Scholarship 2016 in Netherland Amsterdam

Dear Sir/Madam,

Colleagues and Friends, 

Through this letter we would like to draw your attention to the selection for the Bridging Gaps program for 2016.

The Bridging Gaps program is an initiative of the Faculty of Theology of VU University Amsterdam and the Protestant Theological University (PThU), working together in the Institute of Contextual Reading of the Bible, in collaboration with the Dutch organization ICCO and Kerk In Actie and other partners, and enables students from underprivileged situations to work on their own research for a period of three months under auspices of a supervisor of VU University or PThU and to get exposed to Dutch society and church life. In the enclosed pamphlet you find detailed information about the background and the content of the program; the application criteria and procedure, and what candidates can expect from our side.

In a nutshell:

Candidates are students of theology and eligible if they are in their third year or beyond, and below 40 years old; if the subject of their research is relevant for their personal context and if professors and lecturers at VU University Amsterdam and PThU have sufficient expertise to supervise them. Each student must be selected by his/her own university and or seminary. A letter of recommendation written by de dean of their institute has to be part of the application documents.  

Preference will be given to students from underprivileged situations.

We would like students to be embedded in a local congregation and to be prepared to, after return from the Netherlands, share their experiences with that congregation.

Students must have a good level of English to satisfy the requirements that are necessary to participate in the program. If we have doubts about the level of English, we will ask the student to take a TOEFL test (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

As always, we look forward to the applications of your candidates which have to be in our possession before February 29, 2016. For more information about the project, or about the application procedure, please contact p.b.a.smit@vu.nl

Yours faithfully,

Prof. Dr. Peter-Ben Smit (Faculty of Theology/VU University, Amsterdam)

Prof. Dr. Klaas Spronk (PThU)

Drs. Rommie Nauta (ICCO & Kerk in Actie)

Drs. Corrie van der Ven (ICCO & Kerk in Actie)

Willemien van Berkum M.A. (Institute of Contextual Reading of the Bible)

Note: Scholarship availability is limited. We always receive more applications than there are scholarships available. We are therefore forced to make a strict selection based on various factors.