Entry requirements
Business Administration
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International applicants
The online application is now closed for our international applicants. The entry requirements specified below apply to the September 2015 Intake. These may be subject to change for the September 2016 Intake. We will update the requirements in October 2016.
1. Academic Bachelor's degree
Below you can find information on which educational background applicants need in order to be eligible for admission. Please note that we will only assess an applicants' eligibility to the programme after we have received a submitted application. Questions about eligibility will not be answered by email or telephone.
Applicants are required to hold an academic Bachelor's degree (BSc or BA) in
Business Studies, Business Administration or Commerce. Quantitative courses like
mathematics and/or statistics and research oriented courses must be included in
the Bachelor's curriculum. In addition, applicants must also have attended
business courses in Strategy and Organisation, and Marketing Management.
Please note that a Bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences, a
Fachhochschule (Germany) or Polytechnic will not be taken into
consideration, and that specific entry requirements apply to
Chinese students and
African
students.
2. Motivation and initiative
Applicants are expected to have the intrinsic motivation to test and build upon this knowledge. Coursework is designed in keeping with this expectation and demands significant personal initiative and an active contribution on the part of the student.
3. English language proficiency
We require evidence of English language proficiency:
- Minimum score TOEFL test: 92, at least 20 on each sub-score (237 computer-based/580 paper-based test, reporting number 0398)
- Minimum score IELTS-test: 6.5, at least 6 on each sub-score
- Minimum score Cambridge International Examinations: A (FCE), B (CAE), B (CPE)
Applicants with a Dutch Bachelor’s degree, or who have obtained their diploma or degree in a country where English is the native language are exempted from the English proficiency test. For more information on test procedures and exemptions see here.
4. GMAT
A GMAT is compulsory for applicants to the Master's programme in Business Administration. For general information about the GMAT please refer to the pdf below. For registration please refer to the GMAT website. The institution code for GMAT is 0500, Amsterdam Business School, Master Business Administration.
Exemptions
Students that come from one of our partner universities are exempted from
taking the GMAT test. Please refer to the
list
of partner universities.
5. Referee
Applicants are expected to invite at least one academic referee to submit their reference online. Please make sure that your referee has agreed to write a recommendation before you register the referee's details. Your references should refer to your academic experience (e.g. coming from a former teacher etc.).
Applicants from another Dutch faculty/university
For the September 2015 intake admission is selective. Due to the large interest in our MSc Business Administration among students with a Dutch degree we have decided to open our application procedure already at 1 February. The application deadline will remain 1 June. Please provide us with the most recent transcript of your academic results in your application package. All applicants will be informed before 15 June whether they are eligible and could be selected for the MSc in Business Administration. The selection by the Admissions Board will be based on an assessment of either GPA or GMAT score, educational background and motivation. Meeting the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee a place in the programme, however, learning from last year's admissions numbers, you have a very good chance of being selected if you meet our minimum entry requirements.
1. GPA or GMAT score
All students applying for the September 2015 intake are required to obtain either
- a GPA of at least a 7.0 (see below how to calculate your GPA), or
- a GMAT score of minimum 600 .
In your online application you need to either submit a GPA calculation or a sufficient GMAT score report before the application deadline of 1 June.
For general information about the GMAT please refer to the pdf below. For registration please refer to the GMAT website. The institution code for GMAT is 0500, Amsterdam Business School, Master Business Administration.
The UvA has a partnership with Mindful GMAT. They provide GMAT preparation courses at the UvA.
2. Academic Bachelor's degree
Below you can find information on which educational background applicants need in order to be eligible for admission. Your Bachelor’s curriculum must include 15 EC in Academic Research with a minimum of 10 EC on Quantitative courses like mathematics and/or statistics. In addition, applicants must also have attended business courses in Strategy and Organisation (5 EC), Marketing Management (5 EC) and another relevant business course at 3rd year level.
- All students holding an academic Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from a Dutch university are eligible to apply for admission to the Master's programme.
- Certain other Bachelor's degrees are also eligible to apply for admissions to the MSc in Business Administration programme.
- Students with other Dutch academic degrees might be eligible for admission if they have obtained relevant Quantitative and Business courses (see above).
Pre-Master's students from RSM, RUG or VU
Limited places are available for pre-Master's students Business Administration from the RSM, VU or RUG, and therefore a selection procedure is in place. You can only apply if you will complete all of the courses of the pre-Master's programme and have obtained a minimum GPA of 7.5. The Admissions Committee will carefully review all of the applications shortly after the application deadline.
Students from the NHTV Strategic Business Management and Marketing programme
If this group of students from the NHTV have finished their academic minor as part of their final curriculum and diploma, they have direct admission to our MSc in Business Administration without any further conditions such as a minimum GPA or GMAT.
No direct admission
Students holding one of these university Bachelor's degrees that do not give direct admission to the MSc in Business Administration, might be eligible for the pre-Master's programme.
3. Motivation and initiative
Applicants are expected to have the intrinsic motivation to test and build upon this knowledge. Coursework is designed in keeping with this expectation and demands significant personal initiative and an active contribution on the part of the student. Students for the September 2015 intake are asked to upload a motivation letter in their online application.
4. Submit your application
If you meet all the minimum entry requirements as stated in step 1-3, you can apply to the programme. An application needs to be done through our online application form which will be available on this website from 1 April - 1 June for the September intake. Do not apply through Studielink, this is not sufficient! At first instance, you need to apply on our website through the Embark system.
Only after you have been admitted to the Master's programme, you also need to register yourself in Studielink. We will inform you in the conditional acceptance e-mail how you need to register in Studielink.
The following documents are required for the application in the Embark system:
- CV
- Certified copy of your transcript of grades up to present
- GPA calculation or GMAT score
- Letter of motivation
Applicants from a Dutch university of applied sciences (HBO)
If you hold a Bachelor's degree from a Dutch university of applied sciences you cannot be unconditionally admitted to the Master's programme in Business Administration. For certain HBO Bachelor's a pre-Master's programme is available.
Applicants from the College of Economics and Business (UvA)
Unconditionally eligible
Students holding the following Bachelor's degree are unconditionally eligible to the programme:
- BSc in Economie en Bedrijfskunde / Economics and Business (UvA)
Students that have obtained and completed the following programmes are also unconditionally eligible:
- Pre-Master's programme Business Administration (UvA)
- Transition minor Business Administration: students who have started before 1 September 2014 and will complete this programme before or during the academic year 2014-2015 are eligible for unconditional admission as long as they start the MSc in Business Administration before or during academic year 2015-2016.
- Pre-Master's in the HvA minor programme
Please note that students with the minor Entrepeneurship are not unconditionally eligible for admission.
Conditionally eligible:
Students holding one of the following programmes are conditionally eligible to the Master’s programme and need to meet the same selection criteria as applicants from another Faculty/Dutch university (see above) in order to be eligible for admission to the MSc in Business Administration:
- Students who have started the transition minor Business Administration after 1 September 2014.
- BSc in Actuariële wetenschappen
- BSc in Econometrie & Operationele Research
- BSc in Fiscale Economie