Law, Economics and Governance International Talent Scholarship

The Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance offers the Law, Economics and Governance International Talent Scholarship (LEGITS) to students who have applied to master’s programmes from the School of Law and the School of Economics. 

This scholarship offers a number of highly talented prospective students the opportunity to pursue a degree in one of the English-taught master’s programmes at the

With this selective scholarship programme, the faculty aims to contribute to and invest in talented international students who have shown the highest achievement in their (academic) career so far. This is based on their academic quality and fit with the Master’s programme, societal engagement, initiative and potential contribution to a diverse and international learning environment. Utrecht University promotes a more diverse and international classroom. The LEGITS scholarship is a means of the faculty to do so. Approximately four LEGITS scholarships are awarded each year.

Criteria for eligibility

Both EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA students are eligible to apply for the LEGITS scholarship. Eligible candidates will be selected for a scholarship based on the following criteria:

  • Academic quality and fit with the Master’s programme, as demonstrated through the Master’s application documents, including transcripts, educational background, career achievements, and the quality and relevance of the motivation letter. 
  • Societal engagement, initiative, and potential contribution to a diverse and international learning environment, as demonstrated through the scholarship personal statement.
  • The overall quality and completeness of the application.

To be awarded this scholarship, you should:

  • hold a non-Dutch secondary education qualification and a non-Dutch Bachelor’s degree. The scholarship must be for your first Master’s degree in the Netherlands.
  • have been accepted to one of the English-taught master’s programmes of the Graduate School of Law, and the Graduate School of Economics with a start date of 1 September 2027.

Failure to meet one or more of these criteria means you are not eligible for this scholarship. Please review the eligibility criteria carefully before applying. Applications that do not meet the criteria will not be considered or will be cancelled.

Scholarship amount

The scholarship amount will cover the tuition fee: 

  • For EU/EEA students: the  statutory tuition fee 
  • For non-EU/EEA students: the institutional tuition fee

The scholarship can be renewed for the second year of a two-year master’s programme, provided the student demonstrates satisfactory academic progress during the first year.

Application deadline 

Prospective students who wish to be considered for the scholarship must apply for admission to both the Master’s programme and the scholarship before February 1st 23:59 CET. The application portal will close at this time. Your application for a scholarship will only be processed if you have first submitted an application for a master’s programme in Osiris Online Application. You can start your application from 1 November 2026.

By applying in advance, you allow enough time for your documents to be reviewed and, if necessary, to make corrections or add missing information. 
Please note: If you submit your application between January 26 and February 1, any incomplete or incorrect information cannot be updated or supplemented. 

How to apply

After submitting an application (or applications) for a LEGITS eligible master’s programme before the stated deadline, EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA students will have the opportunity to submit an application for one LEGITS from 1 November 2026.

You will see the LEGITS application option in your OSIRIS Online Application account dashboard.

  • After logging in with your Osiris username and password, click view/edit for the LEGITS linked (related process) to the Master’s programme you wish to apply for.
  • Upload the requested document LEGITS personal statement and answer the questions
  • Submit your LEGITS scholarship application

You will not be informed whether you have been awarded the scholarship prior to the scholarship deadline and not before you have been (un)conditionally admitted to the programme. We aim to inform applicants about the outcome by mid-April (per email). 

More information