Human Movement Sciences Research Master

Check whether you meet the admission requirements and apply

• I have a Dutch university level (WO) Bachelor’s degree (VU Bachelor's degree, VU pre-master's or Bachelor's degree at another university)

  The general requirements for admission to the Research Master's programme are: 

  • a relevant WO Bachelor's degree, such as human movement sciences, medicine, dentistry, health sciences, medical biology, technical medicine, biomedical technology or a successfully completed Human Movement Sciences pre-master’s programme
  • good grades ‐ a GPA of 7.0 (out of 10) or higher (or the international equivalent, e.g. a B+ or a GPA of 3.3) for the final two years of the Bachelor's programme
  • strong interest in and aptitude for research, as demonstrated in research oriented courses,
    internships and/or thesis
  • the admission procedure includes an interview.

  A specification of the admission requirements is provided in the following overview: Admission requirements. Please read the specifications carefully before you apply.

  Students that do not meet all the admission requirements but are extremely motivated, are encouraged to submit their application.

  If you are not directly admissible, you may be eligible for admission to the pre-master’s programme. If you are admitted to this programme, the Admission board will determine its content, based on your previous education. 

  Students who meet all admission criteria do not have to follow a pre-master's programme. These include students with the following WO Bachelor's degrees:

  • Human Movement Sciences (VU Amsterdam)
  • Human Movement Sciences (RUG) 

• Application with a Dutch degree

  The procedure is as follows: 

  1. Apply through Studielink for the Research Master’s programme Human Movement Sciences. See the VU website for the application procedure.
  2. Use the Application file document to complete your application. The application file document consists of the following documents:
     • List of courses of your (yet to be completed) Bachelor’s or pre-master’s programme, including grades and credits (ECTS).
     • Your current GPA. Only the grades you have achieved in the final two years of your Bachelor’s programme are taken into account. Pre-master’s students can submit their GPA based on the grades they have achieved during their previous Bachelor’s degree and the pre-master’s programme.
     • Description of courses relating to the field of Human Movement Sciences that are relevant for your application. Please note that this is not necessary when you have a bachelor's diploma in Human Movement Sciences.
     • An English summary (max. 300 words) of your research proposal for the Bachelor’s thesis or Bachelor’s research project. If you have already completed your Bachelor’s thesis or Bachelor’s research project, submitting a copy of your thesis or research project is optional.
     • English Curriculum Vitae.
     • Letter of Motivation. 
  3. Once your Application file document is complete, upload your Application file Master on your dashboard on VU.nl.

  After we have received your application
  The Admission Board will evaluate your application and you will be informed about the status of your admission request. Suitable candidates will be contacted to schedule an interview with the Admission Board of the Research Master’s programme Human Movement Sciences. After the interview, the Admission Board will decide whether you are eligible for admission to the Research Master's programme. If you are not directly admissible, you may be eligible for admission to the pre-master’s programme. If you are admitted to this programme, the Admission board will determine its content, based on your previous education.

  The deadlines for application:

  • Deadline for submitting your application in Studielink and uploading the requested documents on your dashboard on VU.nl: 1 June.
  • Deadline for completing your enrolment (including payment of tuition fees): 31 August.
    

• I have an international degree

  The Research Master’s programme in Human Movement Sciences 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.

  Admission requirements

  In order to be eligible for admission to the Research Master’s programme Human Movement Sciences, you 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 EC or equivalent.

  The general requirements for admission to the Research Master's programme are:

  • a relevant Bachelor's degree, such as human movement sciences, medicine, dentistry, health sciences, medical biology, or biomedical technology
  • good grades ‐ a GPA of 7.0 (out of 10) or higher (or the international equivalent, e.g. a B+ or a GPA of 3.3) for the final two years of the Bachelor's programme
  • strong interest in and aptitude for research, as demonstrated in research oriented courses, internships and/or thesis
  • proficiency in English (see language requirements)
  • the admission procedure includes an interview.

  A specification of the admission requirements is provided in the following overview: Admission requirements. 
  Please read the specifications carefully before you apply.

  What if you do not meet all admission criteria?
  If you do not meet the admission criteria, the Admission board may decide that you are admissible after you have eliminated your deficiencies. These deficiencies depend on your educational background. If you do not meet the admission criteria, you will receive a list of online courses you will be asked to attend and pass in order to eliminate the deficiencies. We recommend to start the courses prior to 1 April if you intend to start in September. Furthermore, if you are unsure about your eligibility to our programme, we recommend applying before 1 March in order to leave sufficient time for the admission process and the deficiency programme.

  Please be aware that the online programme is challenging and only 20% of the participants successfully pass the exams. The costs of the online courses are € 204,- per course and are non-refundable. The online courses particularly focus on research methods that are commonly used in the field of Human Movement Sciences, like mathematics, programming, biomechanics, statistics and measuring movement, and correspond to the “Requirements Methodological Knowledge” section in our list of admission criteria. 

  Because the two-year Research Master's programme is a selective master, your results from your bachelor and the deficiencies courses will be taken into account by the Admission Board in deciding whether you can be admitted to the Research Master's programme afterwards. 

  English language proficiency

  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.

• Application with an international degree

  Application documents

  Please download your Master application file to check which documents are required for this programme.  

  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 form here. 
  • 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.

• Pre-master’s programme

  Students with a relating Bachelor’s degree other than Human Movement Sciences usually have to follow a pre-master’s programme before they can be admitted to the Research Master’s programme. This programme comprises courses from the Bachelor’s programme HMS, which are taught in Dutch. (For international students they are partly available as an online distance learning programme in English, see more info in Eliminating deficiencies below). The programme usually sums up to 30 EC, but note that the actual programme may vary from student to student accommodate differences in educational background.

  Further information about this programme (only available in Dutch)

  Students with a bachelor Mechanical Engineering obtained at one of the Technical Universities, can become eligible for admission by completing the minor Sport, Bewegen en Gezondheid and the course Movement Analysis (students with a bachelor Mechanical Engineering will need to take the course Movement Analysis instead of the minor course Sportpsychologie or Revalidatie).

• HBO Transition Programme

  The online Movement Sciences transition programme in is a tailor-made programme for talented and motivated higher professional education (HBO) students who want to speed up the process of qualifying for admission to a Master's programme in Movement Sciences at VU Amsterdam.

  As an HBO student, you can start the Movement Sciences transition programme from the second year of your bachelor's programme. Because the transition programme uses a digital learning environment, you can follow the programme through distance learning (but you can also follow parts of the programme on campus). This makes it possible for you to combine it with your HBO programme. You can follow the transition programme as:

  • an accelerated programme for qualifying for a university Master's programme in Movement Sciences
  • a minor within your own HBO programme (depending on the options within your study programme)

  The standard transition programme is 30 EC and is comprised of the five standard courses from the pre-master’s programme. After completing the transition programme and a relevant HBO programme, you will qualify for direct admission to the one-year Master's programme in Human Movement Sciences: Sport, Exercise and Health. The same standard programme is required for admission to the Master's programme in Human Movement Sciences (Research), but you will need to meet additional requirements related to your grades and motivation. There is currently a partnership agreement in place with a number of HBO programmes:

  Hogeschool van Amsterdam: Academie voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (ALO) en Sport, Management en Ondernemen (SM&O) en Oefentherapie Mensendieck
  Contactperson ALO: Hemke van Doorn
  E-mail: h.van.doorn@hva.nl
  
  Contactperson SM&O: René Randsdorp
  E-mail: i.d.m.randsdorp@hva.nl
  
  Contactperson Oefentherapie Mensendieck: Manon Wentink
  E-mail: m.m.wentink@hva.nl

  Hogeschool Utrecht: Instituut voor bewegingsstudies (IBS)
  Contactperson Fysiotherapie: Matthijs Tuijt
  E-mail: matthijs.tuijt@hu.nl
  
  Hogeschool Leiden: Opleiding Fysiotherapie
  Contactperson: Babs Juriën
  E-mail: jurien.b@hsleiden.nl

  Windesheim: School of Human Movement & Sports (CALO)
  Contactperson: Mariëtte van Maarseveen
  E-mail: mjj.van.maarseveen@windesheim.nl

  Haagse Hogeschool: Opleiding Bewegingstechnologie (BT) en Academie voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (HALO)
  Contactperson BT: Herre Faber
  E-mail: h.faber@hhs.nl

  Contactperson HALO: Michiel Krijger  
  E-mail: m.krijger@hhs.nl

  If you are following one of the HBO programmes above and would like to know more about the transition programme, please contact the relevant staff member within your own study programme. If you are not following one of the study programmes above, please ask the coordinator of the transition programme about the possibilities by sending an email to schakelprogramma.fgb@vu.nl.