Science@Leuven Scholarship 2027 (Belgium) — €12,000 a Year for a Master's at KU Leuven

Science@Leuven 2027: a two-track application, and why the order matters

This scholarship has a peculiarity that trips up capable applicants every year: it is not one application but two, and the first one is the master's programme itself. Understanding that sequence is the difference between being ranked and being invisible.

WHAT IT COVERS

The Science@Leuven Fund pays an allowance of €12,000 per academic year for a maximum of two consecutive years, and non-EEA students additionally receive a partial tuition fee waiver. The second year is not automatic — it is conditional on strong performance in the first, which the university states explicitly. The fund is financed by alumni of the Faculty of Science, and the number of awards varies each year with the money available. One named scholarship is reserved for a Master of Geography student, awarded only if that applicant meets the same high standard as everyone else. Airfare and visa costs are not covered, and even a full award will not carry a year in Leuven on its own, so budget personal funds.

WHO CAN APPLY

You must be an international student who has not previously studied or worked at KU Leuven, must hold a bachelor's degree from a non-Belgian university that gives access to your chosen master's, and must not already hold a master's or a PhD. Academic results need to be comparable to at least a distinction at KU Leuven. English proficiency must reach IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 94 — a higher bar than the general admission requirement, which is a detail worth noticing before you test.

Self-check questions:

- Is my target master's programme on the eligible list for the Faculty of Science? - Have I never studied or worked at KU Leuven? - Do I have a bachelor's degree from outside Belgium? - Can I reach IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 94? - Am I willing to act as an ambassador for the programme? Award holders sign a contract accepting the conditions.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply for the master's programme through the KU Leuven application tool first. Upload the transcript of records with credit sizes and grades, a half-page to one-page description of the courses that prepared you for the master's, two reference letters from internationally renowned professors, and a motivation letter. When your programme application is submitted you receive a confirmation email. Then register for the Science@Leuven Scholarship and attach that confirmation email. Your registration is only complete once a second email confirms it.

Documents checklist:

- KU Leuven master's application, submitted before the scholarship deadline - Separate Science@Leuven scholarship registration with the submission confirmation attached - Full course list with ECTS sizes and results, plus a note explaining a non-ECTS grading scale - Short description of the most relevant prior courses - Two academic reference letters - Motivation letter - English proficiency evidence

COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID

Registering for the scholarship without the confirmation email attached leaves the file incomplete, and incomplete files never reach the ranking. Assuming that a scholarship application can rescue a weak programme application is the second error: the university is explicit that a scholarship application will not be considered if it is clear you will not be admitted. Naming a KU Leuven staff member as your public contact is the third. Submitting the master's file late is the fourth — only files complete and valid before the deadline count.

DEADLINE

15 February 2027 is a hard close for both the complete master's file and the scholarship registration. Admission decisions run through March, online interviews take place in April, and the fund board writes in early May.

TIPS TO WIN

Get your reference letters lined up months early, because professors who are internationally active are slow to write. Write the course-preparation description carefully — it is the one document where you can explain a non-standard transcript. Apply to a programme whose content genuinely matches your degree, and say so concretely in the motivation letter.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU SUBMIT

Files are read by the programme committee between February and the end of March, and only students already admitted by the beginning of April stay in the scholarship pool. A shortlist of usually around eight candidates is then interviewed online, and the Management Board of the Science@Leuven Fund makes the awards in early May. If you are not selected, your admission to the master's programme still stands, which is worth remembering when you weigh the scholarship application against the €90 admission fee. Award holders sign a contract accepting the conditions, including the ambassador role, so read those terms before you accept a place.

More scholarships for international students

https://www.oeacnetwork.com/scholarships

Related awards on this site

https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=10

https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=4

Official page

https://www.kuleuven.be/scholarships/year/2027-2028/science-leuven-scholarship

Not sure whether your file is strong enough for this programme? Talk to an OEAC advisor — our team helps students from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and across the region prepare competitive scholarship applications, and the first consultation is free.

Last updated: 10 October 2026 Photo: Karmakolle — CC0, via Wikimedia Commons