Criteria

The following criteria apply for student activity grants:

• The activities are organized for students by student associations or organizations and have a clear connection with the UvA;
• The activities offer added value for UvA students in the areas of science, education, culture, and/or sports;
• The activities are not a mandatory part of the UvA studies;
• The requested contribution is a maximum of €5,000 and, in principle, a maximum of 50% of the total budget;
• For group travel, no subsidies are granted for travel by airplane, and the group travelling must consist of at least 10 participants.

For more information about how grant applications are assessed, see the 'Grant application checklist' below.

Please note: The grants awarded by the Amsterdam University Fund are guaranteed subsidies, with payments made retrospectively based on actual costs incurred. Applicants must submit a report and final financial statement within one month of the activity. Based on this final statement, the awarded grant will be disbursed to the extent that the budgeted costs have actually been incurred.

Apply for a grant

The following deadlines apply for applications for a student travel grant or project grant:

*Applicants will be notified approximately three weeks after the deadline whether a grant has been awarded.

Submit your application, including all required information, through the application portal using the link* below. The form is in English; the answers and attached files may also be in Dutch.

• * The link will be available in mid-January 2026

Grant application checklist

Only timely and complete applications will be considered. Applications must include:

• a letter of motivation in which the applicant association or organisation introduces itself, explains the purpose of the activities, how these will benefit UvA students and what the expected number of participants is*;
• a clear project plan or well-developed programme, in which the activities and planning are clearly expressed and makes clear how the activities chosen link to what the applicant aims to achieve for UvA students**;
• a specified budget (download the format)***;
• a letter of recommendation from a lecturer or other employee affiliated with the UvA, specifically related to the activities, confirming its relevance for UvA students;  

* The application must clearly substantiate the connection between the planned activities and the UvA. If the applicant does not have a direct connection to the UvA, the application should focus on the activities being organized in Amsterdam, clearly explaining the connection with the UvA and how the activity will reach UvA students. An estimate of the number of participating UvA students should also be included.

** Applications for study related group travels must clearly demonstrate their academic value. Download an example planning for a group travel application. Applications for other activities do not necessarily have to be academic in nature. Grants can also be requested for sports, cultural activities, or in-depth student activities that promote social interaction, mental and social well-being, and development of UvA students. The application should clearly demonstrate how the chosen activities enrich student life within the UvA community.

*** The applicant must include in the budget amongst others the applicant's own contribution and, if applicable, which other grant providers and/or sponsors have been approached or have made commitments. The budget must be balanced to zero, including the grant being applied for, and include a contingency item of preferably 5% of the budgeted costs (any deviation from this percentage should be explained).

Requirements for the reporting

The following matters should be addressed in the report to be submitted afterwards:

• A final financial statement, presenting the actual costs incurred alongside the budgeted costs as submitted with the application, including an explanation of any substantial differences between the budget and actual costs;
• A written report (at least two A4 pages or 1,000 words) describing the extent to which the objective of the activities was achieved and how added value was achieved for UvA students (including, where possible, a breakdown of the number of participants and, if available, a list of participating UvA students);
• Evidence of how the UvA Fund was promoted as a grant provider must also be submitted in the substantive report or as additional appendices;
• Several digital photos (high-resolution JPG files, >1 MB) must also be submitted with the report.

The report and photos may be used for our website, online newsletter, or other publications to inform our donors about the fund's expenditures.

Please send the final financial statement, the substantive report, and the photos within one month of the end of the project, including your name and telephone number, by email to: subsidieaanvragen-AUF@uva.nl.