Artificial Intelligence

Check whether you meet the programme requirements and apply

• Coronavirus: additional information admission

  IMPORTANT: CORONA VIRUS UPDATE

  Generally speaking, students must complete their Bachelor’s or pre-Master’s before starting on their Master’s programme. This is known as the ‘BSc-before-MSc rule’. Due to the corona crisis, however, some students have had to partially stop their studies, resulting in an unfortunate delay.

  There has been examined how an exception to this BSc-before-MSc rule can be made possible for Master’s programmes at VU Amsterdam. This means that, under certain conditions, students who are lacking credits for no more than a few courses including their bachelor project, will still be able to start their Master’s at VU Amsterdam next year. This is a one-off measure. The missing credits must be completed during the 2022-2023 academic year, in other words no later than August 31, 2023. Please read carefully below which rules apply for admission into this Master’s programme.

  The following rules apply this year for admission into this Master’s programme:

  Target group	Number of EC at least achieved / % EC achieved
  Bachelor students at a Dutch University (incl. VU)	150 EC
  Current premaster students	24 EC
  HBO bachelor students	210 EC

  Please note that, apart from the rules above, the following passages are still applicable and must be met to be considered for admission into the Master’s programme:

  • Admission criteria / requirements that are not EC related
  • English language proficiency requirements

  Do you want to start a Master’s programme in September? Then complete the form for exceptional admission to a Master’s programme.

• I have a Dutch university level (WO) Bachelor’s degree (VU Bachelor’s degree, VU premaster or Bachelor’s degree at another university)

  Admission to this Master's programme is open to students with a Bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence or students from Computer Science or Psychology. The student is assumed to have programming skills (Python or Java), to have general knowledge of Artificial Intelligence and a basic working knowledge of computer science, logic, mathematics, and psychology. Under specific circumstances other students may also be admissible. Applicants without an Artificial intelligence or Computer Science Bachelor's degree are required to take this Programming test in Python.

  A prerequisite of the master AI is that you have programming skills. This test is developed for checking whether you have the right level of programming skills. This test is obligatory if you do not have an Artificial Intelligence or Computer Science Bachelor's degree. You have to pass this test for entering our master program. If needed, we recommend using this book as a reference point, and this (online) course.

• I have a Dutch higher vocational education (HBO) Bachelor’s degree (premaster)

  Under specific circumstances students who do not have a background in AI or computer science may also be admissible. Students with other diplomas, University or University of Applied Science, who are kindly invited to contact us if interested in following a Premaster's programme at our Department. 

  In general, the premaster's programme Artificial Intelligence (AI) is intended for students with a University of Applied Sciences degree in an AI-related direction that does not provide direct access to the Master's programme AI. For further information regarding procedures on composing the Pre-Masters' programme for Dutch University of Applied Sciences graduates see also this page (Dutch).

  Premaster's programme
  After completing the premaster's programme, you can enroll in the Master's programme AI. A course package of up to 30 ECTS, dependent on the deficiencies is compiled for each individual student. The premaster must be completed in one academic year. 

  Do not forget to include your list of marks and CV. On the basis of this it will be determined whether you can be admitted to the premaster. 

  General language proficiency requirements
  The general requirements regarding language proficiency are found here. 

• Application with a Dutch degree

  Enthusiastic about this programme? And do you meet the admission requirements? Find out how to apply.

  If you want to apply for a Master's programme at VU Amsterdam, the application procedure depends on your previous degree(s) and whether you obtained your diploma in the Netherlands or abroad. You find all information about the application procedure with a Dutch or international degree on the application page.

  The application deadlines are:

  • 1 February for international students applying for one of the VU scholarships 
  • 1 April for non-EU/EEA students*
  • 1 June for non-Dutch EU/EEA students
  • 1 June for holders of a Dutch bachelor’s degree (with a Dutch or EU/EEA nationality)

  *non-EU/EEA students who do not need a study visa and/or a residence permit can still apply until 1 June.

  Required documents 

  This Master’s programme requires students with a Dutch bachelor's degree to upload the following documents on VUweb. You can find an explanation of each document on the application page for international students. All documents should be provided in English.

  • Bachelor's transcript*
  • Sufficient programming test result

  For documents marked with an *: these need to be uploaded before the application deadline mentioned above. If this document is missing, the application cannot be assessed by the Admission Board. Documents submitted after the application deadline will not be accepted.

• I have an international degree

  The Artificial Intelligence programme is open to both Dutch and international students. The Faculty’s Admission Board will decide upon your admission after having evaluated your complete online application.

  In order to gain admission to the Artificial Intelligence Master’s programme, you will need to have at least a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited research university including at least three full years of academic study amounting to a minimum of 180 ECTS or equivalent. We do not require a GRE or GMAT test score. A Bachelor's degree obtained at an applied university or higher vocational education (HBO in Dutch) in most cases does not grant direct access to the programme (only exceptionally high ranking students stand a chance of admission).

  Specific requirements for the Artificial Intelligence Master's programme
  Admission to this Master's programme is open to students with a Bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence or students from Computer Science or Psychology. The student is assumed to have programming skills (Python or Java), to have a general knowledge of Artificial Intelligence and a basic working knowledge of computer science, logic, mathematics, and psychology. Applicants without an Artificial intelligence or Computer Science Bachelor Degree are required to take this Programming test in Python.

  A prerequisite of the Master's AI is that you have programming skills. This test is developed for checking whether you have the right level of programming skills.  This test is obligatory  if you do not have an Artificial Intelligence or Computer Science Bachelor's degree. You have to pass this test for entering our master program. If needed, we recommend using this book as a reference point, and this (online) course.

  English language requirements
  VU Amsterdam requires all applicants to take an English test. You can, however, begin your application without having the test results. Exceptions are made for students who have completed their education in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia.

  The minimum English language proficiency requirements for admission to this Master's programme are:

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall
  • TOEFL Internet-based test: 92 overall
  • Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE): A, B, C
  • Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): A, B, C

  Please note that students who need a study visa must submit their English test and Programming Test results before 1 June. All other students have to submit the test certificate before 31 August (preferably sooner).

  TOEFL and IELTS tests must have been completed no more than two years before 1 September of the year in which your course starts. Note that TOEFL MyBestScore is not accepted. Our institution code is 7947.

  A PDF copy of your English test result can be sent to the following email (for non-Dutch degree holders): masters.fs@vu.nl
  The general requirements regarding language proficiency are found here.

• Application with an international degree

  Required format and required documents
  Please note: you will need to upload all required documents in one PDF file, using this Application Form Template.
  Please check here which documents you need to submit for this specific Master's programme.

  After having prepared the required documents, please follow the online application procedure.

  For more information, international students may also contact the International Student Advisors: masters.fs@vu.nl.

  Grants and scholarships
  As an international student planning to study at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, you can apply for a variety of grants and bursaries. Detailed information about scholarships and deadlines can be found on www.vu.nl/scholarships or www.grantfinder.nl. 

  International Student and Alumni Ambassadors
  Our International Student and Alumni Ambassadors are happy to tell you all about their experiences with studying at VU Amsterdam and living in Amsterdam.

  • Our Student Ambassadors are current students at VU Amsterdam that represent a wide variety of programmes and countries.
  • Our International Alumni Ambassadors are VU Amsterdam graduates who are currently either working in the Netherlands or abroad, or doing a PhD or (second) Master's.

  You will find the full overview of our Ambassadors here: vu.nl/ambassadors. There you can chat with them directly.

• Additional costs

  Master students Artificial Intelligence will have to spend approximately 200 euro per year for buying books. Students are expected to possess a laptop computer, running either Windows 10 or mac OSX, for participating in educational activities (which comes down to approx. 300 euro per academic year).