All applicants are asked for an English language test, unless you qualify for an exemption of this requirement as specified below. Although complete applications are preferred, you can begin your application before you have completed the test. In case you are conditionally admitted to the programme you will have until the below-mentioned deadlines to submit your English test results.
The minimum English language proficiency requirements for admission to the English taught Master's programme at the Faculty of Humanities are:
- (academic) IELTS: 7.0, with a minimum of 6.5 on each component; Note: the IELTS Online Academic and the online IELTS Indicator tests are not accepted.
- TOEFL internet based test: 100, with a minimum of 20-23 on each component. Note: TOEFL Essentials and TOEFL iBT Home Edition are not accepted. MyBestScore is also not accepted.
- Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE): A, B, C
- Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): A, B, C
If you have completed a Cambridge test in Advanced English, or Proficiency in English, you can share your results digitally through the Cambridge system. You can find more information on how to share your results with this step by step guide.
The TOEFL ITP will not be accepted
EXEMPTIONS
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 the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (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 earned a VWO diploma or equivalent diploma in which English of a comparable level to the VWO diploma is required
Test validity
TOEFL and IELTS tests must have been completed no more than two years before 1 September of the year in which your programme starts
How to share your English test results
You can upload your results in your personal Dashboard or by sending us the result via email to toelating.fgw@vu.nl. We do not need to receive the hard copy test results via postal mail if you share your results digitally.
Be sure to send your results to us well in advance (early August), so that we can verify the results in time. Deadline for submission:
- 15 August 2025.
Be aware of the fact that it can take a few weeks before you get the results of the English tests, so plan your test in time.