VLIR-UOS Scholarships for Master of Epidemiology

Thanks to the support from VLIR-UOS, the Flemish Interuniversity Council, students from 31 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin-America can apply for a full scholarship to follow a master programme at a Flemish university or university college in Belgium. The Global Health Institute can thus provide 12 full scholarships that cover all expenses related to the Master of Epidemiology (MEPI) at the University of Antwerp.

The VLIR-UOS scholarship includes the course fee, air ticket, insurance, visa costs, accommodation, and a daily allowance. In order to be eligible for a VLIR-UOS scholarship, participants must meet a number of criteria defined by VLIR-UOS, as well as by the University of Antwerp. For scholarship related questions you can contact the Global Health Institute via global.health.institute@uantwerpen.be.

All programme information related to the MEPI, e.g. the profile, study programme and application procedure can be found on the MEPI website. You can contact the secretariat for course related questions via epidemiology@uantwerp.be.

VLIR-UOS scholarship eligibility criteria

You are a national AND resident of one of the 31 countries on the country list (not necessarily the same country for residence and nationality):
- Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Niger
- Asia: Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Palestinian Territories, Vietnam
- Latin America: Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru
You are not older than 35 years if you apply for a scholarship to follow a master programme. The candidate cannot succeed this age on January 1 of the intake year.
Professional experience and employment perspectives are not required for a master programme, but they can be a competitive advantage for selection for the VLIR-UOS scholarship. VLIR-UOS gives priority to candidates who are employed in academic institutions, research institutes, governments, social economy or NGO’s, or aim a career in these sectors. However, candidates employed in the profit sector, or newly graduates without work experience can be eligible for the scholarship.
Fungibility with other VLIR-UOS funding: Candidates working in a university where VLIR-UOS already funds IUC, TEAM or SI projects, can receive an ITP-ICP scholarship if they clearly motivate the reason of their application and clarify why the participation at the ICP programme cannot be funded as part of the existing IUC, Team or SI programme or project funds.
A candidate can only submit one VLIR-UOS scholarship per year, irrespectively of the scholarship type. As a consequence, a candidate can only be selected for one VLIR-UOS scholarship per year.
Earlier applications and scholarships : You have never received a Master scholarship funded by the Belgian government before.

Scholarship Selection criteria

Motivation : It is essential that the candidate’s motivation and career goals demonstrates the possibility of transferring knowledge or creating extension activities, and having a specific developmental dimension. Not only academic results are important, but also the potential leadership after completion of the master programme.
Professional experience: preference will be given to candidates who can demonstrate a higher possibility of implementing and/or transferring newly gained knowledge upon return to the home country, preferably in a research institution, a higher education institution, the government sector (national/regional/local), the sector of social economy, or an NGO.
Employment/reintegration perspectives, preferably in a research institution, a higher education institution, the government sector (national/regional/local), the sector of social economy, or an NGO. Preferably with the possibility to generate an impact through the transfer of knowledge, extension activities or otherwise.
Gender : The selection committee will aim at a relative balance between the number of male and female candidates awarded a VLIR-UOS scholarship.
Regional balance : The selection commission will try to ensure that 50% of a programme’s scholarships are granted to candidates from Least Developed Countries or Other Low Income Countries, given that there are sufficient qualitative candidates.
Social background : In case of two equally qualified candidates, preference will be given to candidates from a disadvantaged area within their country or an ethnic or social minority group.
Previously awarded scholarship: preference will be given to candidates who have never received a scholarship to study in a developed country (bachelor or master).

The additional application form for VLIR-UOS scholarship can be found on the MEPI website.

In order to apply for the scholarship, you need to add this form to your application file. Kindly consult the full application procedure on the MEPI website.

Master of Epidemiology (MEPI)

Application procedure