The emergency grant is intended for UvA Bachelor’s and Master’s students who are temporarily in an unforeseen, acute financial emergency that jeopardises their studies.

• You are enrolled as a Bachelor’s or Master’s student at the UvA and have a valid student number.
• You received a positive recommendation from a student counsellor on the need for financial support.
• The financial emergency could not reasonably have been foreseen.
• There is a short‑term problem that you cannot resolve yourself and that cannot wait for regular provisions to take effect.
• You are not dealing with a permanent or structural shortfall for which an emergency grant has previously been awarded.
• The contribution must offer a realistic and effective solution to your financial emergency so that you can continue and complete your studies.

In addition:

• The emergency grant is not intended for the payment of tuition fees.
• You have first explored other options, such as DUO (loan and any supplementary grant), special assistance from your municipality, or support via aid organisations.
• The amount you apply for is reasonable and proportionate to your situation and your budget.
• The contribution is determined on the basis of your budget and the funds available. In principle, the maximum contribution is € 5,000 per student.
• There is no automatic entitlement to an emergency grant. Each application is assessed individually.

• There are no fixed rounds or deadlines for the emergency grant.
• You can submit an application all year round as soon as the emergency arises.
• We aim to assess your application within 5 working days.
• If awarded, we aim to pay the contribution within 5 working days, once all the required information is complete.
• At times of very high demand or with complex cases, it may take longer, but we will do our utmost to handle emergencies as quickly as possible.

Note: always contact a student counsellor first to discuss your situation. Together you will assess:

• whether there are other solutions or schemes you can use;
• whether an application for the emergency grant is appropriate;
• whether an advisory letter can be issued.

Submit your application via the UvA Fund application portal.

If you experience technical problems with the application system, you can contact the UvA Fund using the email address at the bottom of this page.

Submit a complete application via the UvA Fund application portal (as PDF files). Include:

Motivation letter

A dated motivation letter (required) addressed to the UvA Fund, in which you clearly describe:

• exactly what has happened;
• why the situation is unforeseen and acute;
• how this threatens your academic progress;
• how the grant can resolve the financial emergency;
• why other options (e.g. DUO, Profiling Fund, municipality, family, part‑time job) are insufficient or not available.

Advisory form

An advisory form, including a budget, completed with and signed by the student counsellor (required).

Personal letter of recommendation

A personal letter of recommendation tailored to you from a tutor, lecturer, study adviser, or another UvA staff member (either on UvA letterhead and signed, or as an email clearly sent from the staff member’s UvA email address).

Recent overview of study results

Attach a recent overview of your academic results and, if applicable, any other documents that substantiate your financial emergency (optional).

The UvA Fund may ask you for additional information or documents if needed for a thorough assessment.

If the emergency grant is awarded:

• You will receive an award letter via the UvA Fund application portal stating the amount and the conditions.
• The amount will be paid to you as soon as possible (in principle within 5 working days), provided all details are known (for example, your bank account number).

A condition of the award is that you later provide feedback via the application portal, to the UvA Fund, on how the contribution helped you continue and/or complete your studies.

Do you have questions, or are you unsure whether your situation qualifies for an emergency grant? Call a student counsellor during the daily telephone consultation hour to discuss your situation. If you appear to meet the conditions, or if more information is needed, you can make an appointment with a student counsellor.

For questions about the procedure, contact the UvA Fund at subsidieaanvragen-auf@uva.nl. Please include your telephone number so we can contact you by phone if necessary.