Bachelor-before-Master rule

You are only permitted to start a Master course on the condition that you have successfully completed your Bachelor degree and you are enrolled as a Master student. In Dutch this rule is called “the Harde knip”. This rule also applies to the Bridging students.

If you have not completed your Bachelor on time you cannot start with your Master courses, which can result in missing out on a full period. If you think you might have significant delays make sure you contact your academic counsellor on time. 

Please contact your academic counsellor if you need more information.

Temporary measure on Bachelor’s/Master’s transition at TU Delft due to COVID-19

The Bachelor’s-before-Master’s rule (‘harde knip’ in Dutch) is the legal provision that states that a student must first complete their Bachelor’s or Pre-Master’s programme before they can move on to a Master’s programme. In order to limit possible study delays and related adverse consequences due to COVID-19, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has allowed universities to put temporary measures in place for the transition from a Bachelor’s to a Master’s programme. 

At TPM, it was decided to set completion of the Bachelor Final Project (TB351C) as the entry requirement for the master's programs Engineering & Policy Analysis (EPA), Management of Technology (MoT), and Complex Systems Engineering and Management (CoSEM). The reason for this is that completing a major course such as the Bachelor Final Project in addition to the start of a new Master is too difficult a combination. Because the Bachelor Final Project is offered twice a year, we trust that this will not lead to a disproportionate delay.

Look at this document for more information: 

Regeling "zachte knip" 2022-2023

Regeling "zachte knip" 2021-2022

Regeling "zachte knip" 2020-2021