Deadline:
April 30, 2025
Location(s)
Slovakia
Overview
The Government of the Slovak Republic approved the establishment of the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic for the support of mobility of students, PhD students, university teachers, researchers and artists in 2005. The National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic (NSP) is funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.
The National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic supports mobility of international students, PhD students, university teachers, researchers and artists for scholarship stays at higher education institutions and research organisations in Slovakia.
Details
Scholarship applications are submitted online at www.scholarships.sk. Online application system is opened at least 6 weeks prior to the application deadline. Applications can be filled in only in case that the online application system has already been opened.
Note: Applicants are recommended not to submit their applications at the last moment. Number of operations executed within the last minutes prior to the application deadline may have an influence on the reaction time of the application system. Please, keep that in mind, in order not to miss the application deadline.
Applicants must fill in their online applications and upload all the required attachments in required format to their online application.
Students (eligible applicants under the category A) are allowed to submit (fill in) applications and the required attachments in Slovak or English language only(documents written in other languages must be officially translated into Slovak or English language – translation can be certified by the same institution that issued the respective document).
Other applicants (eligible applicants under the categories B) and C) are allowed to submit (fill in) applications in the following languages:
- Slovak language – in this case, all attached documents must be in Slovak or English language only;
- English language – in this case, all attached documents must be in Slovak or English language only;
- Russian language – in this case, all attached documents must be in Slovak, English or Russian language only.
If the documents are issued in other than aforementioned languages, these documents must be officially translated into one of the aforementioned languages (translation can be certified by the same institution that issued the respective document).
Once the application is filled in and all the required documents are attached to the application, the applicant must submit the application by clicking the "SEND" button. It is also necessary to deliver original of the admission/invitation letter to SAIA, n. o., in Bratislava (SAIA, n. o., Sasinkova 10, 812 20 Bratislava 1). This document must be delivered5 at latest on the 3rd working day after the application deadline until 12 p.m. (when determining the working days, legal status in Slovakia is taken into consideration).
Check application page for detailed description of required documents.
Selection procedure
Selection of scholarship holders is carried out by the Selection Committee appointed by the Minister of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. The Selection Committee award the scholarships based upon the documents attached to applicants’ online applications. The Committee focuses mostly on:
- reasons, why the applicant has decided to study, teach, conduct research or artistic activities in the respective host institution;
- programme of applicant’s study, research/artistic or teaching stay and how the applicant will use the results of his/her scholarship stay for further studies or teaching/research/artistic activities;
- applicant’s professional and personal qualities;
- study or research achievements;
- attitude of applicant’s host institution toward the applicant in the admission/invitation letter;
- overall quality of submitted application.
Scholarships and/or travel allowances are not legally enforceable; to be or not to be awarded a scholarship is influenced by meeting all the formal requirements of the programme according to the respective call for applications, applicant’s quality, content of applicant’s proposed stay and its necessity, and budget possibilities of the NSP according to the respective call for applications.
SAIA, n. o., will inform every applicant about being/not being awarded the scholarship within 8 weeks from the application deadline.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
Eligible applicants for a scholarship in the framework of the NSP:
A) students who:
- are university students at universities outside Slovakia;
- are students of the second level of higher education (master's students), or are students who at the time of application deadline have already completed at least 2.5 years of their university studies in the same study programme;
- will be on a study stay in Slovakia during their higher education outside Slovakia and who will be accepted by a public, private or state university in Slovakia for an academic mobility1 to study in Slovakia.
All 3 conditions must be met. This category does not apply to doctoral (PhD) studies (or their equivalent).
- Duration of a scholarship stay (students): 1 – 2 semesters (i.e. 4 – 5 or 9 – 10 months) or 1 – 3 trimesters, in case the academic year is divided into trimesters (i.e. 3 – 4 or 6 – 7 or 9 – 10 months).
B) PhD students whose higher education or scientific training takes place outside Slovakia and who are accepted by a public, private or state university or a research institution in Slovakia eligible to carry out a doctoral study programme2 (e.g. the Slovak Academy of Sciences) for an academic mobility1 to study/conduct research in Slovakia.
- Duration of a scholarship stay (PhD students): 1 – 10 months.
C) international university teachers, researchers and artists who are invited to a teaching/research/artistic stay in Slovakia by an institution with a valid certificate of eligibility to carry out research and development, which is not a business company3 and it has its headquarters in Slovakia.
- Duration of a scholarship stay (university teachers, researchers or artists): 1 – 10 months.
[1] Section 58a of the Act No. 131/2002 on higher education institutions, as amended.
[2] External education institution according to the Act No. 131/2002 on higher education institutions, as amended.
[3] Legal entity according to the section 7 letters a) – c) of the Act No. 172/2005 on organisation of state research and development funding, as amended, which has a valid certificate of eligibility to carry out research and development according to the section 26a article 11 or article 12 of the same Act – i.e. public, private or state universities, research institutions eligible to carry out a doctoral (PhD) study programme (i.e. external education institutions), Slovak Academy of Sciences and its institutes, departmental research institutes or non-governmental organisations carrying out research and development.
Citizens of any country in the world (except the citizens of Slovakia) can apply for a scholarship stay in Slovakia in the framework of the NSP.
The National Scholarship Programme does not support:
- international students and PhD students accepted for full higher education (bachelor, master, doctoral studies) in Slovakia, or those already studying in Slovakia (full higher education) who would like to fund their studies in Slovakia by the NSP;
- international applicants who within the period of 36 months prior to the application deadline have spent in the territory of the Slovak Republic 12 or more months (in total);
- international applicants awarded a scholarship in Slovakia in the framework of other scholarship programmes (e.g. International Visegrad Fund, Erasmus+, CEEPUS, bilateral agreements, etc.) for the same period (that would be considered double-funding).
In case of repeated scholarship award, the following rule applies: If the applicant has already been awarded a scholarship in the framework of the NSP for 5 or more scholarship months (in total) on the indicated closing date of the applications, he/she can be awarded the next scholarship only after 3 years from the completion of his/her last scholarship stay in the framework of the NSP.
Dates
Deadline: April 30, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
The scholarship is intended to cover international scholarship holders’ living costs, i.e. the costs related to staying in Slovakia (food, accommodation, etc.), during their study, research/artistic or teaching stay at universities and in research organisations3 in Slovakia. The scholarship holder can ask for assistance concerning accommodation and formalities related to entering and staying in the territory of the Slovak Republic either his/her host institution, or he/she can handle all the necessities him-/herself.
Amount of the monthly scholarship
a) university student 620 €
b) PhD student 1025,50 €
c) university teacher/researcher/artist:
- without PhD degree (or its equivalent) and less than 4 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist 1025,50 €
- with PhD degree (or its equivalent) and less than 10 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist 1370 €
- with PhD degree (or its equivalent) and more than 10 years of work experience as a university teacher/researcher/artist 1470 €
In addition, students and PhD students [eligible applicants under the category A) and B)] can be awarded a travel allowance (travel grant, which is a separate component of the scholarship), if they apply for it along with their scholarship application. Travel allowance is awarded as a lump sum and it will be paid to the scholarship holder at the end of his/her stay together with the last scholarship payment. Travel allowance amount depends on the distance (in a direct line) between applicant's place of residence (the permanent address; resp. address of home institution) and the place of his/her stay in Slovakia (the address of the host institution)[5]:
- distance up to 200 km – 0 €,
- distance more than 200 km, max. 300 km – 50 €,
- distance more than 300 km, max. 500 km – 100 €,
- distance more than 500 km, max. 1 000 km – 250 €,
- distance more than 1 000 km, max.2 000 km – 350 €,
- distance more than 2 000 km, max.3 000 km – 500 €,
- distance more than 3 000 km, max. 5 000 km – 750 €,
- distance more than 5 000 km, max. 7 000 km – 1 100 €,
- distance more than 7 000 km – 1 500 €.
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