
More Scholarship Opportunities: McCall MacBain Scholarships to Study in Canada: Fully-funded Scholarship with a $2000 monthly stipend
FOLLOW Scholarships-Info.Com on LINKEDIN
