Overview
Conditions
Do I qualify for support?
There are certain conditions to qualify for the financial support provided by VUB. There are general conditions and specific conditions for each individual type of support.
For some external grants there are specific conditions with regards to area of study, academic results and place of residence. Students who meet these and the general conditions may apply for one or more external grants.
Conditions
Specific conditions
The specific conditions for each grant can be found in the overview below.
Conditions
General conditions
The general condition to receive financial support from VUB are:
- The student meets one of the nationality requirements established by the Department of Scholarships of the Flemish Community
- the student is enrolled under a diploma contract (students with a credit or exam contract are not eligible) (*)
- the student is enrolled at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (**)
- the student is enrolled in an initial study programme: a bachelor, a first master, a bridging or preparatory programme (***)
- the student proves a financial need, related to the study costs
(*) Students with a credit contract can be eligible for reduced tuition fee. Starting academic year 2023-2024, students with a credit contract are also eligible for an interest-free loan to pay their tuition fees.
(**) Students in the first year of their studies should have an enrollment of at least 54 credits in order to apply for a social allowance, rent allowance and external grants.
(***) Students following a teacher training or a second academic degree of the same level or students who have already obtained a Master's degree can only qualify for reduced tuition fee and an interest-free student loan. This interest-free student loan is also available for students who are following an advanced Master's degree.
Conditions
Don't agree?
We evaluate your request and make a decision based on these conditions. If you do not agree with a decision made by our Financial Support team regarding your request for financial support, you can lodge an appeal.
Available study grants
Robert De Breyne grant - €250
The student comes from the province of West Flanders or Limburg OR the district of Oudenaarde/Eeklo/Turnhout AND comes from an official educational institute; with priority for bachelor students and those who passed the previous academic year with 54 credits.
Jules Deconinck grant - €500
The student meets the academic conditions set by the Flemish government for its scholarship AND was born and is domiciled in West Flanders
Grant for student representatives - €500
Only for students who are active in the Student Council and/or the International Student Platform. Student representatives don't have to meet the nationality requirements for financial support but must meet specific attendance requirements to be eligible for this grant.
Crazy Copy Center grant - €200
No conditions.
Goldsobel grant - €250
Only for medical students.
Guillaume Duflou - €200
Only for students Linguistics and Literary Studies (Germanic languages). This study grant is awarded every two years. The next award period will be in academic year 2025-2026
Specific grants from the Caroline Pauwels Relief Fund
To apply for these grants, you don't have to meet the nationality requirements for financial support.
- dr. Gasiorowski and dr. Mauroy grant - €500
Only for students in Master Geneeskunde - Protestants Christelijke Ziekenverpleging vzw - maximum €4.166
Only for dorm students in Master Geneeskunde
Other possibilities
Aside from the grants mentioned above, there are a number of funds offering study grants for students. Here are some examples.
Dieter Fund
This fund offers support to students who have a difficult time continuing their studies after high school due to a problematic home situation. In the first place this means students in special youth care or foster care. The fund offers financial support, as well as coaching throughout their studies.
Deadline: Start (1st day) of the academic year.
Tinne Boes Fund
This fund offers formative support to students in different living sitiations. More specifically students in architecture, medical sciences, engineering, chemical technology, natural sciences, system- and computer technology and ICT.
Deadline: Start (1st day) of the academic year.
Request an external grant
When to apply
An application for one or multiple grants must be submitted before 1 December of the designated academic year. Applications after this deadline won't be considered. Make sure to use the application form for the correct academic year. The form for next academic year will become available in September.
An external grant is valid for one academic year and you can re-apply, if necessary, the next academic year.
Submit application
- Fill in the application form and sign it digitally. Read here how to do that (Dutch only).
- Attach all the documents requested to the signed form.
- Send your complete application to Financial Support.
Your application form and all required documents for a tuition fee reduction can be sent in via e-mail. We will contact you if we have any further questions about your application. Your file will be screened by our staff and you will receive a decision, accompanied by more information.
Request digital documents
Some required documents can be requested digitally:
income information and personal tax (Dutch only)
attestation of family composition (Dutch only)
TALK & MUBA grants
Thanks to the bequest of Jeanne Lonnoy and Emile Lorand, the Language and Literature Education (TALK) and Linguistics & Literary Studies (MuBA) programs at the VUB offer twelve scholarships to high school seniors who are passionate about language and literature and who would like to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Language and Literature or Linguistics and Literary Studies at the VUB. This scholarship covers the tuition fee for the first year of the Bachelor's degree at the VUB (with a maximum of €1000), and for students who already have a scholarship, we even cover the tuition fee for their three years as a Bachelor's student (also with a maximum of €1000).
Everyone has a chance to win these scholarships: the most important thing is the passion and motivation for language of the future students!
Application
- A letter of motivation (max. 800 words): Who are you? Why do you want to study Linguistics and Literary Studies at VUB? Why do you need this scholarship?
- A transcript of the applicant’s coursework in the previous and current year of high school
- A short recommendation letter by a high school teacher, which will be uploaded directly by the teacher (ca. 500 words)
Applications will be assessed by a commission of professors and teaching assistants of both programmes. The results obtained in high school will not serve as the main selection criteria but do give complementary information about the profile of the candidate. As of this, the commission also ascribes importance to the letter of motivation and the recommendation letters.
Deadline is from 1 til 15 August before the start of the new academic year