Philosophy, Bioethics and Health

Check whether you meet the programme requirements and apply

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

  To be admitted to the programme, you should:

  • have a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Health Sciences, Psychology, or related disciplines.
  • be eligible to one of the three Health-related Master's programmes: Medicine, Psychology, or Health Sciences. Most of our students aim at obtaining two Master's degrees, that is to say Philosophy, Bioethics and Health as well as a Master’s degree in Medicine, Health Sciences, or Psychology (another health-related Master's degree may also lead to admissibility, this is up to the Admission Board).

  Part of the PBH-programme consists of courses that are offered by the Departments of Medicine, Psychology, and Health Sciences. Therefore it is a requirement that PBH-students are admissible to one of these three Master's programmes, too. It is recommended to enroll in two Master's programmes (PBH and: Medicine, Psychology, or Health sciences).

  English language requirements

  You must always present official test results proving your proficiency in English. You can apply online without having the test results, but in case you haven’t taken a test yet we advise you to plan a test date as soon as possible. The qualification or test result must have been awarded no more than two years prior to the proposed date of enrolment. Below you will find the minimum English test scores for the English taught programmes at the Faculty of Humanities.

  An applicant should demonstrate that he or she has sufficient level of proficiency in English by meeting at least one of the following standards, no more than two (2) years before the start of the programme at the VU:

  • (academic) IELTS: 7.0, with a minimum of 6.5 on each item;
  • TOEFL paper based test: 600, with a minimum of 55 on each component and 4.0 in TWE;
  • TOEFL internet based test: 100, with a minimum of 20-23 on each component.

  Applicants who:

  • completed an English-taught secondary or higher education degree in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand or Australia or - have earned a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in an English-taught programme accredited by NVAO in the Netherlands, or
  • have earned a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in an accredited English-taught programme in another member state of the European Union, or
  • have a Dutch VWO diploma, or
  • have obtained a Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) or a Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) with a score of A, B, C are exempted from the above requirements.

• I have a Dutch higher vocational education (HBO) Bachelor’s degree (pre-master)

  Students with a higher vocational education qualification (hbo) cannot proceed directly to the Master’s programme in Philosophy, Bioethics and Health.

• Application with a Dutch degree

  Dutch students and international candidates with a Dutch degree can apply via Studielink before 1 June for the Master’s programme Bioethics and Health under the label Filosofie 2 jaar/Philosophy 2 years. 

  If you have a Dutch diploma, follow this application procedure.

  What happens after I have applied?
  After you have applied for the master in Studielink, you will receive your login details for your personal dashboard on vu.nl by email within two days. Please complete your application in your personal dashboard. Don’t forget to fill in your specialization

  Your application will be reviewed by the Admission Board of Faculty of Humanities. You will be informed whether you have been admitted via Studielink.

• I have an international degree

  To be admitted to the programme, you should:

  • have a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Health Sciences, Psychology, or related disciplines.
  • be eligible and admitted to a health-related Master’s programme at the Faculty of Science, VU Amsterdam.

  Part of the PBH-programme consists of courses (30EC in total) that are offered by a health-related Master's programme from our Faculty of Science. This means that it is mandatory to be admitted to one of the health-related Master programmes at the Faculty of Science (*alternatively, students who have already finished a health-related Master programme can also apply to the programme).

  We highly recommend you to check your choice of programme with the International Student Advisor (masters.hum@vu.nl) in order to see whether the health-related Master programme of your choice is a good fit for the Master in Philosophy, Bioethics and Health.

  This means that you should take the following steps:

  • check whether you satisfy the admission requirements of one of our health-related programmes
  • apply for a health-related Master programme and receive admission
  • apply for the programme in Philosophy, Bioethics and Health
  • complete your enrolment for both Master programmes: 1. Philosophy, Bioethics and Health and 2. a health-related Master programme. If you are not admitted and enrolled to a health-related Master programme at VU Amsterdam, you will not be able to successfully finish and graduate from Philosophy, Bioethics and Health.

  Please be aware that EU students pay the tuition fee once for both programmes. Non-EU students, however, have to pay two tuition fees as long as they are enrolled in two Master programmes. More information about the tuition fees.

  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 which test types and scores are accepted, the deadlines for submitting test results and all other relevant information on our application page under the Language Proficiency Requirements tab. 

• 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 template.
  
  If you have read the admission criteria and feel you are eligible for admission, please take the following steps to submit your application. Note that the initial application procedure is fully online and that scans of your original documents are required.
  
  The application deadlines are:

  • 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)
  • 1 April for non-EU/EEA students*

  *non-EU/EEA students who do not need a study visa and/or a residence permit can still apply until 1 June.
  
  Step 1: Review the admission criteria
  
  Step 2: Prepare your documents and apply online  
  Please prepare the required documents and arrange the payment of the application fee, a non-refundable €100 application fee applies. You can find an explanation of each document on the application page. All documents should be provided in English.

  After preparing the required documents, please follow the online application procedure. Once you have completed the application, our international student advisors will contact you via email.
  
  Step 3: Await the decision on admission
  The admission board will review your application as soon as it is complete. Normally this takes about four weeks, but it might take longer in busy periods so be sure to apply as soon as possible. If you are admitted to the programme, you will receive a letter of conditional admission by email. 
  
  Step 4: Finalise your registration!
  Make sure to finalise your registration as a student before the start of the programme. Here you will find an explanation on what to do after you are admitted. When all of the conditions are met, you will be ready to start your programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam!

  Application fee & deadlines

  All students seeking admission to an international Bachelor’s or 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.
  For more information, international students may also contact the International Student Advisor: masters.hum@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.

• National relgulation (zachte knip)

  During the past [couple of] years it was possible for EEA students to start a Master's programme without a fully completed previous education. This national regulation is no longer in force as per the 2023-2024 academic year.