Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health & Life Sciences

Check whether you meet the programme requirements and apply

• I have a Dutch university level (WO) Bachelor’s degree (VU Bachelor’s degree, VU pre-master's or Bachelor’s degree at another university)

  Direct admission

  You are eligible for direct admission to the Master's in Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences if you hold a Bachelor of Science degree of 180EC from a Dutch University in:

  • Biochemistry
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Health and Life Sciences (VU only)*
  • Health Sciences (VU only)*
  • Human Movement Sciences
  • Medical Informatics
  • Medical Natural Sciences
  • Medicine
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Psychobiology
  • Beta-gamma Studies (with a major in Chemistry, Ecology and Evolution, Biomedical Sciences, Brain and Cognition, Physics and Astronomy or Mathematics)
  • University Colleges (with at least a major in a beta subject)
  • HLO (including sufficient English test)

  If you have a BSc. Degree from a Dutch University in one of the subjects listed above (or HLO), your admission is based on your obtained BSc Degree. For more information please visit the information website for Dutch University Degree holders.
  
  * If you have a degree in Health Sciences from another Dutch university, your application needs to be assessed by the Admission Board (see below).
  

  Admission via MPA Admission Board

  If you have a Dutch Degree from a University Bachelor of Science degree in a different subject than listed above, you are still welcome to apply for the MPA programme if your degree is in a related Health and/or Life Sciences field. The MPA Admission Board will review your application and decide on your admission. Please note that you then do have to submit the following documents with your application:

  • Curriculum Vitae*, that includes your personal details and lists your previous education and relevant work experience. An Europass CV template could be used, however other formats will be accepted too.
  • Letter of Motivation* - A 1-2 page letter stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
  • Transcript of Records (in Dutch/English) - A list of grades that your previous academic study/studies. If you have not yet completed your educational programme, please send temporary transcripts showing the grades you have received to date. In that case, please also send us a list of courses that are not on the temporary transcripts but that you will have to take to complete your programme. 

  *As these documents can't be submitted on the VU Dashboard, please send these to toelating.beta@vu.nl.

• I have a Dutch higher vocational education (HBO) Bachelor’s degree (pre-master's)

  Students with a HBO degree in ‘Biologie en Medisch Laboratoriumonderzoek’ (HLO) have direct admission to the MPA programme, but still need to pass the English test.

  
  Admission via MPA Admission Board:

  If you have a Bachelor’s degree of a Dutch University of Applied science (HBO) other than HLO, you are still welcome to apply for the MPA programme if your degree is in a related Health and/or Life Sciences field. The MPA Admission Board will review your application and decide on your admission. Please note that you then do have to submit the following documents with your application:

  • Curriculum Vitae*, that includes your personal details and lists your previous education and relevant work experience. An Europass CV template could be used, however other formats will be accepted too.
  • Letter of Motivation* - A 1-2 page letter stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
  • Transcript of Records (in Dutch/English) - A list of grades that your previous academic study/studies. If you have not yet completed your educational programme, please send temporary transcripts showing the grades you have received to date. In that case, please also send us a list of courses that are not on the temporary transcripts but that you will have to take to complete your programme. 

  *As these documents can't be submitted on the VU Dashboard, please send these to toelating.beta@vu.nl.

  
  Language requirements

  Students with a HBO degree (in Dutch) must take an English Language Test. Check the requirements and exemptions on the webpage.

  You can also submit the result of the English language test after you have been conditionally accepted, the deadline for submitting the test result is August 31st. Please send a scan of your test result to toelating.beta@vu.nl.

• Application with a Dutch degree

  The Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences programme is open to both Dutch and International Students. The Faculty’s Admission Board will decide upon your admission after having evaluated your complete online application. You find all information about the general application procedure with a Dutch degree on the application page.

  The application deadline is:

  1 June for holders of a Dutch bachelor’s degree (with a Dutch or EU/EEA nationality).

  Your application will be rejected in case you didn’t upload the required documents in ‘your dashboard’ within 6 weeks after your enrolment in Studielink, OR in case you’ve uploaded (one or more) of the required documents after June 1^st. Applications and documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

  Required documents (deadline June 1^st)

  This Master’s programme requires students with a Dutch bachelor's degree to upload the following documents as soon as possible and in any case 6 weeks after your enrolment and before 1 June.

  • Motivation letter - A 1-2 page letter stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • Bachelor's transcript, including your GPA.

  Your online dashboard gives you an overview of the submitted and missing documents. Check your dashboard regularly.

  Additional required document (only for HBO students, deadline August 31^st)

  • HBO students need to send in a sufficient English language test result (check the requirements and exemptions on the webpage).

  You can also submit the result of the English language test after you have been conditionally accepted, the deadline for submitting the test result is August 31^st. Please send a scan of your test result to toelating.beta@vu.nl.

• I have an international degree

  The Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences programme is open to both utch and International Students. The Faculty’s Admission Board will decide upon your admission after having evaluated your complete online application.
  
  In order to gain admission to the Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences Master’s programme, you will need to have at least a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited research university including at least three full years of academic study amounting to a minimum of 180 ECTS or equivalent. We do not require a GRE or GMAT test score. A Bachelor degree obtained at an applied university or higher vocational education (HBO in Dutch) in most cases does not grant direct access to the programme (only exceptionally high ranking students stand a chance of admission).

  Specific requirements for the Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences Master’s programme

  The MPA Master's programme is open to students with an academic degree in one of the fields mentioned below. The Faculty’s Admission Board will decide upon your admission after having evaluated your complete online application. 

  • Biochemistry
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Health and Life Sciences
  • Health Sciences
  • Human Movement Sciences
  • Medical Informatics
  • Medical Natural Sciences
  • Medicine
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Psychobiology

  If you have a University Bachelor's of Science degree in another subject than listed above, but related to the fields of Health and Life Sciences, you are still welcome to apply. 

  English language requirements

  If you are applying for one of our English-taught Master's degree programmes you will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency by submitting English test results.  

  Although complete applications are preferred, you can begin your application before you have completed the test and then submit your passing score once you have been conditionally admitted. 

  You can find an overview of all accepted tests and scores that can be used to demonstrate your English language proficiency on the language requirement page.

• Application with an international degree

  Application documents

  To apply you are required to provide the following documents:

  • Scan of your passport or national ID card (ID for EEA students only) valid at the start date of the programme
  • Master Application File please download the correct file from this page. In this file you can see which documents are required to apply for your programme.
  • Proof of English language proficiency (if already obtained): upload your proof of English language proficiency or English language test results. Please find the English language requirements here.

  After having prepared the required documents, please follow the online application procedure. 

  Application fee & deadlines

  All students seeking admission to an international Master’s programme with an international degree are required to pay a non-refundable €100 application fee. Only after you have paid this fee will we be able to start the evaluation of your application file. If you are applying for more than one programme, you will only need to pay the application fee once. Your application fee payment is valid for two years.
  
  Information on how to apply with an international university degree and deadlines can be found here. 

  Grants and scholarships

  As an international student planning to study at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, you can apply for a variety of grants and bursaries. Detailed information about scholarships and deadlines can be found on www.vu.nl/scholarships or www.grantfinder.nl.

  International Student and Alumni Ambassadors 

  Our International Student and Alumni Ambassadors are happy to tell you all about their experiences with studying at VU Amsterdam and living in Amsterdam.

  • Our Student Ambassadors are current students at VU Amsterdam that represent a wide variety of programmes and countries.
  • Our International Alumni Ambassadors are VU Amsterdam graduates who are currently either working in the Netherlands or abroad, or doing a PhD or (second) Master's.

  You will find the full overview of our Ambassadors here: vu.nl/ambassadors. There you can chat with them directly.