Taking a Master’s programme
Do you have a Bachelor’s degree from a university or higher vocational education (HBO) and do you want to continue your studies? A Master’s programme is the logical next step. Whether you receive student finance for this depends on your Bachelor’s programme and which Master’s you want to take.
Extension of your student finance?
When you study at university or higher vocational education (HBO), you are usually entitled to 7 years of student finance. If you take a Master’s programme, that period can sometimes be extended. In other words, you may receive student finance for a longer period. This depends on how long your Master’s programme is officially supposed to last.
Official programme duration
The official duration of your Master’s programme may be shorter than the duration stated by the institution itself.
Programme duration
You can look up the official duration of a programme in the national register for educational institutions RIO. This information can be found on the screen containing the details of the programme in question. The ‘study load’ gives the number of credits for the Master’s degree: 60 credits is a 1-year programme, 120 credits is 2 years and so on.
Basis
Below the study load, you will also find the basis for the study load. If this says ‘ministerieel’ (ministerial), then the study load given is the official duration of the programme. In that case, check the table to see if you are entitled to additional student finance. If the basis for the study load is given as ‘instelling’ (institution), you will not receive additional student finance for this Master’s programme.
A study programme abroad
Do you want to take a study programme abroad? In that case, we assess your entitlement based on the official programme duration for the comparable programme in the Netherlands.
Eligible for how long?
The table below shows how many years of student finance you will receive for a Bachelor’s programme followed by a Master’s programme.
| Type of bachelor and master | Loan | Travel product | Supplementary grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor + 1-year HBO Master | 8 years | 6 years | 5 years |
| Bachelor + 1.5-year HBO Master | 8 years and 6 months | 6 years and 6 months | 5 years and 6 months |
| Bachelor + 2-year HBO Master | 9 years | 7 years | 6 years |
| Bachelor + 2.5-year HBO Master | 9 years and 6 months | 7 years and 6 months | 6 years and 6 months |
| Bachelor + 3-year HBO Master | 10 years | 8 years | 7 years |
| Bachelor + 4-year HBO Master | 10 years | 9 years | 8 years |
| Bachelor + 1-year university Master | 7 years | 5 years | 4 years |
| Bachelor + 2-year university Master | 8 years | 6 years | 5 years |
| Bachelor + 3-year university Master | 9 years | 7 years | 6 years |
| Bachelor + 4-year university Master | 10 years | 8 years | 7 years |
Additional travel months due to Covid restrictions
Have you been notified that you will be given additional travel months due to Covid restrictions? If so, these months will be added to the official duration stated here.
Submit update
Enter your details in the programme update assistant. It will only take a minute to find out what arrangements you need to make.
Programme update assistantProgramme update assistant
Graduate Master’s
You will not receive additional student finance for a graduate Master’s degree. Nor does a graduate Master’s degree entitle you to convert your grant into a gift.
Have you already obtained a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree and received at least 1 month of student finance for university or higher vocational education (HBO)? Then you are still entitled to use up any remaining months of student finance. Please note that the graduate Master’s must be recognized by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) Link opent externe pagina . Check with your institution to see if this is the case.