From 1 October, you can start your application for the academic year 2026-2027 in Studielink. The application deadline is 15 April for non-EEA students and 15 May for EEA students. Only applications started in Studielink and submitted in the Application Portal of Erasmus University Rotterdam will be considered. After you have submitted your application in the Application Portal, the admissions committee will assess your application. You will be informed about the outcome of your application by email.
Below you will find the application procedure. If you have any questions about your application, then please reach out to the ESHCC admissions office.
Application
- Bachelor's diploma - if already available
If you have not yet obtained your bachelor's diploma, then you may already apply. However, in that case any offer of admission made to you will be conditional upon obtaining your diploma. The deadline to submit your diploma is 1 August. - Translation of your bachelor's diploma in English
If the original is not in Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, or Spanish. We only accept official translations. - Most recent transcript of records
The transcript of records must list all grades received during your studies. - Translation of your transcript of records in English
If the original is not in Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, or Spanish. We only accept official translations. - Proof of English proficiency
Preferably an IELTS Academic or a TOEFL iBT (you need to take the test in a test centre; we don't accept the IELTS Online, the TOEFL Home Edition, and similar online tests). If you have not yet obtained proof of English proficiency, then you may already apply. However, in that case any offer of admission made to you will be conditional upon submitting proof of English proficiency. We recommend that you schedule your test as soon as possible. - Curriculum vitae in English
- Essay or paper written in English
You are free to choose the subject of the essay or the paper. You may submit an essay or a paper that you have written during your bachelor programme. The purpose is to give the admissions committee an impression of your academic writing and analytical skills. The required length of the essay or the paper is five to ten pages. Don't forget to include a reference list. - Motivation letter in English
Maximum two pages.
| Application | Deadline |
| Non-EEA students | 15 April |
| EEA students | 15 May |
Considering the time needed to arrange a visa and/or a residence permit, students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) need to submit their application by 15 April.
You will be informed about the outcome of your application by 1 July at the latest. We have a rolling admissions process, which means that we assess applications as they come in. This also means that when you apply early you may receive the outcome of your application early.
Applications will be assessed from January at the earliest.
Step 1: Studielink
From 1 October, you can start your application in Studielink, the Dutch national registration system for higher education. Please complete all the required steps.
Step 2: Application Portal
Once you have completed all the required steps in Studielink, you will be asked by email to complete your application in the Application Portal and you will receive your login details for the Application Portal.
Please note: automatically generated emails may end up in your spam or junk folder, so please check this folder. If you do not receive your login details for the Application Portal, then please reach out to the IT Service Desk of Erasmus University Rotterdam: it.servicedesk@eur.nl.
In the Application Portal, you need to answer a number of questions and upload your documents. You need to submit your application in the Application Portal no later than 15 April (non-EEA students) or 15 May (EEA students).
Please note: we cannot and will not consider applications that have been submitted in the Application Portal after the deadline.
The admissions committee will assess your application. You can check the status of your application in the Application Portal at any time. You will be informed about the outcome of your application by email. The outcome can be one of the following:
Approved
You are unconditionally admitted to the programme. Please indicate within three weeks in the Application Portal whether or not you accept the offer of admission.
Conditionally approved
You are conditionally admitted to the programme; the offer of admission mentions the condition(s) of your admission. Please indicate within three weeks in the Application Portal whether or not you accept the offer of admission.
If you have been conditionally admitted, then you need to submit the required additional documents. These could be:
- Certified copies of your diploma and your transcript of records: by 1 August
- Proof of English proficiency:
- Non-EEA students: by 1 May (considering the time needed to arrange a visa and/or a residence permit)
- EEA students: by 1 August
Once we have approved the documents, the status of your application will change to 'Approved'.
Declined
You are not admitted to the programme. You will be informed about the reason(s) for rejection.
Your enrollment as a student at Erasmus University Rotterdam will only be finalised after you have arranged the payment of your tuition fees. From early April, you can arrange the payment of your tuition fees in Studielink. If you have any questions about payment of tuition fees, then please have a look at our website or reach out to the Erasmus Student Service Centre.
Non-EEA students need to meet all immigration requirements. If you are admitted to the programme, then our immigration officers will reach out to you. You can already have a look at our immigration website as well.
The final date for finalising your enrollment is 31 August, but please do not wait until the last minute.
Once your enrollment has been finalized, you can download a proof of enrolment in Osiris:
- Log into Osiris with your ERNA account details.
- Click on the menu (three stripes on top left-hand side) to select ‘My details’.
- Click on ‘Enrolment degree programme’.
- You will find the programme you applied for with a button below stating ‘Declaration of enrolment’.
- Click this button to download your proof of enrolment.
We recommend that you arrive in Rotterdam well in time for your first classes. The Eurekaweek and the ESHCC introduction week are planned for mid-August and are a nice way to settle in before your classes start.
Frequently Asked Questions about Application for our master programmes
After a successful registration in Studielink you will receive an e-mail with a link to the Application Portal where you need to continue your application.
Please make sure to complete your application in the application portal. Only then your registration can be reviewed.
No, this is not possible. All (pre-) master programmes at Erasmus School of History Culture and Communication start in August/ September.
Please first check the inbox and spam folder of your email account. If you still are not able to find your account details, we kindly request you to contact our IT department by e-mail it.servicedesk@eur.nl to request your ERNA details.
Go to the login page of the Application Portal and click on ‘forgot username’ and/or ‘forgot password’ (upper right corner of the screen). Subsequently, follow the instructions. If that does not work, please contact Erasmus Student Service Centre.
Your eligibility can only be determined after you have submitted an application together with the required documents. We will not assess prior requests by email. For this reason, we encourage you to apply officially for admission. Your application will then be assessed by the programme’s admissions committee.
Unfortunately, you cannot apply directly for a Master’s degree programme. You will have to apply for a pre-master’s programme first (if available). After finishing the one-year pre-master’s programme, you will be automatically admitted to the related Master’s degree specialisation.
No, it is not possible to transfer grades or credits obtained at another university
Yes, you can apply and we will consider your application. However, any offer made to you will be conditional until you meet all of the entry requirements. If admitted, you will get permission to submit your diploma (or graduation statement) after the application deadline, but ultimately 10 August.
No, it does not affect your chances in any way.
Yes, you can apply and we will consider your application. However, any offer made to you will be conditional until you meet all of the entry requirements. Please plan your test as soon as possible. Bear in mind that it will take several weeks before you receive an official copy of your test results. If you are admitted, please send us your language test results no later than the deadline mentioned in your admissions offer. Without official proof of your English language proficiency at the required level, we cannot register you as a student for the programme!
- IELTS Academic with a minimum overall band score of 7.0 and minimum subscores of 6.5
- TOEFL iBT with a minimum score of 100 and minimum subscores of 23
- Cambridge C1 Advanced or Cambridge C2 Proficiency with a minimum score of 185
Please note:
- Test results of the First Certificate in English (FCE) and the TOEIC-test are not accepted!
- Please plan your test as soon as possible. Bear in mind that it will take several weeks before you receive an official copy of your test results.
English tests must be less than two years old at the time of application.
Yes, after you have sent your results to us, we will verify the results online.
An official translation is normally done by a registered sworn translator normally associated with a notary. Alternatively, an institution issuing the respective document may be rightful to issue official translations. Please note that you must send a copy of the documents in the original language along with the translation.
A certified copy is a copy of a filed document, legal or other, which contains a seal and a signature that establishes that the document is genuine, a true copy. A document may be certified by an official authorised person (a university, a notary, a sworn translator etc.). Applicants with Dutch prior education do not have to send us certified copies, we are able to verify your previous education online.
Please email your document to masteradmission@eshcc.eur.nl Our Admission's Officer will add them to your file.
Some universities do not issue diplomas until late summer or even early autumn - even if technically you have already graduated. If this applies to your university, please ask them to issue an official graduation statement, confirming you have indeed met all requirements (with a date before 1 September) needed for graduation. Please email this document to masteradmission@eshcc.eur.nl at the latest by 31 August. It should be a certified document, i.e. it should carry the university’s stamp, signature and a date.
Only if you apply for our Research Master, you are required to submit two reference letters.
For all other programmes these documents are not mandatory. However, you may include additional documents if you believe this will contribute to your profile.