Drug Discovery Sciences

Applicants who have or are expected to successfully complete their BSc Pharmaceutical Sciences (Farmaceutische Wetenschappen) at VU are automatically granted entry to the programme. You should carefully consider the admission requirements per specialisation and how your lab work and bachelor’s thesis support this.

The Master’s programme in Drug Discovery Sciences is open to students:

• with a Bachelor's degree in VU Pharmaceutical Sciences / Pharmacochemistry;
• with a Bachelor's degree from a similar programme at another university *;

All applicants must have sufficient knowledge of the English language, equivalent to the level of the Dutch VWO examination.

Important: All prospective Drug Discovery Sciences students without a BSc in VU Pharmaceutical Sciences may be required to attend an intake interview with the admission board to assess their eligibility for admission. You will receive an invitation if this is necessary. If an interview takes place, you should be prepared to reflect on the grades and laboratory skills acquired during your BSc programme, particularly in courses relevant to the chosen Master's specialisation. You are also expected to demonstrate research experience that is highly relevant to the specialisation. Furthermore, you should have mastered the material highlighted in the matrix at the final Bachelor's level. Without the approval of the admission board, you cannot be admitted to the Master’s programme.

*Similar relevant programmes need to cover the required knowledge stated below for students to be eligible for the Master's programme in Drug Discovery Sciences. A BSc degree in Pharmacy is not considered fully equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical 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.

Additional admission requirements specialisations

Mastery of the material highlighted in the matrix is determined by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master's coordinator of the specialisation you are applying for 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.

The programme welcomes students with a Dutch HBO bachelor who have a strong chemical and academic background to apply. You must still meet the same admissions criteria as other applicants and will also need to provide scores from an English language test.

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.

Proof of sufficient proficiency in English

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.

Pre-master's assessment for HBO graduates

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. 

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.

Additional admission requirements specialisations

Mastery of the material highlighted in the matrix is determined by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master's coordinator of the specialisation you are applying for 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.

Language requirements

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.

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’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).

The Master’s programme in Drug Discovery Sciences is open to students:

• with a Bachelor's degree in VU Pharmaceutical Sciences / Pharmacochemistry;
• with a Bachelor's degree from a similar programme at another university*;

All applicants must have sufficient knowledge of the English language.

* Similar relevant programmes need to cover the required knowledge stated below for students to be eligible for the Master’s Drug Discovery Sciences. A BSc degree in Pharmacy is not considered equivalent to a Bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

If you hold another Bachelor's degree with life science and chemistry components, you may first be required to bring your knowledge up to standard in some areas, depending on both the specialization in your Bachelor's and the Drug Discovery Sciences specialisation 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: All prospective Drug Discovery Sciences students without a BSc in VU Pharmaceutical Sciences may be required to attend an intake interview with the admission board to assess their eligibility for admission. You will receive an invitation if this is necessary. If an interview takes place, you should be prepared to reflect on the grades and laboratory skills acquired during your BSc programme, particularly in courses relevant to the chosen Master's specialisation. You are also expected to demonstrate research experience that is highly relevant to the specialisation. Furthermore, you should have mastered the material highlighted in the matrix at the final Bachelor's level. Without the approval of the admission board, you cannot be admitted to the Master’s programme.

Additional admission requirements specialisations

Mastery of the material highlighted in the matrix is determined by grade(s) obtained for key courses in the respective field. The Master's coordinator of the specialisation you are applying for 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.

English language requirements

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.

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.

Use this form to apply for the Master’s: Application form Master's DDS.

The application deadline is:

1 June for holders of a Dutch bachelor’s degree (with a Dutch or EU/EEA nationality).

Application documents

To apply you are required to provide the following documents:

• Scan of your passport or national ID card (ID for EEA students only) valid at the start date of the programme
• Master Application File please download the correct file from this page. In this file you can see which documents are required to apply for your programme.
• Proof of English language proficiency (if already obtained): upload your proof of English language proficiency or English language test results. Please find the English language requirements here.

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

Application fee & deadlines

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. 

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.