Admission requirements for studies at university in the Netherlands

General requirements

First cycle studies (bachelor's)

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 may also qualify for higher education studies in the Netherlands. However, you are requested to prove your level of Dutch and/or English. In some cases, you are also required to take additional qualifying courses.

Second cycle studies (master's)

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's or equivalent degree diploma.

Third cycle studies (PhD)

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's 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.

In general, higher education institutions in Europe request students to have a level of command of the language of instruction equivalent to a B1/B2 level according to the European language passport scale. Please check with your institution if you need to have a higher level of command.

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.

You may 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).