Application and admission for HBO students

As a bachelor's student from a university of applied science (HBO), you need to complete a pre-master's first.

You may be considered for admission to the pre-master's programme if you have a certificate from a related technical bachelor’s at a university of applied sciences (HBO). You can only enter the Master's in Psychology after you have met the requirements of the pre-master's. The purpose of the pre-master's is to bring your knowledge up to the required level. The pre-master’s has a maximum study load of 45 EC.

Admission requirements

The pre-master’s for the specialisation in Positive Clinical Psychology & Technology (PCPT) is only open to students with a degree in:

Applied Psychology (Toegepaste Psychologie, 240 EC full-time programme only), including the clinical track (specialisatie Gezondheidspsychologie, voorheen Klinische Hoofdstroom) of Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Deventer, the Netherlands.

You must have obtained your HBO degree no longer than ten years ago.

After finishing the pre-master’s, students are not granted (direct) access to the PCPT master specialisation. Pre-master's students need to participate in the PCPT selection procedure (see below), together with (among others) bachelor's students that fulfil the admission requirements to obtain a ranking number.

Different educational background?
Do you have a different ‘hbo’ degree than is mentioned above? Perhaps one of our four Master's specialisations in Psychology will interest you!
Visit the admission page of these specialisations to find out if you are admissible for the pre-master’s.

Selection procedure

As of the academic year 2022-2023, the specialisation in PCPT uses a selection procedure. Only if you complete the pre-master’s programme, you will be invited to participate in the selection procedure.

Based on (the formal requirements and) the selection criteria, a selection committee decides on the ranking for admission. Candidates are given a ranking number on the placement list, and candidates with a ranking number up to the maximum number of available places (of 70 students) are offered a place in the PCPT specialization. Candidates can participate in the selection procedure no more than a maximum of three times.

Criteria of the selection procedure
The selection procedure is simple and transparent and aims to admit students who consciously choose the field of work of a health care psychologist and for whom the PCPT specialisation is a suitable programme. The following qualitative admission criteria will be assessed in the selection procedure, in two rounds:
Round 1
1. Technology in mental health care skills (40%) – Candidates have to complete an assignment concerning a challenge in mental health care for which they describe a research proposal.
2. Relevant earlier accomplishments (20%) – (Weighted mean) grade(s) for relevant/specific study components required for PCPT specialisation, obtained up to the time of submission.
Round 2 (selected 90 students, based on criteria 1 and 2)
1. Communication and reflection skills and intrinsic motivation (40%) – During a selection interview, the selection committee will ask questions (based on a pitch, previous performance and motivation) to assess these skills and motivation.
What if you have not been selected based on your ranking number?
Candidates who are not selected will be placed on the waiting list, in the order of their position on the placement list (according to ranking number). Candidates will be placed consecutively in the PCPT specialisation as long as places are vacated, until approximately two weeks before the start of the Master's.
Pre-master's students that have not been selected for the PCPT specialisation have the following options:
1. Take part in the selection procedure again, up to a maximum of three times in total.
2. Choose one of the other master specialisations instead of PCPT. To be able to choose/start one of these specialisations, pre-master's students need to include an additional 15 EC module in their pre-master's. This is a module that prepares you for the particular master specialisation CRS, HPT or EP. In that case, students take the Mental Health module that prepares for the PCPT specialisation in block 1B, and take the (additional) module that prepares for CRS, HPT or EP in block 1A (so before the Mental Health module). Please also read the information about the set-up of the pre-master’s carefully.
3. Take part in the selection procedure again, and if you are not selected for the PCPT master specialisation after three times, choose one of the other specialisations as described above.

Start dates & application deadline

After completing your HBO bachelor's and the pre-master's, you can start your Master's in Psychology in February or September.

The pre-master's starts every September and February. Keep an eye on the application deadline and check them prior to your application. Please note that, the deadline depends on the route you chose. For following the pre-master's during your HBO bachelor's – the so-called transfer minor – the deadline is earlier than the deadline when you wish to follow the pre-master's after the HBO programme.

During or after HBO?

You have the option to follow part of the pre-master's (45 EC) during your current HBO bachelor's within a transfer minor. In that case, you can fit 30 EC within your bachelor's, and continue with the other 15 EC after completing your bachelor's. It is an option worth considering as it saves you time and money, as you already pay tuition fees for your bachelor's. A second option is to first get your bachelor's degree and then transfer to this Master's via the pre-master's.

Do I need to apply for a pre-master's?

You don't need to apply for the pre-master's directly. You apply by signing up for this Master's. UT will alter this to a pre-master's registration. Once you are admitted, you get access to the pre-master's automatically.

Start your application

Follow the pre-master's after your HBO bachelor's? Start here!

How you apply, depends on whether you take the pre-master's during or after your HBO bachelor's. If you take (part of) the pre-master's during your bachelor's, you apply for a transfer minor via the Kies op Maat website. If you decide to do the Pre-Master's after completing your bachelor's, you apply via Studielink.