Students must meet the following admission requirements : 1. Academic requirements Your previous education needs to be deemed equivalent to at least a Dutch academic Bachelor’s degree ( wetenschappelijk onderwijs, WO ) obtained at a research university (nominal duration 3 years). Please find more information about your admissibility with a non-Dutch degree here . 2. Programme specific requirements The Research Master in Social Sciences for a Digital Society is a selective programme. Selection is done by the Admission Board, based on the admission requirements and the documents in the application form. To successfully follow the Research Master in Social Sciences for a Digital Society, you need to have sufficient knowledge of research methods at the level and load of an academic Social Sciences bachelor’s programme. The Admission Board needs to establish that you meet all of the following admission requirements: A bachelor’s degree in social or behavioural sciences*, equivalent to a Dutch academic (WO) bachelor and therefore must be completed at a research university At least 12 ECTS in social science research methods A GPA of at least 7.5 out of 10 (Dutch grading system) or the international equivalent. Please be aware that a 7.5 is very high in the Dutch higher education system * You can also apply with a degree in other fields such as mathematics, informatics, econometrics, operations research, computational linguistics, digital humanities and geography. It is important that you can demonstrate that you have a clear interest and background in social issues, as demonstrated by relevant elective courses, minors, internships or other extra-curricular activities. The Admission Board will assess if your interest and background in social issues is strong enough. In all cases, your bachelor must be equivalent to a Dutch academic (WO) bachelor and therefore must be completed at a research university. How to demonstrate that you meet the above requirements: You are required to indicate in the course description section of the Application Form how you meet the programme specific admission requirements. The Admission Board decides based on your complete application whether you meet the admission requirements or not. Premaster: VU Amsterdam does not offer a premaster/bridging programme to students who do not meet the admission requirements of the Research Master in Social Sciences for a Digital Society. 3. English language proficiency requirements You will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency. You can find an overview of relevant information to demonstrate your English language proficiency on the language requirement page . You can already submit your application form without having met the English language requirements, but if you are conditionally admitted, you still have to meet the English language requirements. Check how to apply for Social Sciences for a Digital Society Application procedure with a Dutch degree Registration for the Master’s programme in Studielink is open from 1 October until 15 July. After registering in Studielink you’ll receive login data for your personal dashboard in the VU application portal. Upload the application document which can be found here and hand in your application. Finish your VU Dashboard. After your application has been processed and assessed you will receive notice about your admissibility. Arrange payment of the tuition fee and complete your registration before 31 August at the latest. Upload a scan of the result of your English language test to your VU Dashboard before 31 August at the latest. Before the beginning of the programme you’ll receive practical information about starting your studies. An application is not the same as enrolment. If you register for a programme in Studielink (before 15 July ), you will not immediately be enrolled. You will only be enrolled once you have been notified by Studielink. To this end, you must have submitted all the required documents a.s.a.p. after registering, preferably before 15 July , and have arranged payment of the tuition fees before 31 August . An application does not commit you to anything and can be cancelled free of charge until 31 August. More information about the registration procedure . Applying with a Dutch diploma ? If you want to know if you are admissible, register (this is without obligation) in Studielink and add the required application form to your application in your VU application portal. The Admissions Committee will provide you with a decision based on your application. The Student Desk answers questions about pre-master's assessment, tuition fees, Studielink, VU Student, etc.
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 .
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 .
You will become an expert in addressing societal challenges through interdisciplinary and mixed methods approaches, including the latest techniques in computational social sciences. Watch the video to find out how our students experience the programme.
Explore the curriculum