VLIRUOS ICP Connect Scholarships

Who can apply

Must hold nationality from one of 29 eligible countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, or Southeast Asia, and reside in one of these countries at the time of application (not necessarily the country of nationality)
Age limit: no older than 35 as of 1 January of the intake year for a bachelor's or initial master's programme (minimum age 19 for a bachelor's programme), no older than 45 for an advanced master's programme
Preference given to candidates working in (or targeting a career in) higher education, government or civil society; newly graduated candidates or private-sector candidates with no work experience may still be considered with a strong motivation and profile
May apply for only one ICP Connect scholarship per year, and may not hold any other scholarship or grant for the same or another programme simultaneously
May not have previously received a scholarship from the Belgian government for a study programme, and may not have enrolled in a study programme at a Belgian higher education institution before 1 January of the intake year
Apply through the institution offering the specific programme, not directly to VLIR-UOS; indicate on the programme application that a scholarship is also being requested

About as close to fully funded as this kind of programme gets

VLIR-UOS’s ICP Connect scholarships are about as close to fully funded as this kind of programme gets: tuition, travel, insurance and living costs (board and lodging) are all covered, for the entire length of the programme, whether that is a one-year advanced master’s or a three-year professional bachelor’s. There is no partial version. You either qualify for the full package for the full programme, or you do not get a scholarship at all, and extensions are not funded either.

A genuinely specific catalogue of named programmes, not a vague field list

This isn’t a scholarship for “any field,” despite how broad the general description sounds; it funds a fixed, named catalogue of accredited programmes. The Professional Bachelors (3 years) are Hotel Management and Applied Computer Science. The Initial Masters (2 years) include Agro- and Environmental Nematology, Rural Development (IMRD), Aquaculture (IMAQUA), Epidemiology, Food Technology, Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management, Statistics and Data Science, Sustainable Development, Transportation Sciences (Road Safety), Water Resources Engineering, Nutrition and Food Systems, Sustainable Land Management, and Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems. The Advanced Masters (1 year) are Human Settlements, Development Evaluation and Management, Governance and Development, Globalisation and Development, and Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies (CADES). Check this exact list against your intended field before assuming a related but unlisted programme also qualifies.

Eligibility starts with nationality and residence together

Eligibility starts with nationality. You need to hold the nationality of, and be residing in, one of 29 countries: seventeen in Sub-Saharan Africa, two in the Middle East and North Africa (Morocco and Palestine), six in Latin America and the Caribbean, and four in Southeast Asia. Age limits apply too: 35 or under (as of 1 January of your intake year) for a bachelor’s or initial master’s programme, with a minimum age of 19 for a bachelor’s, and 45 or under for an advanced master’s. Preference goes to candidates already working in, or aiming for a career in, higher education, government or civil society, though recent graduates and private-sector applicants without that background can still be considered with a strong application.

A few exclusions worth knowing before you apply

A few exclusions are worth knowing before you apply. You can only hold one ICP Connect scholarship at a time and cannot combine it with any other scholarship or grant, so applying to more than one ICP programme in the same year, or accepting a different scholarship alongside this one, disqualifies you. Previous recipients of a Belgian government scholarship, or anyone already enrolled at a Belgian institution before 1 January of the intake year, are not eligible either.

The 2026-27 call is closed; the next one opens mid-November 2026

The 2026-27 call is closed. VLIR-UOS expects to open the 2027-28 call in mid-November 2026, and that is when the list of available programmes and each one’s specific deadline will be published, since deadlines are set by the individual programme and university rather than centrally by VLIR-UOS. When the call opens, you apply through the website of the university or institution offering your chosen programme, not through VLIR-UOS directly, and you indicate on that application that you are also applying for the scholarship.