Applying for a Master’s degree programme with a Dutch certificate
Study year 2023-2024
For the 2023-2024 academic year, The Bachelor’s-before-Master’s rule (‘harde knip’ in Dutch) applies for the time being. This means that the bachelor's program and bridging program (if applicable) must be fully completed before the start of the master's programme. No exceptions are made to this. Start date for the master is September 1. Enrollment into the master's program at another date is only possible for holders of a TU Delft BSc diploma, provided that the bachelor's program and bridging program (if applicable) have been completed in full.
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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 another year for the transition from a bachelor’s to a master’s programme.
It is stipulated that students can use this temporary measure for Bachelor’s-before-Master’s rule only once and for a maximum duration of 1 year. It is therefore not possible to accumulate and then use two of these temporary measures.
The Executive Board has decided that for the 2022-2023 academic year, the following starting points for the transition to a master's programme apply to bachelor's and pre master students who were enrolled at TU Delft or another Dutch BSc programme in the 2021-2022 academic year:
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For bachelor students at TU Delft/other Dutch university
- Bachelor’s students who have a deficit of up 10 EC in their Bachelor’s examination programme on 31 August 2022 may enrol in Master’s subjects in the 2022-2023 academic year and participate in Master’s subjects examinations
- Faculties may designate certain subjects as entry requirements, such as completion of the Bachelor’s final project, for each Master’s programme. Students need to conform to these requirements at 31 August 2022. Faculties will inform their bachelor students before June 7, 2022.
- The option to enrol in Master’s courses without having completed a Bachelor’s programme expires on 31 August 2023
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- Pre-Master students who have a deficit of up 10 EC in their Pre-Master’s examination programme on 31 August 2022 may enrol in Master’s subjects in the 2022-2023 academic year and participate in Master’s subjects examinations
- Faculties may designate certain subjects as entry requirements, for each Master’s programme. Students need to conform to these requirements at 31 August 2022. Faculties will inform their students before June 7, 2022.
- The option to enrol in Master’s courses without having completed a Pre-Master's programme expires on 31 August 2023
Validity of obtained results during the period of a soft-cut enrolment
The results obtained for master's courses are included in the examination programme of the relevant master's programme as soon as the student has passed the BSc examination and has a valid - and regular - enrolment for the master's programme.
Registration of TU Delft students
Students who wish to use the temporary measures for the bachelor’s-master’s transition should re-enrol via Studylink for their current bachelor's or pre-master’s programme. They should also submit an enrolment request for the desired master's programme. Studylink will then ask whether the student would like to be considered for conditional admission to the master's programme. On the basis of this request, the conditional admission will be assessed by the dean of the faculty to which the master's programme in question belongs. Enrolment in this programme will be provisional until the bachelor's programme or the pre-master’s programme has been completed or will be automatically terminated if the bachelor's programme or the pre-master’s programme has not been completed by 31 August 2023 at the latest.
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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 for another year universities to put temporary measures in place for the transition from a Bachelor’s to a Master’s programme.
It is stipulated that students can make use of the temporary Bachelor’s-before-Master’s rule (‘zachte knip’ in Dutch) once and with a maximum duration of 1 year. It is therefore not possible to add up two of these temporary rules.
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For bachelor students at a Dutch university
- Bachelor’s students who have a deficit of up 15 EC in their Bachelor’s examination programme on 31 August 2021 may enrol in Master’s subjects in the 2021-2022 academic year and participate in Master’s subjects examinations
- Faculties may designate certain subjects as entry requirements, such as completion of the Bachelor’s final project, for each Master’s programme. Faculties will inform their bachelor students before May 15, 2021.
- Below the information per faculty:
3ME - Nederlands
BK - Nederlands
CiTG - Tweetalig
EWI – Engels
IO – Tweetalig
LR – Engels
TBM – Engels
TNW – Engels
- Below the information per faculty:
- The option to enrol in Master’s courses without having completed a Bachelor’s programme expires on 31 August 2022.
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For Pre-Masters's students of TU Delft
- Pre-Master’s students who have a deficit of no more than 15 EC in their Pre-Master’s programme on 31 August 2021 may enrol in Master’s courses and participate in Master’s courses examinations in the 2021-2022 academic year
- The option to enrol in Master’s courses without having completed the Pre-Master’s programme expires on 31 August 2022
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For bachelor students at a Dutch institute of higher education
- Bachelor’s students who have a deficit of up to 15 EC in their Bachelor’s examination programme on 31 August 2021 may enrol for Master’s or Pre-Master’s subjects in the 2021-2022 academic year and participate in examinations for these subjects
- Faculties may designate certain subjects as entry requirements, such as completion of the Bachelor’s final project, for each Master’s programme. Information on these requirements can be found at https://www.tudelft.nl/onderwijs/toelating-en-aanmelding/msc-nederlands-diploma/1-toelatingseisen/#c41381.
- The option to enrol in Master’s and Pre-Master’s courses without having completed a Bachelor’s programme expires on 31 August 2022
Registration of TU Delft students
Students wishing to use the temporary measures for the Bachelor’s-Master’s transition should re-enrol via Studylink in their current Bachelor’s or Pre-Master’s programme. The re-enrolment will open on 3 June 2021. They also should enrol in the Master’s or Pre-Master’s programme. Registration will be on an interim basis until they have completed their Bachelor degree programme. Conditional admission will be reviewed by the dean of the faculty in which the relevant Master's degree is given.
Registration of students from other institutions
Students wishing to use the temporary measures for the Bachelor’s-Master’s transition need to register via Studylink for the intended TU Delft Master(s) study and re-enrol via Studylink in their current Bachelor’s or Pre-Master’s programme at their current HBO or university. After registration and re-enrolment please send an email to: contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl with the subject: aanmelding master, bachelor nog niet afgerond with the announcement of your TUD studynumber and the intended TUD Master(s).
Below the information per faculty:
3ME - Dutch
BK - Dutch
CiTG - Dutch and English
EWI – English
IO – Dutch
AE – English
TPM – English
TNW – English
A. Admission requirements with a Dutch university bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree that matches the MSc programme usually gives direct access to TU Delft. If the bachelor’s degree is not a complete match with the MSc programme, then you will have to follow extra courses to bring your knowledge to the required level. Together, these courses are called a bridging programme. The bridging programme’s curriculum differs per MSc programme and will be determined together with the bridging coordinator of the study programme of your choice.
What are the admission requirements for the bridging programme?
- Your bachelor's degree does not match the MSc programme of your choice. Please contact the bridging coordinator.
- Mathematics B and English at vwo level. Note: from the academic year 2023-2024 onward, mathematics T will no longer be accepted. If you start your bridging programme in the academic year 2023-2024 we will still accept your mathematics T certificate from the Open University.
- For Dutch-language bridging programmes (when the bachelor’s pogramme has Dutch as its language of instruction) a language requirement applies if your previous education prior to your Dutch university bachelor's degree was completed abroad. Please click here to see the requirements.
- You meet the additional requirements that apply to the MSc programme of your choice. You will find more information about this at the bottom of this page.
4TU
If you hold a bachelor's degree from another programme within TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente or Wageningen University & Research, then the selection committee of the TU Delft MSc programme will determine whether direct admission is possible.
B. Admission requirements with an hbo diploma
An hbo diploma does not grant direct access to a TU Delft MSc programme. You will first have to take extra courses to bring your knowledge to the required level. Together, these courses are called a bridging programme. The bridging programme’s curriculum differs per MSc programme and will be determined together with the bridging coordinator of the study programme of your choice.
What are the admission requirements for the bridging programme?
- You have obtained your hbo bachelor’s degree.
- Your hbo bachelor's degree matches the MSc programme of your choice. Please contact the bridging coordinator.
- Mathematics B and English at vwo level. Note: from the academic year 2023-2024 onward, mathematics T will no longer be accepted. If you start your bridging programme in the academic year 2023-2024 we will still accept your mathematics T certificate from the Open University.
- For Dutch-language bridging programmes (when the bachelor’s pogramme has Dutch as its language of instruction) a language requirement applies if your previous education prior to your Dutch hbo bachelor's degree was completed abroad. Please click here to see the requirements.
- You meet the additional requirements that apply to the MSc programme of your choice. Please find more information about this at the bottom of this page.
Mathematics B and English
Mathematics B
The requirement for mathematics is a vwo level mathematics B certificate. From the 2023-3024 academic year onward, mathematics T certificates will no longer be accepted. If you start your bridging programme in the academic year 2023-2024 we will still accept your mathematics T certificate from the Open University.
You must obtain the certificate before September 1st to be able to enrol per September 1st of the same year. Industrial Design only offers a bridging programme that starts on February 1st. Architecture’s bridging programmes start on February 1st (30 or 60 ec) and on September 1st (60 ec). To be able to enrol per February 1st you must obtain the mathematics certificate before February 1st of the same year.
You can take the mathematics B exam at:
- Boswell-Beta in Utrecht;
- Het Korteweg-de Vries Insituut in Amsterdam;
- Centrale Commissies Voortentamen - CCVX.
- State exam exemption through DUO. DUO offers the option of granting an exemption to students who have obtained a technical HBO degree, with sufficient Mathematics in their study programme. The study programme of the HBO Bachelor's programme is compared with the final attainment levels of Mathematics B, resulting in an exemption or rejection. Because the procedure at DUO can take some time, it is important to start the procedure on time.
English
The requirement for English is a vwo level English certificate. You must obtain the certificate before September 1st to be able to enrol per September 1st of the same year. Industrial Design only offers a bridging programme that starts on February 1st. Architecture’s bridging programmes start on February 1st (30 or 60 ec) and on September 1st (60 ec). To be able to enrol per February 1st you must obtain the English certificate before February 1st of the same year.
TU Delft accepts the following certificates:
- TOEFL iBT certificate: a total score of at least 90 on the internet-based test. TU Delft does not accept TOEFL MyBest scores; the required scores must be obtained in one single test;
- IELTS certificate: a total score of at least 6.5 on the academic test;
- Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2) or Certificate in Advanced English (C1) (University of Cambridge). Share your University of Cambridge Certificate with us.
If on the day you submit your application, your language certificate is over two years old, it will not be accepted.
From the academic year 2023-2024 onwards the required minimum English scores will be higher.
For those holding a language certificate obtained before 1 October 2022 but less than two years old at the time of your application, a transitional arrangement applies.
If international students cannot take one of the above tests, because test centers are closed or unavailable due to safety conditions in their country, they will be allowed to take the TOEFL iBT Home Edition test. We do not accept the IELTS Indicator test.
Exemptions
You will be exempted from taking one of the tests if one of the following situations applies to you.
Exemption from English:
- You obtained a vwo diploma or a vwo English certificate.
- Your bachelor’s programme is taught completely in English. Please submit proof of this (contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl) when applying.
- You are a national citizen of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, or the U.S.A.
Exemption from Mathematics B:
- You obtained a vwo diploma with mathematics B or a mathematics B vwo certificate
Additional requirements
Some of TU Delft’s MSc programmes have additional entry requirements You will find these requirements on the MSc programmes’ pages.
If your programme is not included in the list, first check whether the programme you are looking for is not actually a track or specialisation of one of the listed MSc programmes. If it isn’t, then please contact the MSc programme’s coordinator.
Contact
If you have any questions about the above admission requirements, please contact contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl.