For promising applicants who do not meet the requirements for direct admission to the master programme, we offer a one-year pre-master programme.
You are eligible for admission to the pre-master programme if:
- You have obtained or will obtain a HBO diploma from a recognised Dutch university of applied sciences with a good overall result, or an equivalent qualification from an international higher education institution/university of applied sciences, in the field of media and communication.
- You have obtained or will obtain a bachelor's degree from a recognised Dutch research university or an equivalent qualification from an international higher education institution, but you lack prior training in media and communication and/or social scientific research methods.
You meet the English language requirement when:
- You hold a Dutch VWO diploma and have a grade of 7 or higher for English on your final grade list;  
- You have obtained or will obtain a HBO diploma from a programme taught entirely in English;
- You are a native speaker of English (i.e. a national of one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) and you have received secondary education in English for at least two and a half years in one of the above countries;   
- You have obtained or will obtain a bachelor's degree or an equivalent qualification from a programme taught entirely in English in one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. 
- We usually deem bachelor's degrees or equivalent qualifications from programmes taught entirely in English from Western European or Scandinavian universities sufficient to meet the English language requirement as well. 
If you do not meet one of the above requirements, then you need to demonstrate English proficiency through one of the following tests (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):  
- IELTS Academic with a minimum overall band score of 7.0 (we don't accept the IELTS One Skill Retake; your score on one single IELTS needs to meet the requirement)
- TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 100  
- Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) or Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) with a minimum overall score of 185
Please note: test scores cannot be older than two years at the time that you submit your application. When scheduling your test close to the deadline, keep in mind that it can take several working days for the results to be available. If you have not yet taken a test, then we recommend that you take the IELTS Academic or the 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).
Deadlines for submitting proof of English proficiency:
- Non-EEA students: 1 May
- EEA students: 1 August
The following criteria will also be taken into account during the admission process:
- connection between prior education and the Media Studies pre-master programme;
- academic writing and analytical skills;
- motivation letter;
- curriculum vitae;
- average grade;
- international background.