Introduction
PhD degrees can be pursued at 18 Dutch universities and institutes for international education. Themaximum NFP budget available for a PhD study programme is EUR 74,000.This amount is intended to cover the tuition fees and to provide acontribution towards the costs of subsistence and travel. PhD studentsare allowed to seek alternative sources of funding to help them coverthe full costs of their study. The maximum duration of a PhD fellowshipperiod is four years.

Eligibility
A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for pursuit of a PhD must:

• be a national of one of the 57 developing countries on the list;
• have been admitted unconditionally to the Dutch institution asa PhD fellow. This means that the applicant must have met all theacademic requirements set by the Dutch university or institute;
• have completed an NFP PhD Study Application Form and have provided all the required  documentation;
• have completed a PhD research proposal in collaboration with the Dutch institution;
• offer proof that the PhD will be pursued according to a‘sandwich' or ‘picnic' model, whichmeans that a large portion of thePhD research will take place in the candidate's home country. In a'sandwich' model the greater part of the field research takes place inthe home country. The start of the PhD study and graduation ceremony ofthe candidate usually take place in the Netherlands. In a 'picnic'model, the PhD candidate will do research in his or her own country formost of the time, and spend only a few short periods of time in theNetherlands to conduct research;
• be nominated by his or her employer, who pledges to continuepaying the candidate's salary and to hold a job open for the candidatewhile he or she is in the Netherlands. Under certain circumstances, itmay be acceptable that the employer states that at least part of thesalary will continue to be paid, and that the organization complieswith all the other formal NFP requirements if the fellowships isawarded. It should be realized, however, that the NFP allowances arenot sufficient to support family members, either in the home country orin the Netherlands;
• provide statements explaining the motivation of both the applicant and the employer;
• not be employed by a large industrial, commercial or multinational firm;
• offer evidence that he or she is sufficiently skilled inspeaking and writing in the language of  communication during the PhD,which may be English, French or Spanish;
• be available full-time to pursue the PhD withoutinterruption, and be physically and mentally able to take part in theentire programme;
• declare that they will return to their home countryimmediately after the period of study and research in the Netherlandshas ended.

The application and selection procedure

A candidatecan apply for a PhD fellowship only after a research proposal has beenagreed upon by both the candidate and the Dutch provider.

The application and selection procedure consists of the following steps:

Application for admission at a Dutch institution
1)Admission as a PhD student is granted on an individual basis. Senioracademic staff or a specific PhD committee decide whether or not anapplicant will be accepted. Usually the assessment is based on theresearch proposal submitted by the applicant.

Applications for a fellowship
2) After being accepted,the candidate submits a request for a PhD fellowship by presenting acompleted NFP PhD Study Application Form to the Netherlands embassy orconsulate in the candidate's own country, accompanied by the necessarydocumentation. The application form can be obtained from anyNetherlands embassy or consulate and can also be downloaded.

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3) The embassy or consulate assesses the application against thecriteria for eligibility listed above. Special attention is given to:

• the relevance of the proposed research for the candidate's organization and country;
• proof that the candidate's employer and the Dutch institution support the application.

4) The embassy or consulate forwards an application that meets allof these criteria to Nuffic, together with its own recommendations.Nuffic assesses the application against the criteria, paying particularattention to the Dutch institution's capacity for receiving PhD fellowsand giving them appropriate supervision and guidance.
5) Nuffic selects the candidates who will receive PhD fellowships. Nuffic gives priority to applications which:

• propose that the research project be co-supervised by an institution in a developing country;
• have a proven link with other activities that are financed by the NFP, the NPT, or other Dutch government-funded activities;
• are submitted by female candidates;
• are submitted by candidates from sub-Saharan Africa;
• stem from agreements made with selected organizations in the pilot countries.

6) Nuffic informs the candidate and the institution of its decision.

Deadline for applications 
Twodeadlines have been introduced for submitting PhD fellowshipapplications. The applications for PhD research projects starting in2006 must reach The Netherlands embassy or consulate in the applicantsown country before 1 June or before 1 October 2005. Applications forPhD research projects starting in 2007 must reach The Netherlandsembassy or consulate in the applicants own country before 1 June orbefore 1 October 2006.

Reference:
http://www.nuffic.nl/nfp/