Frequently Asked Questions

Croatia's bilateral agreement with Germany covers Bavaria specifically — not the whole country. If you're enrolled at a Bavarian institution (LMU Munich, TU Munich, University of Augsburg, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, University of Passau, University of Würzburg, and others), Pool 1 applies to you.

If you're at a university in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, or anywhere outside Bavaria, you're not in Pool 1. Check Pool 2 if you're studying Croatian or Slavic Studies.

Yes. Previous recipients are not permanently excluded. But AMPEU explicitly places returning applicants in a lower priority category during selection. Your application is reviewed, but it ranks below first-time applicants when selections are made. This is part of the official selection criteria.

No — AMPEU calls the stipend "a contribution to living costs." Tuition is waived and subsidized housing is available, but:

• ✗ Travel to/from Croatia is not covered
• ✗ July and August stipend payments don't exist
• ✗ Private accommodation premium is not compensated
• ✗ Health insurance for non-EU students is not included

Many third-party scholarship listing sites describe this as "fully funded." That description is misleading. Budget accordingly.

No. There's no travel allowance, no flight reimbursement, no transport stipend. You book and pay for your own travel. If you're coming from China, Israel, or Turkey, round-trip flights typically cost €300–600. Factor that into your budget before accepting the scholarship.

No. July and August are excluded from stipend payments. The academic year runs October 1 through September 30, but the summer months are excluded. If your scholarship covers 10 months of study, you receive payments for the months you're in academic session — not the summer break. If you're staying in Croatia over summer, you're covering those two months from your own savings or part-time work income.

The iksica (also called X-card or student e-card) is Croatia's national student benefit card issued to all enrolled students. Scholarship recipients at public universities qualify for it automatically.

Main benefits: subsidized meals at student cafeterias (€1–3 per meal), student transport discounts (Zagreb monthly pass ~€53), and occasional discounts on cultural events. Three meals a day from student cafeterias costs roughly €100–150/month — significantly less than eating at regular restaurants.

Yes. You can work up to 20 hours per week through Croatia's Student Service (Studentski servis) — the national student employment network. The minimum rate is €6.56 per hour. At 10–15 hours per week, you'd earn €250–350 monthly on top of your stipend, which makes the overall financial situation considerably more comfortable.

EU/EEA students: your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is valid in Croatia. No separate insurance needed.

Some bilateral countries have health cooperation agreements with Croatia — check at hzzo.hr (Croatian Health Insurance Fund).

All others: arrange private health insurance before arrival. Basic international student coverage typically costs €30–80 per month. AMPEU does not arrange this for you.

Your home country's designated nominating authority. This is usually a ministry of education, national scholarship agency, or another officially designated body. Every bilateral country has one. You apply to them first — they conduct their own internal selection — and then the official Nomination Letter goes from them to AMPEU.

The nominating authority for your country may have an earlier internal deadline than AMPEU's cutoff (which typically falls around April 10; the 2027/2028 date is to be confirmed). Contact them well in advance.

No. The nomination is an institution-level process. You cannot write your own Nomination Letter or submit one yourself. Without a valid Nomination Letter from the appropriate national authority sent directly to AMPEU, a Pool 1 application is incomplete.

Independently — the same way you'd approach any international research collaboration. Search faculty pages at University of Zagreb, University of Rijeka, University of Split, University of Osijek, and University of Dubrovnik. Use Google Scholar to find Croatian researchers publishing in your area. Email them directly explaining your research background and interest in a collaboration.

Expect a low response rate — contact 10–20 people and start in October or November, not March. Once a professor agrees, they issue a Letter of Invitation, which becomes a required document for your application.

June or July — 2–3 months after the April deadline (typically around April 10; the 2027/2028 date is to be confirmed). Successful applicants get a General Information Package by email. AMPEU doesn't provide status updates during the review period. Checking in repeatedly in May won't speed anything up.

AMPEU doesn't publish a clear official fallback for this scenario. The Croatian host institution's acceptance is the final step — if they decline, the scholarship doesn't proceed for that cycle. For research types, having a pre-confirmed host professor before applying significantly reduces this risk.

It depends on your scholarship type and intended program. Type A1 (Croatian language study) explicitly requires B1 level Croatian. Many full-degree and research programs at Croatian public universities are offered in English — check the language of instruction at your intended host institution for your specific program.

Applications to AMPEU can be submitted in English or Croatian. You don't need Croatian to apply.

AMPEU doesn't mandate a specific test like IELTS or TOEFL by name. For English-language programs, proof of proficiency is required — this can be a university language certificate, a recognized standardized test result, or documentation from your home institution confirming you study in English. For type A1, B1 Croatian proficiency is required.

Only public Croatian universities. The main options:

• → University of Zagreb (largest; home to the Croaticum language centre)
• → University of Rijeka (hosts the Rijeka School of Croatian Studies)
• → University of Split
• → University of Osijek
• → University of Dubrovnik (type F summer seminars)

Private institutions are explicitly excluded.

No. Private Croatian institutions are explicitly excluded. Applications referencing a private institution as the host will be rejected.

Type F is a two-week Croatian language and culture summer seminar held each August in Dubrovnik, hosted by the University of Dubrovnik. It covers tuition, accommodation, and meals — no monthly stipend is paid. It's available to both Pool 2 (language students of any nationality) and Pool 1 bilateral country applicants. There's no age limit for this type.

It's the most accessible entry point to this scholarship for international language students: free, short, and in one of Croatia's most famous cities.

CEEPUS (Central European Exchange Program for University Studies) is a separate multilateral mobility program covering Central and Eastern European countries, including Croatia. It typically offers €173–200 per month depending on the host country — lower than the Croatian bilateral scholarship stipend.

CEEPUS has different eligibility criteria and is available to a broader range of Central European countries. Whether it's "better" depends on your situation: it can be less bureaucratic and may suit short research visits. But the Croatian Government Scholarship offers higher stipends and more scholarship types. They're not mutually exclusive programs for different cycles.