Admission and Application
Admission period
Dutch degree
- Start date
- End date
International degree, EEA student
- Start date
- End date
International degree, non-EEA student
- Start date
- End date
Would you like to enrol in the current academic year? Then read further here.
*Do you have an international degree? EU/EEA students can submit a request for enrolment via Studielink until 1 July. However, applications received after 1 May will not receive housing assistance.
Admission requirements
- Culture and Society
- Economics and Society
- Science and Health
- Science and Engineering
The PPS programme is entirely taught in English. This means that classes, course materials, interactions with professors and fellow students, and administrative correspondence from the faculty will all be in English. That means that you will need to be proficient in English to study PPS. Your proficiency in English will be relevant to your academic performance. For example, in writing papers as well as in giving presentations, your ability to clearly explain and argue for or against a position is obviously affected by your command of English.
Note that English language courses are not part of the PPS curriculum
If you have obtained a propaedeutics certificate of a university of applied sciences you will need to take one of the following language tests and meet the required scores:
- IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System) with an overall score of ≥6.5, all four sub-scores ≥6.0;
- TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a total score of ≥90, all four sub-scores ≥20;
- Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) or Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) with mark ≥C.
General information about these language requirements can be found on the Bachelor's Language Requirements page.
For more information, please contact the recruitment officer: pps [at] ru.nl
Should you not be admissible on the basis of your diploma and should you be 21 year old or over, then a colloquium doctum might be an option. The colloquium doctum is a suitability assessment for a Bachelor’s programme at Dutch Universities. This assessment is initiated by the colloquium doctum committee of the programme.
For a start in September 2023, the assessment for the Bachelor’s programme Philosophy, Politics and Society is very straightforward: you must be able to prove that you have passed four of the following courses at the level of VWO (Dutch pre-university education) final examination.
- German
- English
- French
- History
- Greek
- Latin
- Sociology
- Dutch
- Mathematics A
- Mathematics B
The examination for Philosophy, Politics and Society consists of four exams at VWO-level:
- A state exam in Dutch, English and Mathematics
- A state exams in the field of French, German, History, Civics ('maatschappijleer'), Philosophy, Greek or Latin.
The only way you can obtain these exams is at Dutch secondary education or, through the Dutch state exams (site in Dutch). Each state exam that you pass entitles you to a waiver for the respective colloquium doctum exam. The deadline for application for state exams is 31 December of the year prior to your start in the PPS programme. Local ROC's offer programme's that train you specifically for these exams. These so called VAVO programme's start one full year ahead of your intended start date at PPS.
Who can participate in the colloquium doctum?
You can participate if you are 21 years old or over and do not have the diploma required to be admitted into the Bachelor’s programme you have chosen. To participate, you have to complete the application form for the colloquium doctum. Submit your application in October or November of the year in which you want to enroll.
If you have completed, or are about to complete, a study programme outside of the Netherlands, then your diploma will be assessed on an individual basis. Depending on your diploma, you may receive requests for further information during the application procedure. In the meantime, you can do the Radboud Eligibility Check. The Eligibility Check will give you an indication as to whether or not you are eligible for admission.
To study PPS, you need to be proficient in English. To prove that your English is sufficient, you must have one of the following:
- A Dutch VWO-diploma;
- An International Baccalaureate Diploma (diploma programme)
- A European Baccalaureate Diploma, with English Language 2 or English Language 1
- An American High School Diploma
- GCE A-Levels
- A diploma equivalent to, or higher than the Dutch VWO-diploma, where the language of instruction has been English, obtained at an institution in an EU/EEA member state, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the United States of America.
- One of the following diplomas, having passed English in the final examinations: Austrian Reifezeugnis/Reifeprüfungszeugnis, Belgian Diploma van Secundair Onderwijs, Danish Studentereksamenbevis, Finnish Ylioppilastutkintotodistus/Studenterexamenbevis, German Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, Luxembourgish Diplôme de Fin d’Études Secondaires, Norwegian Vitnemal for Videregaende Skole, Swedish Slutbetyg fran Gymnasieskolan
All other applicants, including applicants who hold a Dutch HBO diploma (diploma of a university of applied sciences), must provide a proof of proficiency in English. To do so, you are required to take one of the following English language tests either in your own country or in the Netherlands:
- IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System) with an overall score of ≥6.5, all four sub-scores ≥6.0;
- TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a total score of ≥90, all four sub-scores ≥20;
- Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) or Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) with mark ≥C.
General information about these language requirements can be found on the Bachelor's Language Requirements page. For any questions regarding international admission requirements, please contact the university's admission office at admissions [at] ru.nl.
For any questions regarding international admission requirements, please contact the Radboud University Admission's Office at admissions [at] ru.nl.
Application procedure
To apply for a programme, you need to submit a request for enrolment in Studielink before the application deadline. Before you apply, please check the admission requirements and then follow the steps below.
Steps
Step 1: Submit your enrolment request via Studielink
You can apply for the Bachelor’s programme at Radboud University via Studielink. You can apply for a programme for the following academic year from 1 October onwards.
Please note: A DigiD is required
You will need to have a DigiD to apply for a programme in Studielink. If you do not have your own DigiD, you will need to request one via www.digid.nl; you will need to do this well ahead of the enrolment deadline. It usually takes five working days before you have received your activation code for your DigiD. If you do not live in the Netherlands or you still have to move here, you will not be able to use a DigiD and you will have to use your username and password to log in to Studielink.
Step 2: Follow up on your ‘To-do Actions’ in Studielink
After you have applied, it is vital that all of your ‘To-do Actions’ in Studielink are carried out in good time. So, keep a close eye on your emails (including the ones in your spam inbox).
Step 3: Take part in the Study Compatibility Check
You will be sent the login details for completing a digital questionnaire via the email address that you provided in Studielink. This questionnaire is part of the Study Compatibility Check, which is a final check to see if your expectations about the study programme are realistic and if you understand what we will expect from you as a student.
Step 4: Keep an eye on your inbox
Once Radboud University has received your application, we will check to see whether you are directly admissible to the Bachelor’s programme for which you have applied. You will then receive one of the following results by email:
- You will be granted unconditional admission, which means that you can enrol in the study programme.
- Your previous education will need to be assessed by the Admissions Committee, which means that you will need to proceed to Step 5.
Step 5: Complete the digital questionnaire (but only if your previous education needs to be checked by the Admissions Committee)
If your previous education needs to be assessed by the Admissions Committee, you will receive login details for a digital questionnaire at the email address that you provided in Studielink. You will need to log in to the questionnaire, and once you have completed it you will need to upload the requested documents. Please make sure that you complete the questionnaire and upload the documents as soon as possible after you have received this login information. Your application for admission will then be processed. The outcome of this step may be one of the following:
- You will be granted unconditional admission, which means that you can enrol in the study programme.
- You will be granted conditional admission: your admission decision contains the conditions that you will need to fulfil before definitive admission can be granted. You will then be able to enrol in the study programme.
- You will not be granted admission: your application will then be withdrawn from Studielink. You will receive further details by mail about why your application was rejected.
The details of this outcome will be forwarded to the email address that you provided in Studielink.
Have you completed the application procedure?
You can now enrol in the study programme.
Links
In order to apply you must first make sure you meet the admission requirements of the Bachelor's programme you would like to apply for. The application procedure then consists of two steps: first, creating an enrolment application in Studielink, then uploading documents in OSIRIS Application.
Steps
Step 1: Create an enrolment application in Studielink
To apply for a Bachelor’s programme, you have to create an account and an enrolment application in Studielink (the national online registration system for Dutch universities). First you will be asked to fill in your previous education, then select the programme you wish to apply for in the list that appears.
Step 2: Upload documents in OSIRIS Application
After you have created an enrolment application in Studielink, you will receive an email with personal login details for OSIRIS Application. You have 56 days to upload your documents and submit a complete application. After this period, if you have not submitted your application, it will be automatically cancelled.
You will be asked to upload the following documents:
- Scan of valid passport (personal details page only) or European ID card
- Diploma
If you have graduated and received your diploma, we require you to upload it to your application. If you have graduated but have not received your diploma or if you have not yet graduated, you can indicate this in the application form. In OSIRIS Application, please list the full, official name of the diploma that you have or will receive. Use the language and name in which the diploma is issued.
- RU Statement of Education form
If you have not graduated yet, we ask that you upload the RU Statement of Education form (found at the bottom of this page) that has been completed by you or your school. This form will give Radboud University a more complete overview of your education.
- Transcript of grades
Upload a transcript of grades for the past two years. Please also upload transcripts and diplomas from any post-secondary education that you have studied or are still studying.
- Sworn translations of diploma and transcript of grades
Translations need to be made by an officially recognised translator. Official translations are not required if your diploma and transcript are originally in Dutch, English or German. If your school provides English versions of your documents, upload those along with versions of the documents in the original language.
- Personal Statement
Your personal statement should contain, at least, a brief description of why you have chosen this specific Bachelor's programme and how it fits your previous education.
- Overview of education/experience
Please upload an overview that contains, in chronological order, information about your education and knowledge/experience acquired during an internship, training, or work; for example, a resume.
- Proof of English proficiency (see admission requirements)
If you must provide an English language certificate, you are permitted to apply without it. However, if you are admitted to the programme and a language certificate is listed as a requirement in your admission email, you will be required to provide proof of proficiency before the enrolment deadline.
- Nuffic Certificate (Chinese students only)
Chinese students are required to apply for a Nuffic Certificate regardless of the level and location of their previous education. The certificate is not required for the application, but if you are admitted to the programme, you will need this certificate by 1 June for the visa procedure. Find more information about it on the Study in Holland website.
Step 3: Admission decision
Your request for admission will then be processed. Within approximately 3 weeks after you have submitted the digital questionnaire. Student Admissions will inform you by email about the admission decision. There are three possible outcomes:
- You are unconditionally admitted.
- You are admitted under certain conditions. There are conditions that you must first meet in order to enrol.
- You will not be admitted. Your application in Studielink will be withdrawn.
You will receive the outcome at the email address you entered in Studielink.
Have you been offered a place in the Bachelor's?
Congratulations! Then go to the enrolment procedure and follow the steps to enrol.
Radboud University statement of education
Questions?
Please contact us via admissions [at] ru.nl.