StuNed and Dutch Scholarships for Indonesian Students in the Netherlands
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 07, 2026 • Scholarships & Funding, Study in Southeast Asia
StuNed is closed and no longer accepts new applicants. Indonesian students now look to Neso Indonesia's Orange Tulip Scholarship, Indonesia's own LPDP overseas award, or scholarships run by individual Dutch universities.
📩 StuNed no longer runs. Do not plan a Netherlands budget around it.
🎓 The Orange Tulip Scholarship needs a Dutch university admission offer first, then a separate application through Neso Indonesia.
💵 LPDP, Indonesia's own government scholarship, funds study in the Netherlands among many destinations and does not depend on Dutch funding decisions.
🏠 Many Dutch universities and faculties run their own partial scholarships for non-EU students, worth checking alongside the national options.
Why the Netherlands still draws Indonesian students
The Netherlands and Indonesia share a long education relationship, and Dutch universities remain a common landing spot for Indonesian students who want an English-taught program in Europe without a language barrier, since most Dutch master's programs teach entirely in English. That relationship built the case for bilateral funding like StuNed in the first place, but funding availability has narrowed even as demand from Indonesian applicants has not.
StuNed no longer accepts applications
StuNed (Studeren in Nederland) ran for years as a bilateral scholarship between the Dutch and Indonesian governments, funding master's degrees, short courses and training for Indonesian professionals in government, education, NGOs and the private sector. Nuffic, the Dutch organization that ran the programme through its Neso Indonesia office, now states that the StuNed programme is no longer active and is not accepting new applications, per Nuffic . If you see StuNed listed on an older blog or agent website, treat that page as outdated and check directly with Neso Indonesia before assuming it still runs.
| Option | Status | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| StuNed | Closed, no new applications | Was full or partial funding for mid-career professionals |
| Orange Tulip Scholarship | Active, terms vary by partner university and year | Partial tuition, requires an admission offer first |
| LPDP | Active, run by Indonesia's own government | Full postgraduate funding at approved universities |
Orange Tulip Scholarship (OTS)
The Orange Tulip Scholarship is coordinated by Neso Indonesia and funded by participating Dutch higher education institutions, offering partial tuition support rather than full funding. You apply to a Dutch bachelor's, master's or PhD program first and secure an admission offer, then submit a separate OTS application through Neso Indonesia to be considered for the partner university's award.
Which universities participate and how much they offer changes by year, since each partner institution sets its own OTS budget and criteria. Confirm the current list of participating universities and deadlines directly with Neso Indonesia at nesoindonesia.or.id rather than relying on a list from a previous intake.
LPDP for study in the Netherlands
Indonesia's own Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) scholarship, run by the Ministry of Finance, funds postgraduate study at approved universities worldwide, including a long list of Dutch institutions. LPDP does not depend on Dutch government funding decisions, so it stays a stable option even as bilateral programmes such as StuNed wind down. Check the current cycle's eligibility, covered degree levels and application windows directly on LPDP's own site before you plan around it, since terms shift by cohort.
University-run scholarships
Individual Dutch universities and faculties run their own scholarships for non-EU students, usually covering part of the tuition fee rather than living costs. These sit outside any government programme, so check the international office or scholarship page of each university you shortlist rather than assuming national schemes cover you by default.
English requirements for Dutch programs
Nearly all Dutch bachelor's and master's programs open to international students teach in English, and universities generally ask for an IELTS Academic score, though some accept TOEFL or an equivalent test instead. Requirements differ by program, so check your target course's admission page directly rather than assuming one score works across every Dutch university.
Building your funding plan
Start by applying to your target program and confirming admission, since the Orange Tulip Scholarship and most university awards require an offer in hand before you apply for funding. Run an LPDP application in parallel if you want a full-funding path independent of a specific Dutch scholarship round, and keep a self-funded fallback budget ready in case a partial scholarship does not close your full gap.
What Neso Indonesia still offers
Even with StuNed closed, Neso Indonesia's Jakarta office remains your first stop for information on studying in the Netherlands. It runs education fairs and application guidance sessions, and it holds the current list of scholarships Dutch institutions offer to Indonesian applicants each year. Treat Neso Indonesia as your source on what funding exists this cycle, rather than a scholarship aggregator site that keeps old programmes listed long after they close.
Watch for outdated scholarship listings
Search results for Dutch scholarships still surface old StuNed pages and blog posts written years before the programme closed. Cross-check any scholarship name you find against the funder's own site (Nuffic, Neso Indonesia, or the specific university) before you build a plan around it, since a listing several years old tells you nothing about whether that funding still runs today. If a scholarship page has no dates for the current or coming academic year, treat it as unconfirmed and email the funder directly rather than assuming it still accepts applications. A few minutes of checking saves you from building your study plan around funding that no longer exists.