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 To be admitted to the programme, you should: have a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Health Sciences, Psychology, or related disciplines. be eligible and admitted to a health-related Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam or another Dutch university. Part of the PBH-programme consists of courses (30EC in total) that are offered by a health-related Master's programme. This means that it is mandatory to be admitted to a health-related Master programme. (*alternatively, students who have already finished a health-related Master programme can also apply to the programme). This means that you should take the following steps: check whether you satisfy the admission requirements of one of our health-related programmes apply for a health-related Master programme and receive admission apply for the programme in Philosophy, Bioethics and Health complete your enrolment for both Master programmes: 1. Philosophy, Bioethics and Health and 2. a health-related Master programme. If you are not admitted and enrolled to a health-related Master programme, you will not be able to successfully finish and graduate from Philosophy, Bioethics and Health. Note: From academic year 2026-2027 onwards the VU Master's programme in Health Sciences will be taught in Dutch. Please be aware that EU students pay the tuition fee once for both programmes. Non-EU students, however, have to pay two tuition fees as long as they are enrolled in two Master programmes. More information about the tuition fees . 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. Whether you meet the admission requirements, is determined by the Admission Board based on your complete application. 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 .
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 .
This Master’s programme is especially designed for students with a health-related background – such as health sciences, medicine, psychology or biomedical sciences – and a deep interest in the ethics behind medicine and health. It’s a challenging proposition because you’ll follow another Master’s programme at the same time, meaning that you can come out with two Master’s degrees – one in Philosophy and another in a health-related subject. A unique selling point, as you’ll have an all-round training that’s both broad and deep – as well as being a very attractive offer for future employers, like healthcare organizations.