More specific information can be found on the programme webpages. Applications for 2024-2025 are possible from the beginning of October.
Which application procedure applies in your situation depends on the type of diploma you have obtained and the language of instruction of the programme of your interest. We have listed the different procedures for you down below.
The application for these studies is done through Studielink. Check in Studielink which educational institution you need to apply to.
Want to learn more about the application process? Then check out our step-by-step application video for international diploma applicants!
The following deadlines apply if you are applying to a Master’s programme on the basis of a non-Dutch university degree.
Applications received after the deadlines cannot be taken into consideration!
The final application deadline for most scholarships is 1 February, but you can only apply for the VUFP, HSP and OTS scholarships after you have been conditionally admitted to your Master’s programme.
In terms of planning, this means that our advised final programme application deadline is 1 December for those students wishing to apply for a VU scholarship. This is because it may take up to around 6 weeks to receive your admission decision once your application is complete. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee you will receive your decision within six weeks, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
If the application procedure for your selected Master’s programme includes an intake/interview, then we advise you to submit your programme application as soon as possible in October/November, so you have plenty of time before the scholarship deadlines.
* We encourage EU/EEA students to apply before 1 April if they wish to make use of the university housing services.
The following procedure applies if you are applying on the basis of a non-Dutch university degree. You can start your application for a September 2024 enrollment from October 2023 onwards.
Take a look at the step-by-step application video to find out how you can apply for our English-taught programmes with an international diploma and read the information below.
Go to Studielink and create an application for the study programme you wish to apply for. In Studielink you can apply for a maximum of 4 courses in total in the Netherlands.
Do you currently live in the Netherlands? Then you will need to log in with your DigiD.
If you do not yet live in the Netherlands you can choose "Log in without DigiD". When you create your Studielink account via this option you will need a scan or photo of your valid passport or European ID card.
Important when creating an enrollment application:
In order to upload the required documents and complete your application, you will need to log in to your personal dashboard on vu.nl. We advise you to do this as soon as possible after applying in Studielink.
Please note: you do not need to send original documents when applying, but you will need to send a certified paper copy of your diploma if you are admitted by which time you will be informed about the requirements in more detail.
After you complete your enrollment application in Studielink you will receive your login details (username and password) for your personal dashboard in two separate emails sent to the address you entered in Studielink. This may take up to two working days.
If you have not received your login details, please first check your spam. If you are still unable to locate them, then contact the UCIT service desk on ucit-servicedesk@vu.nl or +31 (0)20 598 0000.
Once you have received these login details, log in to your dashboard, answer the questions asked and upload documents as requested.
All students with an international degree are required to pay a non-refundable €100 application fee.
After we have received the application fee, we will start processing your application.
Once you have completed your enrollment application in Studielink, you will receive an email (sent to the address you supplied in Studielink) with information on how you can pay the fee. The easiest way to pay is via the online payment tool.
Please do not delay paying the fee as this will delay your application.
Read more about how to pay the application fee.
Your application will be complete and taken into consideration once you have uploaded all the required documents and paid the application fee. You will receive a confirmation of this via email. Your International Student Advisor will then prepare your file for the Admission Board, with the request to establish your eligibility for admission. We aim to inform you about the admission decision within 4 weeks. If any further information is needed to determine your eligibility, your International Student Advisor will let you know. Note that certain programme Admission Boards follow a fixed decision schedule - it can then take longer before you receive an outcome.
For all questions about the evaluation of your application, please contact your International Student Advisor, whose contact details can be found on the contact page your chosen study programme.
If you have been (conditionally) admitted, congratulations! A number of additional steps must now be taken. You can read what you can expect after you've been admitted on our ‘What happens after admission’ page.
After you’ve applied for the programme of your choice via Studielink, you will receive your login details for your personal dashboard, where you can upload the required documents.
You can find the correct template for your programme here.
Below you can find a description of the documents that may be asked for. Please note that every study programme may have a different set of required documents that you need to upload.
* Although complete applications are preferred, both the certified copy of the diploma certificate and the English test result, can be supplied to us after you've submitted the rest of your application. The deadline to supply the certified copy of the diploma certificate is 31 August 2024 for all students (both EU and non-EU students). The deadline to supply the English test result is 31 August 2024 for EU students and 1 June 2024 for non-EU students (due to it being a requirement for the visa/residence application procedure). Course registrations are not possible until all documents have been provided.
If you are applying for one of our English-taught Master's degree programmes you will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency.
All applicants are asked for an English language test, unless you qualify for an exemption. You can submit your application and provide test results later.
When studying at VU Amsterdam, your degree will be fully taught in English. Your command of the English language will therefore be essential for a successful academic – and social! – experience at our university. This is why it is imperative to improve your English skills before you arrive, so you can do well right from the get-go.
Of course, all students are required to hand in a sufficient English language test (except for students with a degree from certain countries). You may be asking yourself: why would I still need to improve my English ability if I have already met the minimum test requirements? The answer is simple: because you’ll be more likely to perform better in your degree. The minimum requirements are sufficient to be able to complete the degree, but studies have shown that a level of English higher than the minimum requirement correlates with higher grades (see for example Kirby, 2018; Trenkic & Warmington, 2019).
In this text, we will give you some advice on how to improve your English language ability. We will cover the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) as well as grammar and vocabulary.
When speaking, your pronunciation is important. There is no need to sound like Queen Elizabeth II, as the important thing is intelligibility. This means that others should be able to understand what you are saying and what message you wish to convey. Intelligibility is the focus of the VU Amsterdam MOOC ‘English pronunciation’. This free, online course also emphasises that all accents are equal, and that there is no shame in having a non-native accent. Furthermore, being more conscious of different ways to pronounce English may help you understand others better.
When we hear someone else talk, we hear spaces between words. However, the so-called ‘speech signal’ is continuous. This means that speech is continuous and that the spaces we hear between words are not actually there. Rather, they are a product of our brain that occurs when it distinguishes individual words within that continuous stream of sounds. When learning a second language, this means that all these sounds will be gibberish – unless you know the words already, so your brain can actually distinguish them. So to improve your listening skills, it Is fundamental to increase your vocabulary.
The above is why reading is a better way to learn new words than listening (e.g., by watching movies or TV), because when reading, the spaces between words are already there. Once you encounter a new word, you know exactly how to write the word and that makes it easy to look it up in a dictionary. You also have time to think and derive the word’s meaning from the context. Using English subtitles when listening could offset this, provided you are willing to pause whatever you are watching every single time a word you do not know pops up.
As a student of VU Amsterdam, you will be doing a lot of writing. Grammatically correct sentences and a broad vocabulary are fundamental to every good text. Writing texts is a good way to practice using English, as you have plenty of time to think about what you want to say and how you want to convey it. When practicing you will often write informal texts, but please be aware that academic texts have certain conventions. When you write a text during your degree, it is important to check the specific textual requirements set by the professor or programme coordinator. Students may also benefit from taking a course on how to write academic texts, for example VU Amsterdam’s own Academic Language Programme.
Having a large vocabulary is imperative to using English at a high level (e.g., Sen & Kuleli, 2015; Binder et al., 2017; Miralpeix & Muñoz, 2018). The two most effective strategies are spaced repetition and retrieval practice. Spaced repetition means that you should repeat new vocabulary frequently and with time between each practice session, as opposed to massing all learning into one large session and then not looking at the material again. Retrieval practice means that you need to test yourself, so your memory is trained in retrieving this specific information (Ullman & Lovelett, 2018). Both repetition and retrieval fortify the links in your brain between the new memories, as new words are just that: new memories (Van den Broek, 2017).
In order to link these new words with more existing knowledge, thus making them more accessible in your brain, it is good to use these words in context. For example, you can try to make sentences using a new word, or think of synonyms or antonyms. A very useful list to start with is the Academic Word List. This is a list of 570 words that are frequently used in academic contexts. Masrai & Milton (2018: 44) write that ‘[k]nowledge of the AWL also adds marginally to the power of overall vocabulary size in explaining variance in grade point average (GPA) scores’. In other words, a large vocabulary, including the words from the AWL, is likely to have a positive effect on your grades.
Depending on your native language, some parts of English grammar may be easier or more difficult for you. Many grammatical errors arise when you subconsciously transfer a grammatical element from your native language to English. This is called language transfer. It occurs when you are either not aware of the correct grammatical rule in English, or when you simply have not practiced it sufficiently. Learners who share the same native language, tend to make the same mistakes. A quick way to find out which errors are often made by speakers of your native language, can be an online search like ‘common English grammatical mistakes by [your native language] speakers’. Then, you need to practice using the new rules by employing the same strategies as for vocabulary, being spaced repetition and retrieval practice.
Finally, when it comes to language learning, it boils down to practice, practice, practice. This is the same for any skill you want to acquire, improve or maintain. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to stay motivated. This is why it is good to find materials that are intrinsically motivating to you. For example, if you like history, pick up a book about history written in English. This way, even if you do not feel like practicing English, you may feel like reading the book, simply because it is the content itself that appeals to you.
Once you have been admitted to VU Amsterdam, there are steps that you need to take to make sure you complete your enrollment in time and do not miss out on any of our essential student services.
Here you can read all information about tuition fees.
The University Campus is the lively hub of the university and you are welcome to pay a virtual visit to get to know the university.
Visit the online campus tour and explore the campus, university buildings and more!
Do you have a question for a current student? Curious about everyday life in Amsterdam, from our campus to the food, music and events going on throughout the city? Want to know how much homework you will have each night, or how the Dutch educational system differs from your own? Ask one of our VU Ambassadors! They would love to answer your questions by sharing their personal experiences of living and studying at VU Amsterdam. Check the Ambassador's page to find an ambassador from the programme you’re interested in or from your home country.
Contact your International Student Advisor
For specific questions related to VU programmes, deadlines, the application process, or diploma validity you can find information on our main website or contact your faculty's International Student Advisor (ISA).
On www.amsterdamstudents.com you can read blog updates from our (international) students.
The application deadlines for international students wishing to start in February 2024 are as follows:
For studies with a start date of 1 February, please check the programme page of the study of your choice and the Regulations for Application and Enrolment for more details. If you have any questions, please contact the Student Desk or the relevant International Student Advisor.
Please note: we do not recommend international students to start their Master's programme in February.
We do not organise any introduction activities for the February intake, which means that you will have to take care of all practical matters concerning your arrival yourself. In addition, the set-up of our Master's programmes is not based on a February starting point. Students who begin their studies in February will basically start with semester 2 and continue with semester 1 in September. This makes study planning difficult and the chances of success smaller.
The following programmes have a second start date of 1 February 2024
Please note: Always consult the contact persons noted in the contact page of the programme you're interested in, to find out about the programme and the possibilities of a February starting date.
If you hold a Bachelor’s degree obtained at another institution in the Netherlands, then you may be admitted to a Master’s programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The Admission Board will determine whether your qualification is sufficiently relevant to warrant admission. The Admission Board may, however, impose additional requirements, which must be met before gaining admission to the programme.
Most (pre-)master programs have an application deadline of May 31, but you must always check the study programme page for specific application deadlines. An application deadline means you are asked to submit the application of your chosen study programme in Studielink and submit your completed application file in your personal VU dashboard by this date.
VU Amsterdam cannot assess your eligibility if your application is incomplete. Once you have been (conditionally) admitted to a study programme, you have until 31 August to complete your enrolment by paying the tuition fees and meeting the admissions conditions (if applicable). Make sure you start and complete your application on time!
You cannot enrol retroactively. This means that if your enrolment is not completed by 31 August, you cannot be enrolled as of 1 September of the same academic year.
You must apply in Studielink. The deadline for application may vary based on if you require a residence permit or not. Most (pre-)master programmes have an application deadline of 31 May, but you must always check the study programme page for specific application deadlines.
If you require a residence permit, then you need to contact studentimmigration@vu.nl regarding the procedure.
After you have applied in Studielink, you will receive login details for the VU student portal by email within 48 hours (two working days). If you already are (or have been) a VU Amsterdam student, or applied before, use your existing VUnetID and password to log in to your dashboard.
Did you not receive the login details? Please check your spam folder first. If you don't find them there either, you can contact the UCIT Servicedesk via servicedesk.it@vu.nl or +31 (0)20 - 59 80000.
To log in go to your VU-dashboard and click on the profile-icon in the upper right corner. After you have logged in, you can continue with your application via the app Complete application. Answer all questions and upload any requested documents in PDF-format. Only uploading your documents is not sufficient for your application.
Submit the required documents. Unless communicated otherwise in personal correspondence, you have until 31 August to do so. Please note: for documents that are required by the faculty, a faculty-dependent deadline may apply! Therefore, always check the programme page of the study.
If we need certified copies of documents (such as a diploma or an English proficiency test result), please hand these in at the Student Desk (ground floor, Main Building). Alternatively you can send them by postal mail to the Student Desk before 31 August:
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Student Administration
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV, Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Please check the information on tuition fees and payments. The fees must be paid before 31 August, otherwise you will not become enrolled and cannot start your study programme.
Transfer the fees or arrange a direct debit authorisation in Studielink. The latter is only possible if you have a bank account from a bank in the SEPA area. Once you have entered your payment details in Studielink, you will receive an email asking you to confirm the payment. This confirmation will authorise the actual payment, so make sure to complete this step.
The (first) instalment is debited at the end of September; you can find the collection calendar here.
You will receive a notice from Studielink when your student enrolment is complete. Only after having received this notice, you'll know you have met all requirements to become fully enrolled. Your status in Studielink will change to 'enrolled/registered'. The deadline to become fully enrolled is 31 August. If you are not yet enrolled and do not know why, please contact the Student Desk for advice.
VU Amsterdam is not able to provide accommodation to foreign students who apply while already in the possession of a Dutch degree. You will therefore need to arrange your own accommodation.
For studies with a start date of 1 February, other application and enrolment deadlines may apply. Check the programme page of the study of your choice and the Regulations for Application and Enrolment. If you have any questions, contact the Student Desk or the faculty's Admissions Board.
The following programmes have a second start date of 1 February 2023 in academic year 2022-2023.
The Master's degree programme Medicine (Dutch-taught) has an intake moment every month.
The following programmes have a second start date of 1 February 2024 in academic year 2023-2024.
The Master's degree programme Medicine (Dutch-taught) has an intake moment every month.
If you hold a Bachelor’s degree obtained from a university of applied sciences (HBO diploma) in the Netherlands, then you may be admitted to a Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam. In most cases, you will have to follow a preparatory pre-master's programme first. This usually takes one year. Pre-master's programmes are mainly taught in Dutch. For more information go to the pre-master's page.
The Admission Board of the faculty will determine whether your qualification is sufficiently relevant to warrant admission. The board may place additional requirements on you before granting admission to the programme.
If you have a non-Dutch nationality and a Dutch degree, then you can usually apply up until 31 May if you require a residence permit. Because of the procedure for changing the residence permit (if applicable), applications received later than 31 May cannot be processed.
You need to apply through Studielink and contact the coordinator of the Master’s programme before 31 May. Coordinators and procedures can be found on the website of the relevant Master’s programme. You must also contact studentimmigration@vu.nl for the procedure to change your residence permit if you are a non-EU/EEA student.
If you don't require a residence permit, a different deadline may apply. You must always check the study programme page for specific application deadlines.
The School of Business and Economics offers pre-master's programmes with a start date of 1 February. The deadline for application for these programmes is 31 January. Your diploma must state an examination date before 1 February.
Application for the transfer programme of Law (Schakelzone Recht) is possible all year round.
VU Amsterdam is not able to provide accommodation to foreign students who apply on the basis of a Dutch degree. Therefore, you will need to arrange your own accommodation.
Please contact the Student Desk.