StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarship
Leiden University, founded in 1575, is the oldest university in the Netherlands, with campuses in Leiden and The Hague. The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS) is its flagship merit award for international Master’s students: a tuition reduction of between €10,000 and €19,000, awarded to roughly 25 students a year from a field of more than 1,000 applicants. The competition is therefore decided on academic strength — Leiden uses a top-10%-of-previous-programme benchmark as its indication of the level required — and on the quality of a short motivation letter, not on financial need.
Two things about LExS catch applicants out. First, it is a tuition-only award: it does not pay rent, food, insurance, travel or the immigration financial proof, so a strong application still needs a separate living-costs plan. Second, there is no separate application — you opt in during the Master’s admission application, which means the scholarship deadline is effectively the admission-application deadline for LExS candidates: 1 December 2026.
Eligibility
- Hold a non-EEA/non-EFTA passport and not be eligible for Dutch student finance (Studiefinanciering). UK students are eligible, unless they were already living in the Netherlands and registered in their Dutch municipality’s BRP before 1 January 2021.
- Apply for an eligible full-time Leiden University Master’s programme starting in September 2027.
- Note the exclusions: Leiden Law School’s LLM (non-advanced) and MSc programmes are not eligible for LExS.
- Note the exceptions with no nationality restriction: all Advanced LLM programmes and the MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy are open to all nationalities.
- Have excellent academic results in a previous study programme relevant to your chosen Master’s — as an indication, among the top 10% of graduates in your previous programme. Proof of ranking is not required; the figure indicates the level of competitiveness.
- Meet the admission requirements of the Master’s programme you choose.
Benefits
- A tuition fee reduction in one of five tiers: €10,000, €15,000, €17,500, €18,500 or €19,000.
- The award runs for the duration of the eligible Master’s programme (one or two years).
- Study at one of Europe’s oldest research universities, with campuses in Leiden and The Hague.
- No separate scholarship form: the award is decided inside your Master’s admission application.
Documents to prepare
- Your Master’s admission application through Studielink and Leiden’s uSis portal, including all documents your chosen programme requires (transcripts, degree certificates and any programme-specific material).
- A motivation letter of up to 500 words for LExS, submitted in the scholarships section of the application.
- Evidence of your academic results — your transcript is the main evidence; a formal ranking certificate is not required.
- Any English-language evidence your chosen Master’s programme requires.
How to apply
- Choose an eligible full-time Leiden Master’s programme starting in September 2027 and check that it is not one of the excluded Law School programmes.
- Start your application in Studielink, then complete it in Leiden’s online application portal (uSis).
- In the scholarships section of the application, indicate your interest in LExS and upload your 500-word motivation letter.
- Submit the complete application before 1 December 2026 — incomplete applications are not processed, and late applications are only considered in exceptional cases at the faculty board’s discretion.
- Wait for the faculty selection committee’s decision, normally communicated in the spring before the September start.
FAQs
No. LExS covers tuition fees only, in tiers from €10,000 to €19,000. Living expenses, accommodation, travel, insurance and visa costs are not included, and you must show the financial proof Dutch immigration requires.
Leiden University’s own scholarship pages list 1 December 2026 for the September 2027 intake, and that is the deadline this article uses. One listing gives 1 February 2027 — do not plan around it.
As an indication, yes: Leiden says applicants should generally be among the top 10% of graduates in their previous programme. Proof of ranking is not required — the figure shows how competitive the award is, with around 25 awards from more than 1,000 applications.
Yes. The UK is a non-EEA country, so UK students are eligible — unless they were already living in the Netherlands and registered in their Dutch municipality’s BRP before 1 January 2021.
No, not with another full scholarship from an external provider. It may be combined with a partial scholarship — contact Leiden’s Scholarships Team to confirm your specific combination.
Verified 25 Oct 2026: staff.universiteitleiden.nl (official Leiden scholarship page) and student.universiteitleiden.nl (official) — LExS deadline 1 December 2026, non-EEA/non-EFTA students, exceptions for Advanced LLM and MSc International Relations and Diplomacy, top 10% indication, Law School LLM (non-advanced) and MSc programmes excluded; striveconsultancyhub.com, scholarships365.info, nspscholarships.com, fullscholarships.net, kaistscholarship.com — €10,000–€19,000 in five tiers (€10,000 / €15,000 / €17,500 / €18,500 / €19,000), around 25 awards a year from more than 1,000 applications, 500-word motivation letter, tuition only, cannot combine with another full external scholarship, UK students eligible; careeraidhub.com gives 1 February 2027 as the deadline — the official Leiden pages list 1 December 2026, which this article uses and flags.
