Deficiencies

Practical information

• When do I have to take one or more tests?

  If you have applied for a study programme and you have one or more subject deficiencies in your previous education, you will be informed of this by means of an admission letter or notification. This is the case in the following situations:

  • If you meet the general admission requirements, but not the programme-specific subject requirements. This can for example be a deficiency in mathematics.
  • If you qualify for the 'Entrance Exam' (entrance tests for students of 21+ years old).
  • In some cases, prospective students with an international diploma - who have access to higher education in their own country but do not meet the diploma requirement for VU admission - qualify for participation in additional entrance exams. After submitting an official application, your International Student Advisor(s) will inform you if you are eligible for these exams and how you can participate. Which exams are required will depend on the programme you are interested in and can be found under 'not directly eligible for admission?' on the programme's webpage.

  Application deadlines (Studielink and the VU Dashboard):

  In order to receive your admission letter, you will have to apply before the official deadlines. Although an early application is strongly recommended to ensure you can register for the deficiency tests in time, the final deadline to submit your application is:

  • 15 December if you are applying via the 21+ Entrance exam route
  • 15 January if you are applying for a Numerus Fixus programme
  • 1 April for non-EU nationals. This is also the recommended application deadline for EU/EEA students (final deadline: 1 May).

• Resolving deficiencies: deadlines and test options

  Deadlines to resolve deficiencies

  Deficiencies must be resolved by:

  • 1 June for students who require a visa/residence permit (both numerus fixus and regular degree programmes)
  • 15 July for students admitted to numerus fixus study programmes and who do not require a study visa/residence permit 
  • 31 August for students admitted to regular degree programmes and who do not require a study visa/residence permit 

  You must apply for your tests directly with the institutes that offer the tests. Fees may be charged. Pay attention to these institutes’ registration deadlines, which may be earlier than the deadline for submitting the proof of passing the tests to complete your enrolment for the Bachelor's degree programme of your choice.

  Online tests

  • VWO Mathematics A, B and C: Online Mathematics Placement Test (OMPT)
    This test is only accepted by certain English-taught programmes: check the overview of programmes that accept OMPT (PDF).
    Check carefully in the overview which test (OMPT-A, B, D or E) and score you need for a passing grade, as this may differ per university and per programme.
    
  • History: History test offered by the Faculty of Humanities (PDF) - VU Amsterdam
    Note that the history entrance exam takes place once a year and takes place on the VU campus. A suitable alternative will be provided for international students who are unable to travel to VU Amsterdam. You can submit your request by following the instructions in the PDF-document.
    If you wish to participate, we recommend you to submit your programme application in the VU Dashboard well before 1 April.  

  Tests in the Netherlands

  Tests in English and Dutch

  • Mathematics VWO level A and B, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry: CCVX.
  • Mathematics VWO level A, B, and C, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry: Boswell-Bèta.
    Please note: diplomas obtained at Boswell-Bèta will not be accepted for Medicine and Dentistry degree programmes.
  • Mathematics VWO level A and B: Korteweg de Vries-Instituut. Note that the online version of this test is not accepted.
  • History: History test offered by the Faculty of Humanities (PDF) - the test takes place once a year on the VU Amsterdam campus .If you wish to participate, we recommend you to submit your programme application in the VU Dashboard well before 1 April.  

  Tests in Dutch only

  • All subjects: state exam vo.
  • All subjects: VAVO.

• What to do when you have passed the tests

  • Are you applying with a non-Dutch diploma for an English-taught programme? Then you can send your official results to your International Student Advisor by email for verification and processing.
  • You can also send the certified copies to us by post, or bring them to the Student Desk. Certified test certificates bear a stamp and signature from an official institute to attest that the copy is the same as the original. The certificates can be certified by the administration of the institute that awarded the certificate or by the Student Desk. Bring the original and copy with you when you wish to have them certified by us.

  If you need to submit a certified copy of your test results, send it to the following address:

  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  Student Administration
  De Boelelaan 1105
  1081 HV Amsterdam
  The Netherlands

  Please include your VU student number when you send documents by post.

• Questions?

  If you are applying with a non-Dutch diploma for one of our international Bachelor's degrees you can contact your International Student Advisor for any questions about the admission requirements and entrance exams for the programme of your interest. All other students can contact the Student Desk.

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