Companies and People: how they work, what roles they play
Then the MSc programme in Business Administration is the programme for you!
Please visit the curriculum page to see what additional requirements apply to your specific specialization and then follow the steps below.
We welcome motivated and ambitious students who are actively developing themselves and are aware of their position and role in society. In order to be successful in this programme you will need a solid academic basis in, for instance, (International) Business Administration, Economics, Industrial Engineering & Management or related disciplines.
Admission requirements
With a Bachelor's degree in (International) Business Administration, Economics or Econometrics and Operations Research from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam you are admissible provided you are strongly motivated and successfully meet the requirements in this document.
Services for international (EBE, EOR,IBA) students / Residence permit:
If you are planning to continue your studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam after your SBE Bachelor, please contact the Central Admission’s Support Team of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for further information and specific questions about the offered services for international students like extending your residence permit. You will need to apply for extension of your residence permit if you continue your studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Admission requirements
Please visit the curriculum page to see what additional requirements apply to your specific specialization and then follow the steps under the head ‘’Application procedure with a Dutch degree’’.
Apply for your preferred master programme via Studielink and complete the application via VU.nl to receive an admission decision. This is completely without obligations. If you need to complete additional courses in order to become admissible, the admission decision will explain how you can do so.
With a Bachelor's degree in (International) Business Administration, Economics or Econometrics and Operations Research from a Dutch university you can review your admissibility here.
Please note: the information in the abovementioned table is only meant as an indication of your admissibility. No rights can be derived from this table. This document is based on the obligatory courses and does not take electives into account. Students are recommended to apply for the Master via Studielink (without obligation) to find out if additional courses need to be completed. Every application will be reviewed individually by the Admission Board. The final admission decision may differ from the indication in this table. If your programme is not listed, please feel free to apply.
You will gain direct admission after completing the pre-master's programme; this is a full-time programme with courses on at least three days per week.
Pre-master's programme
The pre-master's programme is a deficiency programme that provides the necessary knowledge and prepares you for this master's programme. It is a 30 EC program that takes place in the second semester, from February through July. These courses involve both content as well as academic skills and knowledge, and research methods.
Course details in the study guide
Admission requirements
In order to be admitted to the pre-master’s programme you must have:
- a bachelor’s degree from a business or economics faculty from an NVAO accredited institute of Higher Education
AND
- a GPA of 7.5 or higher, calculated over the last three years.
If you do not meet these admission requirements you can remedy / eliminate these deficiencies by submitting a recent GMAT with a score of 550 or higher, or an equivalent GRE test.
GMAT
If you don’t meet the admission requirements of GPA and faculty, you can be admitted to the pre-master's programme by submitting a ‘Graduate Management Admission Test’ (GMAT) with a combined score of at least 550 for the parts Verbal and Quantitative.
Also note the following:
- The score may not be older than five years, counted from the date you start with the pre-master's
- The Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing Assessment score do not count for admission
Please fill in the test that 'Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam' may receive your score. The official score will be sent by GMAT to VU. Please note that it may take up to 20 calendar days for the VU to receive your GMAT score, so plan GMAT on time.
You can also submit a ‘Graduate Record Examinations’ (GRE) score for the parts Verbal and Quantitative to satisfy the GMAT score requirement. To convert your GRE score to its GMAT equivalent, use the GRE Comparison Tool!
Costs pre-master's
Go to this page for more information about tuition fee rates for pre-master's.
Deadlines and application
The programme starts each year in February, you must have completed your application before 31 January.
To enroll in the programme submit your enrolment application via Studielink. Please note: in Studielink you can apply for the Master in Business Administration and in your VU-Dashboard you can select your specialization.
Step 1:
Apply for the MSc programme Business Administration via Studielink before 1 June. You can apply for the specialization in your VU-Dashboard (see step 2)
Step 2:
Please complete your application in your VU-Dashboard by answering additional questions and affirming your choice for the specialization. Furthermore you need to upload:
Please note: we can only process your application when your choice of specialization is clear and your documents are uploaded.
More information regarding registration WO-bachelors, see the VU website (in Dutch).
Step 1:
Apply for the MSc programme Business Administration via Studielink before 1 June. You can apply for the specialization in you VU-Dashboard (see step 2)
Step 2:
After applying for the programme in studielink you will receive a VUnet-ID and password. Please complete your application in your VU-Dashboard by answering additional questions and affirming your choice for the specialization. Furthermore you need to upload:
- a formal transcript of your bachelor grades. Your transcript must include an average score (GPA).
- a motivation letter in English in which you explain why you want to pursue a Master’s programme in this Business Administration specialization (max 1 A4)
- a recent resume in English
Please note: we can only process your application when your choice of specialization is clear and your documents are uploaded.
Step 3:
The admission committee will assess your application and decide whether you are admissible. You will be informed about this decision via email.
More information regarding registration WO-bachelors, see the VU website (in Dutch).
Please visit the curriculum page to see the additional requirements that apply to each specialization, and then follow the steps below to apply.
The admission board wants to stress the intensity of the programme: reading scientific articles and writing papers will be a key part, all in a very high pace. Your English language skills, both oral and written, are extremely important in this programme. As you will have to communicate frequently with your fellow students and you will be working with and for international companies.
If you are applying for one of our English-taught Master's degree programmes you will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency by submitting English test results.
Although complete applications are preferred, you can begin your application before you have completed the test and then submit your passing score once you have been conditionally admitted.
You can find an overview of all accepted tests and scores that can be used to demonstrate your English language proficiency on the language requirement page.
To apply you are required to provide the following documents:
After having prepared the required documents, please follow the online application procedure.
All students seeking admission to an international Master’s programme with an international degree are required to pay a non-refundable €100 application fee. Only after you have paid this fee will we be able to start the evaluation of your application file. If you are applying for more than one programme, you will only need to pay the application fee once. Your application fee payment is valid for two years.
Information on how to apply with an international university degree and deadlines can be found here.
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.
Our International Student and Alumni Ambassadors are happy to tell you all about their experiences with studying at VU Amsterdam and living in Amsterdam.
You will find the full overview of our Ambassadors here: vu.nl/ambassadors. There you can chat with them directly.
Applying for the pre-master's programme directly is not possible. All international students are required to apply for the Master's programme of their choice first. If you do not meet the admission requirements directly, the Admission Board might refer you to the pre-master's programme. After completing the pre-master's programme you are directly eligible for the Master's programme.
The pre-master's programme is a deficiency programme that provides the necessary knowledge and skills to prepare you for this Master's programme. It is a programme of 30 ECTS that is offered in the second semester, from February through July. Content details of the offered pre-master's can be found here.
Admission requirements for the pre-master's programme
Deadlines and application
The programme starts 1 February. Because of visa application deadlines, non-EU citizens must have submitted their application before 1 November. EU citizens or students with a valid residence permit for the Netherlands have until January 31st to complete their application. However, to make sure everything is arranged before the enrolment deadline it is advised to submit your application well before this date.
Note: When applying, you can find the pre-master's programme in Studielink after selecting Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and by entering ‘pre-master's’ in the search bar.
Can I be admitted into an SBE Master with my Dutch university degree?
The admission board can make a decision regarding your admissibility based on several documents. Apply for the Master via Studielink and complete your application on the VU-Dashboard by uploading the required documents. Some Master programmes require additional documents such as an English CV and motivation letter, as well as your transcript of records. You will receive an admission decision within a couple of weeks after completing your application. Registration for the Master via Studielink is without obligation and does not commit you to anything yet.
I have a higher vocational (HBO) degree. Do I need to complete the pre-master's before I can start with an SBE Master?
Yes, we require all students with an HBO higher vocational Bachelor degree to complete the corresponding pre-master's before they can start with the Master. More information on the pre-master's can be found here.
I have a higher vocational (HBO) degree and wish to start with an SBE Master that does not have a specific pre-master's (MSc Econometrics & Operations Research, MSc Economics, MSc Spatial, Transport and Environmental Economics). How do I apply?
Please send your transcript of records directly to admissions.sbe@vu.nl/ toelating.sbe@vu.nl. Make sure the name of your education and institution are visible.
I do not want to start with a master in the next academic year, but the year after. How do I know if I am eligible?
You can still apply for the Master that starts in the next academic year via Studielink. Registration for the Master is without obligation and does not commit you to anything yet. If you need to complete additional courses in order to be admissible, you can do so during the next academic year. Because the admission decisions are valid for one year, make sure to check in advance if the admission requirements have not changed.
I am already completing a Master at a Dutch university. Can I be directly admitted into one of the SBE Masters?
You cannot be automatically admitted into one of the SBE Masters. First, your application needs to be reviewed by the admission board of the Master in the same way as all Bachelor students. Please apply for the Master via Studielink and upload all required documents. You can use an online PDF merger to upload both your Bachelor grades and (preliminary) Master grades.
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