Admission requirements for studies at university in the Netherlands

General requirements

• Undergraduate studies (first cycle)

  If you have successfully completed upper secondary studies in one of the signatory countries of the Lisbon Convention, are in possession of a valid school leaving certificate and qualify for higher education studies in your home country, you also qualify for higher education studies in the Netherlands. However, you are requested to prove your level of Dutch and English. In some cases, you are also required to take additional qualifying courses.

• Master studies (second cycle)

  If you are applying for a master's program at university in the Netherlands, you are required to be in possession of a relevant bachelor or equivalent degree diploma.

• Doctoral studies (third cycle)

  In the event you are applying for doctoral studies at university in the Netherlands, you are required to be in possession of a relevant diploma or master degree program.




Language requirements for studies at universities in the Netherlands

• Dutch

  If the language of instruction of the study program or course you applied for is Dutch, you will be required to prove your level of command of the Dutch language. You can do so by presenting the results you receive in the following courses:

  • Certificaat Nederlands als Vreemde Taal (Certificate of Dutch as a Foreign Language): you may present the results you receive at Profiel Taalvaardigheid Hoger Onderwijs (PTHO) or at Profiel Academische Taalvaardigheid (PAT).
  • Nederlands als tweede taal (NT2) (Dutch as a second language).

• English

  If your study program or course is taught in English, you will be required to prove your level of command of English by presenting the results you receive in the following tests:

  • TOEFL, with a score of at least 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) or 79-80 (Internet-based).
  • IELTS, with a score of at least 6.
  • Other tests may also be accepted. Therefore, you should check with your university if the certificates you have are also accepted.



Minimum grade point requirement to access higher education studies in the Netherlands

Students may be ranked based on their grade point average from their previous studies. Those students with a grade point of 8 or higher are automatically awarded a place on the course of their choice.

Therefore, always check with the university or college of your choice about the minimum passing grade you need to meet.
If you are an EU student, you can easily convert your grade point to the Dutch system by using the European Grade Converter. If you are not an EU student, you can use the European grades comparison chart to learn how you would score in Europe.

 

Sources: NUFFIC (Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Cooperation).
Eurydice database (Eurydice is an international educational database developed by the European Commission and Member States of the European Union with the aim of facilitating and improving the understanding of the different educational systems in Europe).