06 - Netherlands - Admission requirements
HBO institutions and universities have a central admissions system. For courses subject to a quota
("numerus fixus"), there is also a weighted draw for places followed by selection by the institutions
themselves. Prospective students must apply to the Central Applications and Placement Office
(CBAP). Where no restrictions on numbers apply, students are free to enrol on whichever course and
at whichever university they wish.
The selection procedure for places at universities and HBO institutions is as follows:
Prospective students with an average grade of 8 or higher in their school-leaving examination
are automatically awarded a place on the course of their choice.
Those not entitled to direct admission are allocated places by means of a weighted draw. The
higher a prospective student’s average school-leaving examination grade, the higher their
chances of gaining admission via the draw. Applicants may take part in no more than three
draws.
Decentralised selection: places may be awarded by the education institutions themselves. They
may apply their own selection criteria, provided these are not linked to school-leaving
examination results.
Numerus fixus courses are those where the maximum number of first-year students that may be
admitted to a particular course and/or institution is restricted (such as university courses in medicine,
veterinary medicine, dentistry and life sciences, or HBO courses in journalism and physiotherapy).
There are two types of numerus fixus:
Online application and registration
As from 1 October 2007, all applications to first-year courses are filed online through Studielink, a
common instrument for higher education, which links up all institutional administrations with the
Information Management Group (IBG), thus enabling them to exchange information. In concrete terms,
this means that students have a one-stop shop on the internet for all application and registration
procedures, including change of address. Studielink also helps to ensure that the requirements for
better-quality information do not cause more administrative problems for students and institutions.
Special entrance examination
Applicants who wish to be admitted to higher education and are over 18 or do not have the required
school-leaving certificates may study at the Open University, which has no formal entry requirements.
Alternatively, prospective higher education students may be admitted to higher education after passing
a special entrance examination ("colloquium doctum") which tests their knowledge at the appropriate
level. This entrance examination may only be taken by those aged 21 or over. This lower age limit may
be waived in the case of courses in the fine and performing arts. In exceptional cases, younger
students may also take a special entrance examination.
Subject combinations
Secondary school pupils voortgezet onderwijschoose one of four subject combinations for their schoolleaving
Examination. Entry to most higher education courses is on the basis of specific
subject combinations but candidates who do not meet this requirement may still be admitted on the
strength of certain optional subjects studied at school. Applicants who obtained their school-leaving
certificate before the subject combinations were introduced may be assessed by the institution in
question prior to admission to determine whether they satisfy equivalent requirements.
Higher professional education
Applicants wishing to be admitted to higher professional education must possess:
a senior general secondary education (HAVO) certificate;
a middle-management middenkaderopleidingor specialist training specialistenopleiding
certificate at secondary vocational education (MBO) level;
a pre-university education (VWO) certificate.
Applicants possessing any of the above qualifications have in principle the right to be admitted, but
additional requirements regarding the subjects studied can be laid down by ministerial order.
In addition to educational requirements, institutions may impose supplementary requirements relating
to the profession for which the course trains students or to the course itself. For instance, applicants for
courses in dance or sport and movement must have the skills specified by the institution in question.
These requirements may only relate to matters not covered during the student’s previous schooling.
Prospective students must first contact the institution concerned, which then decides whether they
meet the supplementary requirements and can be admitted.
University education
Admission to university is possible with a pre-university (VWO) school-leaving certificate or an HBO
qualification or HBO propaedeutic certificate.
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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