Entry requirements

Find out about the qualifications and language requirements you need to enrol on your chosen degree at THUAS.

Entry requirements for each programme

You may need particular subjects in your high school or pre-university results, depending on your chosen degree. Part-time degrees (all taught in Dutch) might also ask for relevant work experience. Find out more about our programmes.

Do you have a Dutch diploma?

Do you wish to enrol for our four-year bachelor’s programmes? In general, you need to have a Dutch senior general secondary education (HAVO), pre-university education (VWO), vocational education (MBO-4) diploma.

For our three-year degree programmes you need a VWO-diploma, a propaedeutic certificate from a Dutch research university or a bachelor’s degree. A propaedeutic certificate from a Dutch university of applied sciences may also qualify you for admission, if this was the same (CROHO) programme or a related programme and if it was obtained within one year with a minimum GPA of 7.

HAVO or VWO diplomas from Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius or St. Maarten are treated as Dutch diplomas. In most cases this also applies to vocational education diploma’s (if at MBO-4 level), with the exception of diplomas issued by EPI on Aruba. 

Please also check our programmes for specific information on mandatory subjects.

If you want to apply with your Dutch HAVO or MBO-4 for a 3-year programme taught in English, you must also meet the English language requirement after passing the 21+ Admissions Test.

This can be done with a:

• VWO certificate for English with a pass;
• IELTS academic, TOEFL iBT, TOEIC, Cambridge, LanguageCert Academic or Pearson PTE Academic certificate (you can find the minimum scores per test on the bottom of this page)

Do you have an international/non-Dutch diploma?

If you have an international diploma, our Enrolment Office will assess how it compares to a Dutch diploma. To see which bachelor's programmes (both four-year and three-year options) might suit your qualifications, check the International Admission Leaflet for Bachelor’s Programmes.

For master's programme admissions, please check if your diploma is mentioned in International Admission Guide for Master's Programmes.

Important Notes

• We cannot provide admission statements via email. To get an official decision, you must submit an enrolment request through Studielink.
• Language proficiency is required: if the programme is taught in English, you must be proficient in English; if it's taught in Dutch, you must be proficient in Dutch.

For further guidance, please reach out to our admissions team. 

Language requirements 

English language requirements

To enrol on a degree taught in English you must have sufficient command of the language. The Hague University of Applied Sciences only accepts the following language tests:

• IELTS Academic

We do not accept IELTS online tests results
Additionally, IELTS retakes are not accepted as well

• TOEFL iBT (not the ITP)

We only accept single test day results
Note: We do not accept any language test home editions

• TOEIC 
• Cambridge English B2 First (FCE) / C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE)
• LanguageCert Academic
• Pearson PTE Academic

The test date may not be older than two years on 1 September 2025
Language tests must be taken at a test centre

Please ask your TOEFL test centre to let us know your scores. Our institution code is 7042.

You won’t need to prove your command of the English language if you’ve been educated in the UK, Ireland, United States, Canada (except for Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or Malta or if you have one of these diplomas with English as an exam subject.

If you completed your prior education in a country other than those listed above, or your diploma is not mentioned in the list mentioned above, you might still qualify for an exemption. For example, if you have an American or International High School Diploma or a European (L1 or L2 level) or International Baccalaureate. Please note that if your diploma was issued within one of these education systems, but schooling took place in a non-English speaking country, we reserve the right to ask you to submit a language test. 

Note: If you apply for a 3-year bachelor programme and the level of your foreign diploma is equivalent to the Dutch HAVO or MBO-4 level, you will also need to fulfil the language test requirement for the 3-year bachelor programme. Below you will find the minimum scores per test.

Dutch language requirements

If you’re enrolling on a Dutch-taught programme with your foreign diploma, you’ll need to show us that your Dutch is up to scratch. Take the Dutch as a Second Language, Programme II (NT2-II) state exam, which includes reading, speaking, writing and listening.

THUAS also accepts CNaVT certificates ‘Educatief startbekwaam’ en ‘Educatief professioneel’. The CNaVT certificate may not be older than 2 years on 1 September 2025. More information can be found on the CNaVT website.

Options if you don’t qualify for direct admission 

English Academic Preparation Programme
Need help with your English? If you haven’t quite reached the right level of English for your chosen Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programme, you can enrol for the English Academic Preparation Programme. After the successful completion of this programme, you’ll be ready to start your degree at THUAS and you will already have a good taste of studying and living in The Hague.

The Hague Pathway College
If you’d like to apply for a 3-year bachelor programme but don’t meet the academic entry requirements, you might be interested in joining The Hague Pathway College. This foundation programme has two intakes, one in September and one in January. It offers you the chance to bring your academic level up to the required level and work on your English at an academic level at the same time. Please check www.thehaguepathway.nl for more information 

Don’t have the right exam subjects?

Unfortunately, options to make up for a lacking mandatory subject are limited. We do accept some certificates, but most of these can only be obtained after sitting an exam in the Netherlands. 

21 or older and no diploma that grants access?

If you’re 21 or older 1 September 2025 but don’t have a diploma or a qualification that meets the entry requirements, you can take the 21+ Admissions Test. The 21+ Admissions Test will be offered on several dates between January and August 2025 and consists of a general capacity test. More information on the 21+ Admissions Test can be found here.

Please note that you can only participate if you have an EU/EEA nationality or residence permit for the Netherlands that is valid on the test date. If you’re sitting the 21+ Admissions Test in the summer months, please check that you haven’t missed the general deadlines for application with THUAS.

Find out more about entry requirements

Any questions about admissions, entry exams and language requirements? Check out our FAQs, or contact the Enrolment Office.

Please note: All admissions to degree programmes at THUAS are at the Enrolment Office’s discretion. And their decision is the one that counts. No rights may be derived from information obtained through any other source.