Directly admissible
You can apply to the Master’s programme in Social and Cultural Anthropology (SCA) with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Sociology, or a related field, or if you have completed a minor in Anthropology.
NUFFIC regularly compares universities around the world in order to estimate academic levels of the universities abroad in relation to the acquired level of the Master’s programmes in the Netherlands.
The Admissions Committee relies on the list provided by NUFFIC in order to estimate whether your level of academic writing and methodological training is expected to be sufficient. If your level of academic writing and/or methodological training is deemed insufficient, you must complete a bridging programme which consists of courses in academic writing and/or methods and techniques. You may decide to take this course at any university. FSS-VU offers courses in academic writing in the pre-Master’s programme in Social and Cultural Anthropology (PM Tutorial Academic Writing SCA and PM Research Project SCA) and in methods and techniques (see below).
Conditionally admissible
If you have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in a field other than anthropology or sociology, you may be asked to complete a bridging programme of max. 30 EC before applying to the Master's in Social and Cultural Anthropology (SCA).
Depending on the discipline of your degree, this bridging programme consists of academic courses in the field of qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques of social science research with a minimum of 12 EC, and/or academic courses in the field of anthropology with a minimum of 6/12 EC.
The Admissions Committee of the Master's programme in SCA will determine which additional courses you will have to take. These courses can be taken at any university, but you can also choose to take them at FSS-VU.
At FSS-VU the following relevant courses are offered in the field of methods and techniques of social scientific research:
- Social Research Methodology (S_SRM). Introduction into the the process of social scientific research, including its key methods (qualitative and quantitative) and approaches (interpretative vs positivist).
- Ethnographic Research Methodology (S_ERM)
- Methoden en technieken van kwalitatief onderzoek (S_PMMTKOZ) to acquire knowledge and skills in the field of qualitative methodology.
FSS-VU offers the following relevant subjects in the field of anthropology:
- Core Themes in Anthropology (S_CTA)
- Development and Globalization (S_DG)
- Identity, Diversity and Inclusion (S_IDI)
- Nation and Migration (S_NM)
- History and Theory of Anthropology (S_HTA)
- Urban Studies (S_UBS)
- Challenges of the 21st Century (S_C21C)
- Global Religion (S_GR)
*Please be aware that international students should not apply for the premaster’s programme directly.
In case you are not directly eligible for the Master’s programme, the Admissions Committee will refer you to the pre-Master’s programme in Social and Cultural Anthropology or a certain selection of the courses.
English language requirements
To be admitted to the English-taught Social and Cultural Anthropology Master’s programme, students must meet the following results in the English language test (no older than 2 years):
- IELTS score with a minimum of 6.5
- TOEFL score internet based test: 92-93
- VU TOEFL-ITP: 580 (only valid for VU Amsterdam)
- CAMBRIDGE CERTIFICATE in Advanced English (CAE): A or B
- CAMBRIDGE CERTIFICATE of Proficiency in English (CPE): A, B or C
Exemptions from the language test requirements are granted in the following cases:
- Your Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma was obtained in an English-language university programme in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, UK or USA.
- Your Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma was obtained in an English-taught programme at a Dutch university.
- Your Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma was obtained in an English-taught programme in a different EU-country.
- You have a Dutch vwo-diploma (level 6 vwo-nieuw)
- You are a premaster student and have passed the premaster's assessment before entering the programme.
Make sure to register on time at Taalloket for the VU TOEFL-ITP, as the possibilities are limited, especially during the busy summer period. If you have a Dutch Bachelor's degree obtained at a Dutch university, the first take of the VU TOEFL-ITP is free of charge.
Please send a scan of the result of your test by email to masters.fss@vu.nl, including your name and student number. The deadline for non-EEA students is 1 June. EEA students can send their test results before 31 August at the latest.