Admission and enrolment
Admission period
Dutch degree
- Start date
- End date
Students with a Dutch previous education need to apply for the pre-Master’s via Studielink before 1 July. You will then be asked to upload several documents in our online application system Osiris. The Admission Board will assess your application and inform you whether or not you are admitted to the program.
Admission requirements
Students with an academic Bachelor’s in a related area but not enough courses in American Studies may be able to take a pre-Master’s of 60 EC (or less in exceptional cases) in order to compensate their deficiencies in this area. The Admission Board of the programme determines pre-Master’s programmes on an individual basis. Students will need to demonstrate adequate English-language skills by providing an academic paper written in English.
Bachelor’s from a Dutch University of Applied Sciences (HBO)
Students who have completed a HBO Bachelor’s might be eligible for the Master’s in North American Studies by taking a pre-Master's of 60 EC. For these students, their pre-Master's program includes the writing of a BA thesis of 10 EC. In addition, they will need to demonstrate adequate English-language skills by providing an academic paper written in English. The pre-Master's program is determined by the Admission Board on an individual basis.
Students who received their previous education outside the Netherlands need to apply for the Master's program in North American Studies through Studielink first. In case they cannot be directly admitted to the Master's program, they might still be eligible for the Pre-Master's program that will most likely consist of 60 EC. A Pre-Master's is a program that has been designed to bridge the gap between students' previous education and the Master in North American Studies. In case you cannot be directly admitted to the Master's programme but can be admitted to the pre-Master's programme, you will be informed in the Admission Letter. If you receive an offer for a pre-Master's programme, please send an email to premaster [at] let.ru.nl to confirm your interest and reapply for the pre-Master's English Language and Culture in Studielink. The deadline to confirm and reapply differs per nationality.
In addition, you will need to demonstrate adequate English-language skills, based on a qualification:
- A TOEFL iBT score of ≥ 90, and all subscores ≥ 20
- A IELTS Academic (note: not IELTS Online) score of ≥ 6.5, and all subscores ≥ 6.0
- Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) or Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) or Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency with a mark of C or higher.
- Recognised degree of secondary education taught in English.
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
Note: register on time! You do not need to have completed your previous education when you apply. You can find the application deadlines 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 the 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 submit your completed questionnaire and the required documents by 1 July at the latest. If you complete the questionnaire after 1 July, there is no guarantee that we will be able to process your application for admission in time.
Step 3: Keep an eye on your mailbox
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.
- You will be granted conditional admission. This means that 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.
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?
Congratulations! Then go to the enrolment procedure and follow the steps to enrol.
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.