Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health & Life Sciences

Check whether you meet the programme requirements and apply

• I have a Dutch university level (WO) Bachelor’s degree (VU Bachelor’s degree, VU pre-master's or Bachelor’s degree at another university)

  Direct admission

  You are eligible for direct admission to the Master's in Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences if you hold a Bachelor of Science degree of 180EC from a Dutch University in:

  • Biochemistry
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biopharmaceutical Sciences
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Biotechnology
  • Clinical Technology
  • Earth Sciences
  • Health and Life Sciences (VU only)*
  • Health Sciences (VU only)*
  • Human Movement Sciences
  • Life Science and Technology 
  • Medical Informatics
  • Medical Natural Sciences
  • Medicine
  • Molecular Life Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Psychobiology
  • Beta-gamma Studies (with a major in Chemistry, Ecology and Evolution, Biomedical Sciences, Brain and Cognition, Physics and Astronomy or Mathematics)
  • University Colleges (with at least a major in a beta subject)
  • Pre-master Health Sciences (VU)
  • HLO (including sufficient English test)

  If you have a BSc. Degree from a Dutch University in one of the subjects listed above (or HLO), your admission is based on your obtained BSc Degree. For more information, please visit the information website for Dutch University Degree holders.
  
  * If you have a degree in Health and/or Life Sciences from another Dutch university, your application needs to be assessed by the Admission Board (see below). For example, students with a BSc. Health Sciences with specialization ‘Biology and Health’ of Maastricht University have direct admission to MPA. For others the Natural Science Component will be assessed by the Admission Board.

  Admission via MPA Admission Board

  If you have a Dutch Degree from a University Bachelor of Science degree in a different subject than listed above, you are still welcome to apply for the MPA programme if your degree is in a related Health and/or Life Sciences field. The MPA Admission Board will review your application and decide on your admission. The MPA Admission Board will assess the Natural Science component of your BSc. degree. For MPA you need:

  • At least 45 ECTS of natural science courses, such as human/micro biology, physiology, immunology, biomedical, chemistry, physics, etc.
  • At least 15 ECTS of research methods and/or statistics

  Please note that you then do have to submit the following documents with your application:

  • Curriculum Vitae, that includes your personal details and lists your previous education and relevant work experience. An Europass CV template could be used, however other formats will be accepted too.
  • Letter of Motivation - A 1-2 page letter stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
  • Transcript of Records (in Dutch/English) - A list of grades that your previous academic study/studies. If you have not yet completed your educational programme, please send temporary transcripts showing the grades you have received to date. In that case, please also send us a list of courses that are not on the temporary transcripts but that you will have to take to complete your programme. 

• I have a Dutch higher vocational education (HBO) Bachelor’s degree (pre-master's)

  Students with a HBO degree in ‘Biologie en Medisch Laboratoriumonderzoek’ (HLO) or Chemistry have direct admission to the MPA programme, but still need to pass the English test.

  Students with a different health and/or (para)medical related Dutch HBO bachelor (such as Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, etc.) may be admitted to MPA if they also completed a university minor or pre-master in the in the natural sciences (such as Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Computer Sciences, etc.). The MPA Admission Board will decide on each case individually.

  
  Admission via MPA Admission Board:

  If you have a Bachelor’s degree of a Dutch University of Applied science (HBO) other than HLO, you are still welcome to apply for the MPA programme if your degree is in a related Health and/or Life Sciences field. The MPA Admission Board will review your application and decide on your admission. Please note that you then do have to submit the following documents with your application:

  • Curriculum Vitae, that includes your personal details and lists your previous education and relevant work experience. An Europass CV template could be used, however other formats will be accepted too.
  • Letter of Motivation - A 1-2 page letter stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
  • Transcript of Records (in Dutch/English) - A list of grades that your previous academic study/studies. If you have not yet completed your educational programme, please send temporary transcripts showing the grades you have received to date. In that case, please also send us a list of courses that are not on the temporary transcripts but that you will have to take to complete your programme. 

  
  Language requirements

  Students with a HBO degree (in Dutch) must take an English Language Test. Check the requirements and exemptions on the webpage.

  You can also submit the result of the English language test after you have been conditionally accepted, the deadline for submitting the test result is August 31st. Please send a scan of your test result to toelating.beta@vu.nl.

• Application with a Dutch degree

  The Management, Policy Analysis and Entrepreneurship in Health and Life Sciences programme is open to both Dutch and International Students. The Faculty’s Admission Board will decide upon your admission after having evaluated your complete online application. You find all information about the general application procedure with a Dutch degree on the application page.

  Use this form to apply for the Master’s: Application form Master's MPA.

  The application deadline is:

  1 June for holders of a Dutch bachelor’s degree (with a Dutch or EU/EEA nationality).

  Your application will be rejected in case you didn’t upload the required documents in ‘your dashboard’ within 6 weeks after your enrolment in Studielink, OR in case you’ve uploaded (one or more) of the required documents after June 1^st. Applications and documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

  Required documents (deadline June 1^st)

  This Master’s programme requires students with a Dutch bachelor's degree to upload the following documents as soon as possible and in any case 6 weeks after your enrolment and before 1 June.

  • Motivation letter - A 1-2 page letter stating your reasons for applying to the programme.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • Bachelor's transcript, including your GPA.

  Your online dashboard gives you an overview of the submitted and missing documents. Check your dashboard regularly.

  Additional required document (only for HBO students, deadline August 31^st)

  • HBO students need to send in a sufficient English language test result (check the requirements and exemptions on the webpage).

  You can also submit the result of the English language test after you have been conditionally accepted, the deadline for submitting the test result is August 31^st. Please send a scan of your test result to toelating.beta@vu.nl.

• I have an international degree

  Admission requirements

  Students must meet the following admission requirements:

  1.  Academic requirements

  Your previous education needs to be deemed equivalent to at least a Dutch academic Bachelor’s degree (wetenschappelijk onderwijs, WO) obtained at a research university (nominal duration 3 years). Please find more information about your admissibility with a non-Dutch degree here. We do not require a GRE or GMAT test score.

  2. Programme specific requirements
  

  • A Bachelor’s degree in one of the following fields:   
  • Biochemistry 
  • Bioinformatics 
  • Biology 
  • Biomedical Sciences 
  • Health and Life Sciences 
  • Health Sciences 
  • Human Movement Sciences 
  • Medical Informatics 
  • Medical Natural Sciences 
  • Medicine 
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences 
  • Psychobiology 

  Applicants without the aforementioned Bachelor's degree, but in related Health and Life Sciences fields, are still welcome to apply.  

  How to demonstrate that you meet the above requirements

  You are required to indicate how you meet the programme specific admission requirements in your Application Form. The Admission Board will evaluate your Application Form and decide if your academic background is sufficient to gain admission to the programme.

  3. English-language proficiency requirements

  You will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency. You can find an overview of relevant information to demonstrate your English language proficiency on the language requirement page. 

• Application with an international degree

  Application documents

  To apply you are required to provide the following documents:

  • Scan of your passport or national ID card (ID for EEA students only) valid at the start date of the programme
  • Master Application File please download the correct file from this page. In this file you can see which documents are required to apply for your programme.
  • Proof of English language proficiency (if already obtained): upload your proof of English language proficiency or English language test results. Please find the English language requirements here.

  After having prepared the required documents, please follow the online application procedure. 

  Application fee & deadlines

  All students seeking admission to an international Master’s programme with an international degree are required to pay a non-refundable €100 application fee. Only after you have paid this fee will we be able to start the evaluation of your application file. If you are applying for more than one programme, you will only need to pay the application fee once. Your application fee payment is valid for two years.
  
  Information on how to apply with an international university degree and deadlines can be found here. 

  Grants and scholarships

  As an international student planning to study at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, you can apply for a variety of grants and bursaries. Detailed information about scholarships and deadlines can be found on www.vu.nl/scholarships or www.grantfinder.nl.

  International Student and Alumni Ambassadors 

  Our International Student and Alumni Ambassadors are happy to tell you all about their experiences with studying at VU Amsterdam and living in Amsterdam.

  • Our Student Ambassadors are current students at VU Amsterdam that represent a wide variety of programmes and countries.
  • Our International Alumni Ambassadors are VU Amsterdam graduates who are currently either working in the Netherlands or abroad, or doing a PhD or (second) Master's.

  You will find the full overview of our Ambassadors here: vu.nl/ambassadors. There you can chat with them directly.