Students participating in a lecture

Pre-Master’s program Data Science and Society

The Data Science and Society pre-Master’s program is designed for students with (1) a relevant university degree that does not entirely meet the admission requirements of the Master's program in Data Science and Society, or (2) a relevant Dutch hbo degree.

Advantages of taking the pre-Master's program

  • The pre-Master's semester consists of Bachelor's courses familiarizing you with the basic theories and research skills necessary for starting on the Master's program, with a focus on methodology and statistics.
  • It gives you some extra time to get used to studying in a different educational system, and to build up a social and professional network in the Netherlands.
  • After you have completed the pre-Master’s program you have access to the following Master's program:
    MSc Data Science and Society

Pre-Master's programs

For university graduates

Tilburg University offers a 30 EC program designed for students with a relevant university Bachelor's degree – national or international - that do not have sufficient prior knowledge in the field of methods and techniques of research (statistics, methodology) to directly enter the Master's program Data Science and Society.

Tuition fees

Please consult the page about the tuition fee rates concerning the Weighted fees pre-Master. This rate is the same for EEA and non-EEA students.

Application and admission

After you have submitted your complete application, the Admissions Committee will, based on this, decide whether:

  • You can be admitted directly into the Master’s program.
  • You can be offered a pre-Master’s program.
  • You cannot be admitted to the (pre-)Master’s program.

More on the application and admission procedure

For Dutch hbo graduates

The pre-Master's program for Dutch hbo graduates builds on the practically-oriented knowledge you acquired during your Bachelor's by enhancing your theoretical knowledge as well as your capacity for conceptual thinking.

  • This half-year pre-Master's program (30 ECTS) starts end of August and end of January.
  • After completing the pre-Master’s program with good results, you can start with the one-year Master's program Data Science and Society starting at the end of January, or at the end of August.

Tuition fees

Please consult the page about the tuition fee rates concerning the Weighted fees pre-Master. This rate is the same for EEA and non-EEA students.

Application and admission

To be eligible for this pre-Master's program, you must have completed a relevant Dutch hbo Bachelor's program of 240 EC.

More on the application and admission procedure

Program content

Course overview

Starting end of August:

  • Statistics for Premasters DSS (Fall)
  • Research Seminar for PM DSS (Fall)
  • Programming & Algorithmic Thinking (Fall)
  • Introduction to AI 1 (Fall)
  • Calculus for PM DSS (Fall)

You will find a detailed description of the courses and required literature in our course catalog.

Go to the course descriptions

Starting end of January:

  • Statistics for Premasters DSS (Spring)
  • Programming & Algorithmic Thinking (Spring)
  • Research Seminar for PM DSS (Spring)
  • Calculus for PM DSS (Spring)
  • Introduction to AI 1 (Spring)

You will find a detailed description of the courses and required literature in our course catalog.

Go to the course descriptions


Please note: programs are subject to change. We advise you to look up the current program in OSIRIS Student at the start of the year.


Do you want to know more about this pre-Master’s program?

Visit this pre-Master’s information session during the upcoming Open day

Open day Master's programs

Interested in the MSc Data Science and Society?

Check your eligibility and the deadlines for application