The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS) is one of the Netherlands’ most competitive university scholarships, offering substantial tuition-fee support to outstanding non-EEA students joining a full-time Master’s programme at Leiden University. For September 2027 entry, the application deadline is 1 December 2026. Pakistani students, as non-EEA nationals, are eligible.

Scholarship Details

  • Five award levels of tuition-fee support: €10,000, €15,000, €17,500, €18,500 or €19,000, awarded for the duration of the study programme.
  • Only around 25 LExS scholarships are awarded each year, from well over a thousand applicants — it is highly competitive.
  • It is not a full scholarship: living costs are not covered and recipients must still prove sufficient funds for their student visa/residence permit application.
  • Cannot be combined with another full scholarship from an external provider.

Eligibility for Pakistani Applicants

  • Applying for a full-time Leiden University Master’s programme starting in September (LLM non-advanced and MSc programmes at Leiden Law School are excluded; February starts are excluded).
  • Holding a non-EEA/non-EFTA passport and not eligible for Dutch student finance — Pakistan qualifies.
  • Excellent academic results relevant to the chosen programme; as an indication, among the top 10% of graduates in the previous study programme.
  • Must not already hold a Leiden University Master’s degree.

Required Documents

  • Online application for admission to the Master’s programme (start well before the deadline — creating and submitting it can take up to 3 working days).
  • LExS motivation letter as a PDF of maximum 500 words, uploaded via the Scholarships section of the online application.
  • Standard admission documents for the chosen programme; no proof of class ranking is required.

Important Dates / Deadline

  • Application deadline: 1 December 2026 for programmes starting September 2027; late applications are not considered.
  • Faculty selection committees nominate recipients within 10 weeks of the deadline; all applicants are notified by email before the end of March.

How to Apply