Admission and application
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Application period
Please select your nationality and previous education to view the application periods.Application period
Please select your previous education to view the application periods.Application period
September intake
Application period
September intake
Note on the deadline: Formally speaking, the admission deadline for Dutch and EU/EEA students with non-Dutch previous education is 1 July, 2025. However, students with non-Dutch previous education who participate in the priority lottery for housing must have an admission decision from Radboud University. Since the draw will take place from 1 June to 1 July, the deadline of 1 May, 2025 is mentioned here.
Application period
Please select your previous education to view the application periods.Application period
September intake
Application period
September intake
Note on the deadline: Formally speaking, the admission deadline for Dutch and EU/EEA students with non-Dutch previous education is 1 July, 2025. However, students with non-Dutch previous education who participate in the priority lottery for housing must have an admission decision from Radboud University. Since the draw will take place from 1 June to 1 July, the deadline of 1 May, 2025 is mentioned here.
Application period
Please select your previous education to view the application periods.Application period
September intake
Application period
September intake
Please note: would you like to apply for a scholarship? Please note that the application deadline for scholarships is 31 January 2025 23:59 CET. Your application needs to be complete by 14 February 2025 23:59 CET.
Dutch degree
Admission requirements
A completed university bachelor's programme makes you eligible for the Pre-Master's programme.
A completed HBO bachelor's programme related to Political Science makes you eligible for the Pre-Master's programme. The following HBO study programmes qualify for the Pre-Master's programme
- Public Administration/Public Management
- Journalism
- Teacher training study programme in Civic Education/History
- Law
- European Studies
The above list is not exhaustive. If your study programme is not listed above and it is related to Political Science, please contact the admissions [at] nsm.ru.nl (Admissions Officer).
In addition to holding a compatible degree, HBO candidates are selected based on the unweighted average final grade, calculated over the last 120 ECTS of their HBO program.
- Students with an average final grade of 7.5 or higher are automatically granted admission to the Pre-Master's programme.
- Students with an average final grade between 7 and 7.5 are granted admission in exceptional cases. To qualify for admission, their motivation must also be assessed by the Examining Board.
Students with an average final grade lower than 7 will not be granted admission to the Pre-Master's programme
Pre-Master’s head start in Political Science for HBO students
A completed HBO bachelor's programme related to Political Science makes you eligible for the Pre-Master's head start. The following HBO study programmes qualify for the Pre-master's head start:
- Public Administration/Public Management
- Journalism
- Teacher training study programme in Civic Education/History
- Law
- European Studies
- International Business and Management
The above list is not exhaustive. If your study programme is not listed above and it is related to Political Science, please contact the admissions [at] nsm.ru.nl (Admissions Officer.)
All candidates require a statement of consent from their HBO study programme (the institution's director and the Examining Board) as well as a statement of consent from the Radboud University Political Science Examining Board. To this end, you must submit a written request to the Political Science Examining Board. Don't forget to include your name, address, email and telephone number. Indicate that you are requesting admission to the Pre-Master's head start, which courses you want to follow and why you have chosen Political Science.
- HBO students who are granted admission will be enrolled at Radboud University as contract students. HBO students who have already obtained a minimum of 150 EC with a grade average of at least 7.5 (unweighed) over all the components completed so far are admissible immediately.
- HBO students who have obtained a minimum of 150 EC with a grade average between 7.0 and 7.5 (unweighed) over all the components completed so far must also submit a motivation letter; the Radboud University Political Science Examining Board will assess whether they can be admitted as an exceptional case.
Admission to the Pre-Master’s head start means that the student is immediately admissible to the Pre-Master’s programme upon completion of their HBO qualification.
How to Calculate Your Unweighted Grade Point Average
Complete the provided file by entering the grades and credits (EC) for the last 120 EC of courses from your program, typically those from the final two years of study. Save the completed file as a PDF and upload it to Osiris. Ensure all information is clear and presented on one page.
- Enter the grades and corresponding EC (study credits) for the last 120 EC worth of courses. Include courses for which you have not yet received a grade. In such cases, leave the grade field blank but fill in the number of EC.
- Follow the order of your official transcript. Do not abbreviate or translate course names; write them exactly as listed on the transcript.
- If a course is not graded with a numeric score, enter what is indicated on the transcript (e.g., a ‘P’ for pass).
- Do not include partial grades; only use final grades for which EC have been awarded.
- Use commas instead of periods for decimal grades (e.g., 7.2 should be written as 7,2).
- Ensure the entered information matches your official transcript.
- Save the completed file as a PDF and upload it to Osiris.
Important: Failure to submit this file will result in your application being delayed or reset, and you will be asked to submit the file correctly. Strictly adhere to the above guidelines to avoid delays in your application process.
Non-Dutch degree
Admission requirements
If you have a non-Dutch educational background, you cannot apply directly for the pre-Master’s, but you need to apply for the Master’s programme first. The Examination Board will then decide if you are eligible for direct admission to the Master’s or whether they require you to participate in a pre-Master’s before you can enter the Master’s.
If you have applied for the Master’s and received a message that you are (conditionally) admitted to the pre-Master’s programme, and you would like to accept this offer, you need to apply in Studielink.
through the following steps:
- Go to 'Study programmes' and select 'Add new enrolment application'
- Search for 'Political Science'
- Select the Educational institution: Radboud University
- Select the Type of study programme: WO Bachelor
- Select ‘Premaster Political Science', and make sure to enroll for the upcoming academic year
Once you have submitted this application in Studielink, you can disregard the automatic emails from Studielink, except if they are about providing information about the payment of the contribution fee, but you need to follow the instructions from the Admissions Office (admissions [at] ru.nl), which you will receive shortly after your application.
Exemptions
Students with a Bachelor’s degree equivalent to that of a Dutch research university can request exemptions for courses which are comparable to, both in terms of content and number of ECs, one or more courses of the pre-Master’s programme. Please submit this well motivated request for exemption before 1 July to the examination board. No exemption is granted on the basis of courses equivalent to that of a university of applied sciences.
Your level of English needs to be sufficient in order for you to succeed in the programme. You can satisfy the English language requirement if you have obtained a:
- A Dutch pre-university Secondary Education diploma (VWO);
- An International Baccalaureate Diploma (Diploma Programme): English taught IB or English A Language and Literature HL
- A European Baccalaureate Diploma, which includes English Language 1 or English Language 2
- The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-Levels)
- A diploma equivalent to, or higher than the Dutch VWO diploma, obtained at an institution in an EU/EEA member state, Australia, Canada (excluding Québec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America with English as the only medium of instruction.
- One of the following diplomas, which includes a minimal passing grade for English in the final examinations:
- Austria: Reifezeugnis/Reifeprüfungszeugnis (check the additional requirements)
- Belgium: Diploma van Secundair Onderwijs (for the Diplome d'Enseignement Secondair (Enseignement Secondaire Général) or the Abschlusszeugnis der Oberstufe des Sekundarunterrichts (Allgemeinbildende Unterricht) a language test is needed as proof of English language proficiency)
- Denmark: Studentereksamenbevis
- Finland: Ylioppilastutkintotodistus/Studentexamenbevis
- Germany: Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife (check the additional requirements)
- Luxembourg: Diplôme de Fin d’Études Secondaires
- Norway: Vitnemål fra den Videregående Skolen
- Sweden: Slutbetyg från Gymnasieskolan
- Aruba: Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs
- Sint Maarten: VWO-diploma
- Curaçao: VWO-diploma
- Suriname: Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (V.W.O.) from an accredited V.W.O. School from the Nuffic List.
If you do not meet the English language proficiency requirement via one of the conditions above, you can satisfy the requirement via an English exam.
To meet the English language proficiency requirement, you will need to pass one of exams mentioned below. All certificates may not be older than two years.
TOEFL iBT
A TOEFL (iBT) certificate with an overall score of ≥ 80 and subscores ≥ 20
Note: we do not accept the TOEFL at Home Edition exam.
IELTS Academic
An IELTS Academic certificate with an overall score of ≥ 6,0. Subscores ≥ 6,0
Note: we do not accept the IELTS Online exam.
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
Apply for your chosen pre-Master’s programme via Studielink. You can apply for a programme for the following academic year from 1 October onwards.
Submitting a request for enrolment requires the following steps in Studielink.
- Go to 'Study programmes' and select 'Add new enrolment application'
- Search for your pre-Master’s programme by name: ‘Pre-Master’s in [name of study programme]’. The name of the pre-Master’s programme is often the name of the Master’s (specialisation).
- Select the educational institution: Radboud University
- Select the type of study programme: WO Bachelor
Register on time! You do not need to have completed your previous education when you apply. You can find the application deadline at the top of the Admission & Application page of the pre-Master's programme.
Step 2: Fill in the digital questionnaire
Because your prior education needs to be assessed, you will receive the login details for a digital questionnaire at the email address that you provided in Studielink. Log in, complete the questionnaire and upload the requested documents.
Please make sure that you submit your questionnaire and the documents before the application deadline of the pre-Master's. If you do this after the deadline, there is no guarantee that we will be able to process your application for admission in time. You can find the application deadline at the top of the Admission & Application page of the pre-Master's programme.
Step 3: Keep an eye on your inbox
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 will be granted unconditional admission, which means you can enrol for the programme.
- You will be granted conditional admission: there are conditions that you will need to fulfil before definitive admission can be granted. You will receive an email about what these conditions mean.
- You will not be granted admission: your application will then be withdrawn from Studielink and unfortunately you cannot enrol for this pre-Master's. You will receive further details by email.
The details of this outcome will be forwarded to the email address that you provided in Studielink.
Have you been admitted to the pre-Master’s?
You can now enrol for the programme.
Application procedure
How to apply for a pre-Master's programme if you have a non-Dutch previous education:
Students with a non-Dutch previous education cannot directly apply for a pre-Master’s. You must first apply for a selected Master's programme.
If you do not meet all the admission requirements for your selected Master's programme, you may be offered admission to the pre-Master's programme. This will be communicated in your admission email.
Completing the pre-Master's programme grants you direct admission to the Master's programme.
Questions?
Contact us via email at admissions [at] ru.nl (admissions[at]ru[dot]nl).
Questions or Concerns?
If you are unsure about your application, your enrolment request in Studielink can always be cancelled.
Do you have questions about the admissions procedure or are you unsure whether you meet all the requirements? Get in in touch with admissions [at] nsm.ru.nl (admissions[at]nsm[dot]ru[dot]nl).
Do you have a question about the application procedure, Osiris or tuition fees? Get in touch with the Central Student Desk:
- E-mail: centralstudentdesk [at] ru.nl (centralstudentdesk[at]ru[dot]nl)
- Phone: +31 24 – 361 23 45
- Click here for the opening hours