Do you live in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands or were you born on one of the six islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and are you considering pursuing a PhD? If you want to contribute to scientific knowledge that can help address important challenges in the Caribbean islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, we encourage you to submit a letter of intent!
The first step in the Call is to submit a letter of intent. The deadline for this is June 24, 2025.
About the Scholarships
This is a science-wide research program with a multidisciplinary character, not limited to a scientific research area. It therefore offers space for a wide range of subjects and research areas related to the Caribbean region. The program is intended for graduate researchers who want to conduct PhD research that is directly related to or relevant for the Caribbean islands of the Kingdom.
This program offers Scholarships for research that:
- Increases and strengthens the scientific knowledge production on and about the Caribbean region;
- Has scientific and societal impact on the islands;
- Is largely carried out in the Caribbean region, ensuring local relevance and connectivity;
- Contributes to the long-term development of research capacity and infrastructure in the Caribbean region.
This is a great opportunity if you:
- Want to obtain a PhD degree at one of the following universities: University of Aruba, University of Curaçao, University of Sint Maarten, or in the Netherlands;
- Were born on or currently live on one of the six Caribbean islands of the Kingdom*;
- Hold a masters degree or equivalent;
- Are motivated to obtain a PhD degree that benefits the Caribbean region.
By supporting more PhD candidates from and in the Caribbean region, NWO aims to strengthen local universities, research organizations, and knowledge networks.
* This is a requirement if you want to obtain a PhD degree at a research organization in the Netherlands. All conditions can be found in the Call for proposals.
Deadlines
- The deadline for submitting letters of intent is 24 June 2025, before 11:00:00 AST/17:00:00 CEST.
- The deadline for submitting pre-registrations is 16 September 2025, before 11:00:00 AST/17:00:00 CEST.
- The final deadline for submitting complete proposals is 24 February 2026, before 12:00:00 AST/17:00:00 CET.
If you have not submitted a letter of intent, it is not possible to submit a pre-registration.
ISAAC
The submission of a letter of intent, pre-announcement, and application is done through the application and reporting system ISAAC. Applications that are not submitted via ISAAC will not be processed.
It is important to start creating an account in ISAAC in a timely manner. Create the account no later than Friday, June 13.
When submitting the letter of intent, you must go through two steps before the deadline:
- Fill in data in ISAAC (title of the proposal and a short summary of the PhD research)
- Send the required forms by email to phd-caribbean@nwo.nl.
Forms can be found on the funding page
Budget
A subsidy amount of up to €350,000 can be requested per project. The maximum duration of the proposed project is 48 months/four years (or equivalent part-time).
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