Create new medicines from a chemical perspective
Then the Master’s in Drug Discovery Sciences is the programme for you. Check whether you meet the admission requirements and find out how to apply.
In order to gain admission to the Drug Discovery Sciences 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.
The Master’s programme in Drug Discovery Sciences is open to students:
Important: all prospective Drug Discovery Sciences students without a BSc in VU Pharmaceutical Sciences may be required to have an intake interview to check eligibility for admission with the admission board. You will receive an invitation if this is required. If an interview takes place, you should be prepared to reflect on the grades and laboratory skills you obtained in your BSc programme, most notably for those courses relevant for the master specialisation chosen. You are expected to show research experience of essential relevance for the chosen master specialization. Furthermore, the material highlighted in the matrix should be mastered at bachelor end-level. Without the approval of the admission board you cannot be admitted to the Master's programme.
Apply for the Master's programme via Studielink and complete your application in your personal VU dashboard. After we have received the requested documents, the admission board will decide whether you can be invited for the intake interview. Please note that you cannot do the intake interview before your application is complete.
*Similar relevant programmes need to cover the required knowledge stated below for students to be eligible in the Master's programme in Drug Discovery Sciences.
Mastering of the material highlighted in the matrix is judged by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master’s coordinator will determine if you meet these requirements.
1. Biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and pharmacology, including techniques such as protein expression, purification, mutagenesis. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbooks Essential Cell Biology (Alberts et al.), chapters 1-16, and Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry (Patrick), chapters 1-18.
2. Pharmacokinetics, enzyme kinetics and pharmaceutical toxicology. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Pharmacology (Rang & Dale), chapters 1-10 & 21-26.
3. Analytical chemistry, including techniques such as HPLC, spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, NMR, mass spectrometry. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Quantitative Chemical Analysis (Harris), chapters 1-10, 17-25.
4. Organic chemistry, including practical laboratory experience with organic chemical techniques. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Organic Chemistry (Clayden et al.), chapters 1-30.
5. Physical chemistry. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences. Peter Atkins and Julio de Paula, chapters 1-4.
For the different specialisations there are different requirements for the amount of knowledge (+) in the above-mentioned fields, as indicated below.
| Track | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Molecular Pharmacology | ++ | ++ | + | ||
| Molecular Toxicology | ++ | ++ | ++ | ||
| Synthesis of Drugs | + | + | ++ | + | |
| Computer-Aided Drug Design | + | + | ++ | ||
| Bioanalytics | ++ | + | ++ |
A Bachelor degree obtained at a (Dutch) applied university* in some cases also grants access to the programme. A Bachelor 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).
Important: prospective Drug Discovery Sciences students may be required to have an intake interview to check eligibility for admission with the admission board. You will receive an invitation if this is required. If an interview takes place, you should be prepared to reflect on the grades and laboratory skills you obtained in your BSc programme, most notably for those courses relevant for the master specialisation chosen. You are expected to show research experience of essential relevance for the chosen master specialization. Furthermore, the material highlighted in the matrix should be mastered at bachelor end-level. Without the approval of the admission board you cannot be admitted to the Master's programme.
Apply for the Master's programme via Studielink and complete your application in your personal dashboard on vu.nl. After we have received the requested documents, the admission board will decide whether you can be invited for the intake interview. Please note that you cannot do the intake interview before your application is complete.
VU Amsterdam requires international applicants and students with a HBO degree, to take an English language test and to submit their score as a part of the application. Exceptions are made for students who have completed their education in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia or who have obtained an international Baccalaureate or European Baccalaureate diploma.
If you are an HBO graduate, you do not have to take a pre-master's assessment to get admission to the Master's programme in Drug Discovery Sciences. Instead, the admission board will judge your admissibility based on your transcript. If an interview takes place, you should be prepared to reflect on the grades and laboratory skills you obtained in your BSc programme, most notably for those courses relevant for the master specialisation chosen. You are expected to show research experience of essential relevance for the chosen master specialization. Furthermore, the material highlighted in the matrix should be mastered at bachelor end-level. Without the approval of the admission board you cannot be admitted to the master programme. A Bachelor 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). An English language test is required. If you fulfill all requirements, the Master's coordinator will give you a declaration stating that you do not need to take the pre-master's assessment. Send in this declaration with your application form.
*Similar relevant programmes need to cover the required knowledge stated below for students to be eligible in the Master Drug Discovery Sciences.
Mastering of the material highlighted in the matrix is judged by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master’s coordinator will determine if you meet these requirements.
1. Biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and pharmacology, including techniques such as protein expression, purification, mutagenesis. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbooks Essential Cell Biology (Alberts et al.), chapters 1-16, and Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry (Patrick), chapters 1-18.
2. Pharmacokinetics, enzyme kinetics and pharmaceutical toxicology. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Pharmacology (Rang & Dale), chapters 1-10 & 21-26.
3. Analytical chemistry, including techniques such as HPLC, spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, NMR, mass spectrometry. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Quantitative Chemical Analysis (Harris), chapters 1-10, 17-25.
4. Organic chemistry, including practical laboratory experience with organic chemical techniques. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Organic Chemistry (Clayden et al.), chapters 1-30.
5. Physical chemistry. An indication of the expected knowledge is given by textbook Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences. Peter Atkins and Julio de Paula, chapters 1-4.
For the different specializations there are different requirements for the amount of knowledge (+) in the above-mentioned fields, as indicated below.
| Track | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Molecular Pharmacology | ++ | ++ | + | ||
| Molecular Toxicology | ++ | ++ | ++ | ||
| Synthesis of Drugs | + | + | ++ | + | |
| Computer-Aided Drug Design | + | + | ++ | ||
| Bioanalytics | ++ | + | ++ |
Students with a HBO degree (in Dutch) must take an English Language Test. Check the requirements and exemptions on the webpage.
You can also submit the result of the English language test after you have been conditionally accepted, the deadline for submitting the test result is August 31st. Please send a scan of your test result to toelating.beta@vu.nl. For more information see under the heading ‘Application with a Dutch degree’ below.
The Drug Discovery Sciences 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. You find all information about the general application procedure with a Dutch degree on the application page.
The application deadline is:
1 June for holders of a Dutch bachelor’s degree (with a Dutch or EU/EEA nationality).
Your application will be rejected in case you didn’t upload the required documents in ‘your dashboard’ within 6 weeks after your enrolment in Studielink, OR in case you’ve uploaded (one or more) of the required documents after June 1st. Applications and documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
Required documents (deadline June 1st)
This Master’s programme requires students with a Dutch bachelor's degree to upload the following documents as soon as possible and in any case 6 weeks after your enrolment and before 1 June.
Your online dashboard gives you an overview of the submitted and missing documents. Check your dashboard regularly.
Additional required document (only for HBO students, deadline August 31st)
You can also submit the result of the English language test after you have been conditionally accepted, the deadline for submitting the test result is August 31st. Please send a scan of your test result to toelating.beta@vu.nl.
The Drug Discovery Sciences 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 Drug Discovery Sciences 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 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).
You can gain direct admission to the Master's programme Drug Discovery Sciences with a Bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences or Chemistry. If you hold another Bachelor's degree with life science and chemistry components, it is possible that you will first be required to first bring your knowledge up to standard in a number of areas, depending on both the specialization in your Bachelor's and the Drug Discovery Sciences specialization you apply for. The decision on how you should compensate for any gaps in your knowledge will be taken in consultation with the Master's coordinator of your specialisation.
Important: prospective Drug Discovery Sciences students may be required to have an intake interview to check eligibility for admission with the admission board. You will receive an invitation if this is required. If an interview takes place, you should be prepared to reflect on the grades and laboratory skills you obtained in your BSc programme, most notably for those courses relevant for the master specialisation chosen. You are expected to show research experience of essential relevance for the chosen master specialization. Furthermore, the material highlighted in the matrix should be mastered at bachelor end-level. Without the approval of the admission board you cannot be admitted to the Master's programme.
Apply for the Master's programme via Studielink and complete your application in your personal VU dashboard. After we have received the requested documents, the admission board will decide whether you can be invited for the intake interview. Please note that you cannot do the intake interview before your application is complete.
*Similar relevant programmes need to cover the required knowledge stated below for students to be eligible in the Master Drug Discovery Sciences
Mastering of the material highlighted in the matrix is judged by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master’s coordinator will determine if you meet these requirements.
For the different specialisations there are different requirements for the amount of knowledge (+) in the above-mentioned fields, as indicated below.
| Track | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Molecular Pharmacology | ++ | ++ | + | ||
| Molecular Toxicology | ++ | ++ | ++ | ||
| Synthesis of Drugs | + | + | ++ | + | |
| Computer-Aided Drug Design | + | + | ++ | ||
| Bioanalytics | ++ | + | ++ |
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.
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