Croatia awards over 2,000 scholarships to students abroad

Croatia is set to award more than 2,000 scholarships to students of Croatian heritage living outside the country for the 2025/2026 academic year, following strong interest in the scheme.

A total of 3,464 applications were received under the public call issued in December 2025 by the Central State Office for Croats Abroad. Of these, 3,054 met the formal requirements, with a proposed list of 2,007 scholarship recipients now put forward.

The scholarships are granted as a one-off payment covering a 10-month period, with students receiving €175 per month, amounting to €1,750 per recipient. In total, Croatia will allocate more than €3.5 million for the programme.

High demand prompts increase in scholarships

Originally, 2,000 scholarships were planned. However, due to tied scores among some applicants, the selection committee proposed increasing the total number to 2,007 to ensure fairness.

In cases where candidates achieved the same number of points, priority was given to those with weaker socio-economic status. If candidates were still tied, those with a higher academic average were favoured.

Distribution across countries adjusted

The initial allocation included:

• 300 scholarships for study in Croatia

• 1,500 for Bosnia and Herzegovina

• 150 for Serbia

• 30 for Montenegro

• 15 for North Macedonia

• 5 for Kosovo

However, due to lower application numbers in certain categories, a redistribution of places was carried out.

As a result:

• 213 scholarships will go to Croatian students from Bosnia and Herzegovina studying in Croatia

• 1,580 to those studying in Bosnia and Herzegovina

• 57 to members of the Croatian minority

• 31 to students from the Croatian diaspora

Among other countries, 118 scholarships will be awarded in Serbia, five in North Macedonia and three in Montenegro, while no scholarships will be granted for Kosovo due to a lack of eligible applicants.

Final list pending

The final list of scholarship recipients will be confirmed after the eight-day appeals period, which began on 10 April when the provisional ranking list was published.

The scheme continues to play a key role in supporting education and strengthening ties with Croatian communities abroad.