Every programme at the Graduate School of Humanities has its own entry requirements, application procedure and deadlines. Please be sure to carefully follow the steps below.
Application deadline |
Type of applicant |
|---|---|
| 1 March 2020 | All applicants |
If you wish to apply for UvA Housing, you need to apply before 1 March.
If you are interested in a scholarship, you need to apply for both the Master's programme and the scholarship before 15 January. Learn more about scholarships in the Humanities on the website of the Graduate School of Humanities.
The Research Master’s in Cultural Analysis is open for application to all students with a Bachelor’s diploma from the UvA, or a recognised equivalent from another accredited university, in the humanities or social sciences with a minimum of 30 ECTS (equivalent to a full-time semester of academic studies) taken in the fields of cultural and or critical theory, comparative literature or history of art.
You are expected to have an awareness of basic theoretical notions in contemporary cultural and critical theory (while a background in literary and/or visual analysis is helpful but not compulsory).
It is not possible to apply to this programme with a degree from a Dutch University of Applied Sciences (hbo). We do not offer a preparatory programme (schakelprogramma) for this Master's.
If you wish to apply for a Research Master's programme, you are expected to have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least an
If you obtained a lower grade averages you can apply, particularly if you obtained a sufficient grade average for the courses related to the research master’s programme and/or courses taken in the advanced phase of your prior education. Please include an explanation in your motivation form.
If you are unsure whether you meet the entry requirements, you are advised to get in touch with the programme coordinator before applying.
New Master's students should be able to speak, read, write and understand English at an advanced academic level. Please check carefully whether you already meet the English language requirements or whether you need to arrange to take an official English language test. See the English language requirements on the Graduate School of Humanities website.
Because of the limited number of places available, all prospective students are subject to a selection process. We will compare your file to that of other applicants. Distinguish yourself with solid basic academic knowledge in the field of study, sufficient test scores and a convincing and enthusiastic motivation letter.
All students applying for a Master’s programme at the University of Amsterdam will need to start their application by submitting an enrolment application in Studielink. Studielink is the national online system for students who would like to pursue a degree programme at a Dutch university.
Before starting your application, make sure you have read the Studielink application procedure, including a Step-by-step guide to Studielink.
Applicants for Cultural Analysis need to register in Studielink for Arts and Culture - Research Master's or Kunst- en cultuurwetenschappen - research master at least 48 hours before the application deadline (see step 1). This is to ensure that you receive your login information (UvAnetID) in time to complete your UvA application in MyInfo (see step 5).
After submitting your enrolment application in Studielink, you will receive an email with your UvAnetID by email within 48 hours. Follow the instructions in the email to activate your ID as you will need it to complete your UvA application in MyInfo (see next step). If you already have a UvAnetID, you can skip this step.
After enrolling in Studielink, you will automatically receive an email with a link to your MyInfo UvA application form. To log in to MyInfo you need your UvAnetID. Please fill out the application form, upload the required documents and submit your MyInfo application form before the application deadline. For detailed information, please follow the link to further information on applying in MyInfo below.
Before starting your application, please take the following into account:
You need to submit your application before the application deadline applicable to you (please see step 1). Late applications will not be considered.
In your MyInfo application you may need to upload an English language test score report that meets the English language requirements of the Graduate School Humanities.
Before starting your application in MyInfo, make sure you check the English language requirements on the Graduate School of Humanities website.
All applicants holding a nationality outside the EU/EEA are required to pay an application fee of €100 per Studielink enrolment before submitting your MyInfo application form. You will find payment instructions on your application form.
Application documents
As part of your application in MyInfo, you are required to upload transcripts, diplomas, a motivation form, a CV/resume, an English language test report (unless you are exempt) and programme-specific documents (see below). Please find detailed information and guidelines on the application documents you need to upload in MyInfo on the Graduate School of Humanities website.
Programme-specific documents
Applicants are invited to either submit a recent sample of academic writing which will be assessed according to the following criteria:
or to complete a written exercise. Select a cultural object – possibly, but not necessarily related to your proposed research, and then draw on theoretical discourse with which you are familiar. Provide 1,000 to 1,250 words of critical analysis written in English. Try and identify a particular aspect or detail of your chosen object and bring that into conversation with one or two concepts from your theoretical discourse. Ideally, the analysis will show both how the concept illuminates the object and the object encourages us to reflect further on our understanding of the concept. Add a bibliography of secondary material you used.
Once we receive your complete application, it will be evaluated by our admissions committee. Late applications will not be considered. You will be notified about the admission decision by email. We aim to inform you within 8 weeks of the application deadline.
After you have been conditionally accepted to the Master’s programme, you will receive a separate email with a link where you can accept, defer or decline your offer. Please make sure you respond within 2 weeks. We will only continue to further process your application, including your housing and visa application (if applicable), after you have confirmed our Accept Offer.
Accept
You will receive more instructions on how to complete your enrolment in due time. For now, please read the steps below.
Decline
If you decide to decline our programme offer, make sure you also withdraw your enrolment application in Studielink to avoid receiving emails about completing your enrolment.
If you have been (conditionally) admitted to our Master's programme, you can only start the programme in September if you have graduated from your Bachelor's before 1 September 2020*. In order for us to verify this, you are required to send us certified copies of your transcripts and degree certificates (we strongly advise against sending us original diplomas and transcripts). Note that you need to send us these documents by post. Plain copies or digital scans of the original certified documents are not accepted.
Please note that if the original language of your documents is in another language than English, Dutch, German or French, these documents must be translated into English by a sworn translator for application to the Graduate School of Humanities.
Deadlines for sending certified documents:
1 August: applicants with non-Dutch degree
24 August: applicants with Dutch degree
Postal address:
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Graduate School of Humanities, Admissions Office
PO Box 93055, 1090 BB Amsterdam, The Netherlands
* If you have completed your studies, but the diploma itself will not be issued until after 31 August, please provide the Admissions Office with an official statement of graduation, signed and stamped by your university. In this graduation statement your university needs to declare that you have fulfilled all graduation requirements and have graduated from the Bachelor's programme, stating your exact graduation date. This graduation date must be a date before 1 September 2020.
In order to study in the Netherlands, you may need to apply for a residence permit and/or an entry visa. This depends on your nationality. You will receive an email from the immigration department with a link to an online application form after you have accepted our offer. More information on how to apply for UvA housing and on the UvA start appointment will become available in May.
Please keep in mind that the housing market in Amsterdam is very competitive and that applying for student housing through the UvA does not guarantee placement. For this reason, we advise you to start your orientation for housing options early and to always explore the private housing market as well. The UvA housing service is always offered for a fixed period of one year (two semesters) to new incoming international students.
Get more information about practical matters for international students.
Online course registration for the first semester takes place in June. All information about course registration can be found via the link below.
In the Course Catalogue, you can find the courses you will need to take each semester. The course catalogue for programmes starting in September is released in May. On www.rooster.uva.nl, you can enter your courses and see your own (weekly) timetable.
Find more information about course registration on the Graduate School of Humanities website.
A student ID card is a personal card which serves as proof of identity for examinations or borrowing library books. You will receive instructions on how to request your student ID card.
To help you get started in Amsterdam, the UvA and the Faculty of Humanities organise several mandatory and optional introduction sessions before the start of the semester.
START appointment
During the individual Start appointment, you will be able to collect your student ID card and check the status of your enrolment. More information about the START appointment.
Faculty introduction meeting
At the Faculty introduction meeting, which will take place in the week before the start of the semester, you will receive practical information about studying at the Faculty of Humanities and in Amsterdam. Moreover, it is a great way to meet other new students at the Faculty of Humanities.
Intreeweek
The Intreeweek is a great way to get to know Amsterdam, the UvA and your fellow UvA students. The Intreeweek is open to international and Dutch students for a small fee. Each year, a team of dedicated students organise this major event to kick-off the new year. You can find details on the Intreeweek website.
Programme-specific introduction
Most Master's programmes organise a programme-specific introduction during the Intreeweek. If applicable to your programme, you will receive an invitation from your Programme Coordinator separately.
You will need to pay the tuition fee in order to complete your enrolment for a degree programme at the UvA. Find out how to pay the tuition fees.