Continue after Dutch WO | Pre-master | MSc University of Twente

Have you completed a university-level bachelor’s (WO) at a Dutch university, and do you want to further specialise by taking a master’s degree? Smart move! You can choose a master’s that is the direct follow-up to your bachelor's or you can choose a master's programme in a slightly different field or at a different institution.

Do I have to do a pre-master’s?

Your university bachelor's will not always grant you direct access to the master's of your choice. To improve your skills and to acquire the additional knowledge before starting your master's, it might be necessary to complete a pre-master's first, to ensure that you meet the programme aims of the master's within 60 EC or 120 EC.

Every master's has its own pre-master's that prepares you for the master's programme of your choice. You will thus need to complete the pre-master's at the institution that offers the master's programme in question, which in this case is the University of Twente. The study workload, or number of EC the pre-master's consists of, depends on your previous education and will not be the same for everyone. Pre-master's programmes for university students range between 15-60 EC.

Two ways of making the transfer

When you’ve completed your bachelor’s at a research university and you have to take a pre-master’s, you have two options: you can either do your pre-master’s after or during your bachelor’s.

Doing a pre-master's after your bachelor's

You can choose to first get your university bachelor's degree and then transfer to the master's of your choice. This means that, if you do not have direct access, you will first have to complete the pre-master's before you can start the master's programme. On top of the one-year or two-year master's you will have to take additional time for the pre-master's into account. Once you have successfully completed the pre-master's, you can continue with the master's in September or February in some cases.

Tuition fee

The tuition fee for the pre-master’s depends on the length of the programme. You pay a fixed fee per credit.

How to apply

It is important to know that if you choose to do a pre-master’s after completing your current bachelor’s, you need to register for the master’s – not for the corresponding pre-master’s. To apply for a master’s, go to Studielink. Our admission board will assess your application and then change your registration to a pre-master’s. To learn more about admission requirements, application deadlines and other details, go to the programme page for the master’s you want to enrol in.

Start your application!

Doing a pre-master's during your bachelor's

If you already decided that you wish to continue your studies in a different field during your university bachelor's, you could make your pre-master's part of your bachelor's in the shape of a minor. This saves you time – you can immediately transfer to the master's of your choice – and costs – you will not pay extra for the pre-master's because you are already paying tuition for your bachelor's.

To include (part of) a pre-master's as a minor you will need the approval of the admission boards of the intended master's and of your current university bachelor's. Your current bachelor's has to agree to you including the pre-master in your curriculum. Be sure to ask about the possibilities beforehand.

How to apply

If you are a current UT student and would like to apply for a transfer minor at UT, get in touch with your study adviser. If you are currently studying at another research university, you can apply as a subsidiary subject student. To register as a subsidiary subject student, you need to fill in the application form (hard copy) and send it to the address listed below, together with the following documents:

· Original Proof of Tuition Fees Paid (available from the central student administration of the university where you paid your tuition fees).

· Valid copy of your passport/ID card.

· Recently updated academic transcript from your current university.

Addres:

You can send the form (including supplements) to this address:
University of Twente
Student Services – Vrijhof 239B
Drienerlolaan 5
7522 NB Enschede

Am I eligible for admission?

In order to be admitted to a master’s or pre-master’s, you must meet certain requirements, which differ per master’s. The specific admission requirements for each master’s are available through the programme pages. It should also be noted that a university-level bachelor’s degree does not grant admission to every pre-master’s or master’s. You are only eligible for admission if your bachelor’s degree is in a related field of study. Do you want to know which (pre-)master’s you can enrol in with your bachelor’s degree? Find out with our transfer tool!