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 Admission Board needs to establish that you meet all of the following admission requirements: A sufficient background in the field of quantitative and/or qualitative methods and techniques of social science research A sufficient background in the field of organization science This can be demonstrated by having one of the following Bachelor’s degrees: Business Administration Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology Management and Organization Science Organization Studies Political Science Psychology track Social- or Work and Organizational Psychology (please add proof of the track you follow(ed) in your application form) Sociology Furthermore, you are admissible to the Master’s programme in Culture, Organization and Management with any Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree including a minor programme in organisation sciences, such as the VU Amsterdam Faculty of Social Sciences Minor Bestuurswetenschap (30 ECTS, taught in Dutch) or the Minor Organisatiewetenschap (30 ECTS, taught in Dutch). 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’s Faculty of Social Sciences offers a premaster/bridging programme to students who do not meet the admission requirements for the MSc Culture, Organization and Management. However, international students cannot apply to this premaster directly. International students must apply to the master programme. The Admission Board may award the premaster as part of their decision on an applicant’s eligibility for the master. The premaster is only a relevant option if it would be sufficient to cover the gap between an applicant’s academic background and the admission requirements. In addition, it is very important to be aware that this premaster is not typically awarded to international students, because the premaster is partially taught in Dutch . This means that starting and completing the premaster is only a viable option if you speak Dutch at a very high level. 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. Reading list The Admission Board of this master programme advices all admitted students to read the following articles and book in order to prepare well: Ailon, G. (2008). Mirror, mirror on the wall: Culture's consequences in a value test of its own design. Academy of Management Review , 33(4), 885-904. Calvey, D. (2021). Sensory ethnography: A creative turn. Journal of Organizational Ethnography , 10(3): 346-357. Grey, C. (2008). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying organizations. Sage. The reading list is not an official condition and will therefore not be tested, but it is strongly recommended to read these texts.
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 organization and management programme isn’t about desk research or sending out questionnaires. It’s about getting out there in the field, talking to people on the scene and behind the scenes, and offering up a mirror to the people and organizations you’re studying. You’ll need the empathy to understand the issues from the inside as well as the distance to uncover fresh insight that paves the way to effective problem-solving.