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Pre-Master’s programme

European Studies

The pre-Master’s programme European Studies is aimed at students who have a degree from a University of Applied Sciences (such as Dutch HBO) or an academic Bachelor’s degree that does not grant direct access to the tracks of the Master’s programme European Studies. This pre-Master's programme is taught in English.

Grants access to:

If you successfully complete the pre-Master’s programme within a year, you will automatically be admitted to the Master's programme you wish to pursue. However, you do need to complete the programme within one year, as you cannot start the Master's without fully meeting the entry requirements. After completing the pre-Master's programme you will not receive a diploma or certificate.

Programme

Please note: If you have obtained an academic Bachelor’s degree, you do not need to take the two Academic Skills courses (2 x 6 ECTS), which means that the programme will comprise 30 ECTS instead of 42 ECTS. Below you see the programme of the current academic year; the courses in the coming academic year may differ slightly. The Course Catalogue for the new academic year will be published in May.

You will follow one of the programmes listed below. All of them give access to all of the Master’s programmes listed above, but we strongly recommend that you choose the variant that corresponds with the Master’s you are looking to do.

Recommended for East European Studies

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Academic Skills pre-Master's
    12
  • 20th Century Russian and Soviet History
    6
  • The Trials of Communism: Justice and Ideology in Central-Eastern Europe
    6
  • Russian pop culture
    6
  • Philosophy of the Humanities 2: European Studies
    6
  • Post-Cold War Geopolitics and the Emergence of New States In Europe
    6
UvA Course Catalogue : pre-Master's East European Studies

Recommended for European Policy

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Academic Skills pre-Master's
    12
  • Multilevel Politics in the European Union and its Member States
    12
  • Technocracy and Democracy in the Economic and Monetary Union
    6
  • European Integration and the Rise of the Extreme Right
    6
  • Philosophy of the Humanities 2: European Studies
    6
UvA Course Catalogue: pre-Master's European Policy

Recommended for Identity and Integration

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Academic Skills pre-Master's
    12
  • Articulating Europe: Cultural Histories of a Political Idea
    12
  • The global 1970s: Contestation, Disillusion and Renewal
    6
  • Philosophy of the Humanities 2: European Studies
    6
  • Understanding Antisemitism: Antisemitic Tropes in Twentieth-Century Europe
    6
UvA Course Catalogue: pre-Master's Identity and Integration

Application deadlines

Please check the deadlines below very carefully, because they are strict. Missing one of the deadlines means that your application cannot be processed. 

  • I have a Dutch nationality

    Submit complete application (see step 2)
    15 May 2025, 23:59 CET

    Please make sure to start your application on time. Registration processing time in Studielink and MyInfo might take several days to complete, so make sure to do this well before the final deadline. We strongly recommend completing your registration in Studielink (step 1) before 8 May 2025, 23:59 CET due to the processing times.

  • I have an EU/EEA-nationality

    If you wish to apply for housing

    Submit complete application (see step 2)
    1 March 2025, 23:59 CET
     

    If you do NOT wish to apply for housing

    Submit complete application (see step 2)
    15 May 2025, 23:59 CET

    Please make sure to start your application on time. Registration processing time in Studielink and MyInfo might take several days to complete, so make sure to do this well before the final deadline. We strongly recommend completing your registration in Studielink (step 1) before either 23 February 2025, 23:59 CET (if you wish to apply for housing) or 8 May 2025, 23:59 CET (if you do not wish to apply for housing) due to the processing times.

     

  • I have a non-EU/EEA nationality

    Submit complete application (see step 2)
    1 March 2025, 23:59 CET

    Please make sure to start your application on time. Registration processing time in Studielink and MyInfo might take several days to complete, so make sure to do this well before the final deadline. We strongly recommend completing your registration in Studielink (step 1) before 23 February 2025, 23:59 CET due to the processing times.

    Important information regarding visa

    If you need a visa for your stay in the Netherlands, please note that the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) only issues visas to pre-Master's students for the duration of one year. If you do not complete the programme in one year, you cannot continue your studies anywhere in the Netherlands.

Application procedure

Your application to the Graduate School of Humanities always starts by submitting an enrolment request in Studielink and MyInfo application for the Master's programme you wish to pursue, even if you think you are eligible for the pre-Master’s programme.

An enrolment request in Studielink for the pre-Master’s programme alone is not sufficient and will not be taken into consideration.

  • 1. Submit an enrolment request in Studielink for the Master's European Studies

    All students applying will need to start their application by submitting an enrolment request in Studielink, the Dutch online system for students applying for a degree programme at a Dutch university.

    Applicants for the pre-Master's in European Studies need to submit an enrolment request in Studielink for the Master's in European Studies​. Please note: even if you think you are eligible for the pre-Master’s programme, you must start your application by submitting an enrolment request for the Master's in European Studies​.

    It is extremely important that you register in Studielink at least 48 hours before the application deadline (see above). This is to ensure that you receive your login information (UvAnetID) in time to fill in your UvA application in MyInfo (see step 3).

    Register via Studielink Enrol in the Master's in European Studies
  • 2. Pay the application fee (international prior education only)

    All students applying for a (pre-)Master’s programme with a non-Dutch degree must pay a non-refundable application fee of €100. The UvA cannot start processing your application until this fee has been paid. You can pay the application fee by credit card (Master or Visacard) or iDEAL.

    You do not have to pay the application fee:

    • If you have obtained or will obtain a Bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university or university of applied sciences (HBO);
    • If you have already applied and paid the application fee for another Master’s programme at the UvA for the academic year 2024-2025;
    • If you have already applied and paid the application fee for a Master's programme at the Graduate School of Humanities for the academic year 2023-2024;
    • If you have started a UvA Master’s programme in 2021, 2022 or 2023.
  • 3. Submit a complete application in MyInfo

    Complete all of the steps of the application process for the Master's programme, including the application in MyInfo and the submission of all required application documents. This includes proof of English/Dutch language proficiency that meets our requirements.

  • 4. Wait for the admission decision

    The Admissions Board will assess your prior education and determine whether you are directly admissible to the Master’s programme, admissible to the Master’s programme after first completing the pre-Master’s programme, or not admissible to the (pre)Master’s programme.

  • 5. After admission decision

    If you are admissible to the pre-Master’s programme, you will receive a letter of conditional admission with the steps you need to take to become fully enrolled.

    Please be aware that all pre-Master’s programmes offered by the Graduate School of Humanities must be completed within one academic year. Extensions are not possible.

Tuition fee for pre-Master's programmes

The tuition fee rate for a pre-Master’s programme in the academic year 2025-2026 is €43.35 per ECTS, with a maximum of €2,601. This means that for a 42 ECTS pre-Master’s programme, the fee is €1,820.70; for a 30 ECTS programme, the fee is €1,300.50.

Alternative routes

If you are following an academic Bachelor's programme, it may also be possible to fulfil the admission requirements for a Master's degree programme by completing a minor related to the Master's programme you wish to pursue during your Bachelor's, instead of a pre-Master's programme after finishing your Bachelor's. 

Minors in the Humanities
Facts & Figures
Mode
Full-time
Credits
30/42 ECTS, 12 months
Language of instruction
English
Conditions for admission
University of applied sciences degree (HBO)
Academic/research university degree (WO)
Starts in
September