Culture, Organization and Management

International students

Applicants with an international Bachelor’s degree  
The Master’s in Culture, Organization & Management is an international programme. To gain admission, you must hold a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree or equivalent in Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Organization Science, Communication Science (from a Social Sciences perspective), Organization Psychology, Social Psychology, or Business Administration. You must also have had research methodology. You also need an excellent working command of English, and prove it with either the IELTS test (given by the British International English Language Testing Service; minimum score 6.5), or the TOEFL (the American Test of English as a foreign Language; minimum score 580 paper based, 237 computer based, or 92 Internet based). Exemptions from the language test requirement are only made for students who have completed their education in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia or who have obtained an international Baccalaureate or European Baccalaureate diploma.

How to apply

International students who want to apply for the International Master's programmes can apply online by using Studielink. Studielink allows you to fill in your personal details, programme details and to upload the required documents (see list of documents below). To apply to one of our programmes, you must submit the following documents:

• A certified copy of your original Bachelor’s degree certificate and a certified transcript of the marks you obtained in your Bachelor’s programme. The certified transcript must be in English or be translated into English by your university or a sworn translator. If you have yet to obtain your degree, you can ask the registrar of your university to provide an official statement to the effect that your are certain to graduate before 1 September. If you have not yet graduated, you should also send us an official transcript listing the marks you have received.
• Letter of motivation (1 or 2 pages in length) stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
• A clearly legible copy of the page(s) in your passport (or ID-card if you are an EU student) that contain(s) your personal data. A copy of a passport / ID card that is not longer valid will not be accepted
• If you already live in the Netherlands, a copy of your valid residence permit (front and reverse side). If your residence permit is not longer valid, please submit a copy of the expired card and an official statement from the immigration authorities (IND) acknowledging that you have applied for an extension.
• A curriculum vitae, including your personal details, and listing your previous education and relevant work experience.
• A Bachelor or Master thesis (in English, German, French or Dutch). Or if you have not finished your thesis yet, a sample of an academic writing (about five pages in length). We will check your sample for plagiarism as one of the first steps of the evaluation procedure.
• Two letters of recommendation written by members of the academic staff at the educational institute where you studied (or are studying) for you Bachelor’s degree.
• A description of the courses you have taken during the last two years of your previous higher education, you can either copy this from the study guide or type 5-10 sentences for each course yourself (written in English). Emphasize the ones that you think are relevant for the proposed Master Programme
• A list of all the main literature used during the last two years of your previous education.
• The results of an English language test. VU University Amsterdam requires all applicants to take an English test and to submit their score as a part of the application.

You must also pay an application fee of € 100, which is refundable if you are admitted and if you start the programme in September 2012.

Application deadline

The application deadline for  EU students is 1 June 2012. Please note that we must have received all required documents and the application fee before the deadline in order to start the evaluation process. Although we can only guarantee accommodation for EU students who applied before 1 April, there is still a good chance of being offered accommodation if you apply before the 1 June deadline.
The application deadline for non-EU students was 1 April, this deadline is closed.

Futher information on how to apply with a international university Bachelor’s degree and on the admission procedure and English language requirements for international students.
Example of a reference form.

For more information, international students may also contact the admission officer:
Admission officer.