Masteropleidingen

Admission & Application

In general, your application will be assessed on the basis of three main factors:

1. Your educational background/diplomas;
2. Your English language skills;
3. Your motivation letter.

1. Candidates for this Master's Programme should hold either:
   • A national Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration;
   • A national or University College Utrecht (UCU) Bachelor's Degree in one of the related disciplines (General Social Sciences, Business Administration, Policy Studies, Communication, Cultural Anthropology, Organizational Science, Human Resource Management, Social Sciences, Sociology, Political Science);
   • An international Bachelor's Degree in one of the above mentioned disciplines;
   • A one-year (inter)national Master's Degree in one of the above mentioned disciplines.

   In principle, successful participation in the Research Master's Programme is feasible for students who are well-grounded in general academic knowledge and skills. In addition, they should have knowledge of, and insight and skills in issues of Public Administration and Public Organizations, and of research methods. More formally: an honors degree, or in-depth knowledge of theory and research in the domain and proven excellence in conducting research at bachelor's degree level, is a prerequisite.

2. You are expected to be proficient in English. However, an English proficiency test will not be required if:
   • You are a native speaker of English, i.e. a citizen of, or have obtained your secondary school diploma in one of the following countries: Australia, Canada (with the exception of Quebec), New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States of America.
   • You have a Bachelor’s degree in a programme completely taught in English.

   All other applicants must take an English language test. The requirements are:

   • IELTS with a minimum score of 6.5 (with no scores under 6.0); or
   • TOEFL with a minimum score of 577 for the paper-based version, 90 for the Internet-based version and 233 for the computer-based version; or
   • Cambridge Proficiency.

3. We select highly motivated students for our Master’s programmes. We want to know that you are ready to invest the time required to reach your potential – because we are dedicated to helping you in that process. We ask you to elaborate on why you have chosen Tilburg University for your degree in a motivation letter of no more than two pages (A4 format).

An Admissions Committee assesses candidates on the basis of a portfolio submitted by the candidates. The portfolio contains proof of their knowledge and skills in Public Administration and Organizational Science, of Research Methods including research projects completed (please note: demonstrating affinity with and proven quality in the field of research skills), and relevant extra-curricular experience (e.g. trainee/work experience with a research agency, experience with project management). Besides, the Admissions Committee will require a letter of motivation in which the candidates motivate their application. It should include a research proposal that the candidate would like to specify in more detail on admission. An intake interview is part of the selection procedure for students living in the Netherlands.

Suitable candidates holding a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration and Organizational Science of Utrecht University and/or a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration of Tilburg University and/or a Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration of Erasmus University, Rotterdam, will be given precedence.

Late Entry on the grounds of Affiliated Degrees

Candidates holding a one-year Master's Degree in Public Administration or in a related discipline (General Social Sciences, Business Administration, Policy Studies, Communication Science, Cultural Anthropology, Organizational Science, Human Resource Management, Social Sciences, Sociology, Political Science) are eligible for exemption, to a greater or lesser degree, of those components of the Research Master's Programme that show substantial overlap with the academic Master's Programme completed previously. This will be assessed by the Admissions Committee.

The programme directors will see to a study plan that allows candidates to enter the coursework of the Research Master's Programme in the best possible way and thus prevents unnecessary prolongation of the course as much as possible.

Application

Please complete the application form and include the required documents:

• a copy of your passport or an extract from the municipal population register
• your curriculum vitae
• a recent passport photograph (with your name on the back)
• a certified copy of your Bachelor's Degree or a authenticated overview of the results you obtained to the present day with a testimony from your college or school showing which courses still have to be taken to meet the requirements of the Bachelor's Degree
• a letter of motivation of at most one side
• proof of affinity with research skills, such as:
  -quantification of research skills in preliminary training and
  -specific assessment of parts of a programme in which research skills have been practised and applied
  -research reports
  
• a research proposal, including the following:
  -a subject within the field of Public Administration and Organizational Science, a subject of your own choice or a commentary on a subject proposed by us.
  -the formulation of the research question, a summary of the theories and research methods to be adopted and the intended results of at most two sides.

If you hold a Bachelor's Degree in another domain than Public Administration, you should include:

• a minor certificate in Public Administration and Organizational Science or descriptions of the courses you chose for your Bachelor's Degree equivalent to the minor courses

If you did not obtain your preliminary training in the Netherlands and if you are a non-native speaker of English, you are required to include:

• proof of sufficient command of the English language, such as:
  -Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper-based: 580; TOEFL computer-based: 237
  -International English Language Testing System (Academic IELTS): 6.5 and for the written part 6.0
  -Advanced Placement International English Language (APIEL): Ap4
  -Cambridge Advanced English: B
  -Cambridge English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Proficiency in English: C