Frequently Asked Questions

The Master Honours programme is open for all motivated and ambitious Master students of the University of Twente, as long as you remain a full-time student throughout the entirety of your participation in your Master Honours track (in other words, your graduation must always come after the completion of the Master Honours track in order to process your diploma supplement correctly). One exception to this is the Research Honours track, which is conencted to your graduation thesis and can therefore only be followed in the last year of your studies. Furthermore, there is a selection procedure for each Master Honours track before you can take part in the programme. More information about the selection procedure and the requirements can be found on the dedicated pages of each track.  

Depending on the track there may be (evening) lectures or other sessions. The meeting moments are all communicated on the dedicated track pages or within the application process. On top of the sessions, there is some course preparation, self-study, and project work to be done in your own time. On average, participating in the Master Honours programme will cost you about 12 hours a week.

There are no additional costs for participating in the Honours programme. Books and other materials needed for the lectures will be provided to you by the Honours Office.

Within the Honours programme, you will only have projects, assignments, essays and presentations. We test skills and the application of knowledge into a field, not the knowledge in themselves. There are, therefore, no exams in the Honours programme. All examinations are pass/fail based, there are no grades registered for the Honours programme.

You can apply for the Master Honours programme during your entire Master study/studies, as long as you remain a student for the entirety of the Master Honours track (in other words, your graduation should be after completion of the Master Honours programme). Please note that for the Research Honours track, there is a connection to your graduation thesis, meaning that you can only join this track during the last year of your Master studies.

In general, we do not expect any specific background knowledge. You will learn everything you need during your time on the track. We do expect students to have a minimum English level of C1 (i.e. the ability to express yourself and hold scientific/topic specific discussions in English, both in written and oral form) at the moment of enrollment. Your adherence to this minimum language requirement may be evaluated during a selection interview.

As the Master Honours tracks do not all start at the same moment (see the dedicated track pages), it is not possible to switch from one track to another that has already started. Only before the start of a track may any student enrol.

In general, we expect students who apply for the Honours programme to successfully finish the full programme in time. If you do not manage to complete the full 15 EC, you will not receive an Honours Certificate nor the Honours Pin. The Honours courses you finished successfully will be added as extra courses in your regular Master programme: finished courses will not get lost. 

Honours education takes place on-campus. As we are a very small and personal programme, we are very eager to keep providing in-person lectures whenever possible. For special situations and events, we can sometimes facilitate blended or hybrid education, allowing students and guests to join online. This is always in consultation by the teacher or coordinator of the track.

The Honours programmes do not interfere with your regular studies. All Honours education is held outside of regular study hours (e.g. evening lectures). The Honours programme does require additional time investment from its students, but in our experience, students who are admitted to the programme will benefit strongly from the programme rather than experience any hinder from it.

A master's student can participate in only one Master Honours programme at the University of Twente throughout their studies. You can not join simultaneous or consecutive Master Honours programmes, even if you are following a double-degree master. 

As the Master Honours tracks are highly focused on individual development throughout the programme, it is not possible to participate in a single course of the Master Honours programme.

It is generally not possible to pause your Honours education. However, special circumstances may occur, for which we try to be as cooperative as possible. In such cases, please get in contact with the Honours Office. If needed, the Honours exam committee will decide if a request for exception is granted.

If you have another question, please contact the Honours Office.