Application and admission Data Science and Entrepreneurship - national procedure

Prospective candidates of the Joint Master Data Science and Entrepreneurship should be prepared to embark on a multi-disciplinary program, with students from multiple backgrounds, cultures and nationalities.

1. Become an entrepreneur or innovator

It is expected that students who decide to apply for this program have an intrinsic motivation to become an entrepreneur or innovator.

2. Soft skills

Since this program is not only about learning knowledge and skills, but also about developing the personal traits that are generally believed to be critical to become successful, students should be open to this as well.

3. A solid background in data analysis and database technology

Last, but not least, this program requires students that are well equipped with BSc level knowledge and skills in the following two major domains: mathematics and statics - a.k.a. data analytics -, and programming and database technology a.k.a. data engineering.

The Master's program Data Science and Entrepreneurship (jd) is a multi-disciplinary program to which a lot of students with different backgrounds can apply. All applications will be individually assessed by the admission's committee. ​

Admission criteria

The Admissions Committee will decide on your eligibility, based on the following three criteria:

• Knowledge at the bachelor’s level of mathematics and statistics;
• Understanding of computer science;
• Understanding of analyzing and processing of big data.

'Am I eligible?'

The only way to find out if you're eligible, is to apply for the program. All applications will be individually assessed by the Admission's Committee. The entire assessment procedure will take maximally up to 6 weeks after your submission, but we will strive to address the application within 3 weeks. It’s the only way to know for sure.

Some guidance on your eligibility

As stated above in the admission requirements section, all applications will be individually assessed by the admission's committee. However, to give you some guidance on your eligibility up front, please check out our admission approach. In general, we have devised a multi-facetted admission approach to cater for the specific backgrounds and entry qualifications of BSc students. 

1. Direct admission
2. Indirect admission
3. Not-directly qualified
4. University of Applied Science / 'Hogeschool' students

1. Direct admission 

In most cases the following BSc programs meet the BSc-level entry requirements and can be directly admitted to the Joint Master's Program Data Science and Entrepreneurship:

• Applied Mathematics
• Applied Computer Science
• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Econometrics

In case of similar international BSc programs, admission will be checked by the admission committee. 

2. Indirect Admission -  a non-exhaustive list (!)

Students with a BSc-level diploma in one of the following disciplines may be eligible to be enrolled directly into the Master's program Data Science and Entrepreneurship (jd):

• Industrial Engineering
• Artificial intelligence
• Business Informatics
• Business & IT
• Information Science
• Liberal Arts
• Lifestyle Informatics
• Software Engineering
• Software Science
• Innovation Sciences
• Web Science
• Business Information Management
• ............(non-exhaustive list)

Non-exhaustive list - Bachelor and Gamma bachelor of science programs

Please note that the BSc programs mentioned above are some common examples: this is a non exhaustive list (!). These are all typically Beta and Gamma Bachelor of Science programs, that may facilitate in a sufficient background (ECTS) in mathematics, statistics, programming and databases. 

Mandatory electives or Pre-Master's program
​Admission depends on exactly which electives have been chosen during the respective programs and will be checked by the admission committee.
​​Depending on the “match” with the entry requirements, students may be either directly admitted to the Master's Program with mandatory electives to follow or be allowed to the Pre-Master's program. ​​

3. Not-directly qualified

Non-directly qualified students are typically BSc students from Gamma or Beta programs, that have a substantial overlap of courses with the programs mentioned at 2).

Examples include:

• international management 
• business administration
• economics
• etc...

These are all BSc programs with insufficient background (ECTS) in mathematics, statistics, programming and databases but whose deficiencies for the Master' program Data Science and Entrepreneurship can be resolved within the 30 ECTS of the Pre-Master's program.

4. Pre-Master programs for University of Applied Science / 'Hogeschool' students

Students with a Bachelor's Degree of a University of Applied Science (or  'Hogeschool')  are welcome to apply to the Master's program. We offer several options for BS students to eventually join our master's program. Please check out more information about your possibilities at our Pre-Master's program page.

Students are required to be proficient in spoken and written English

Applicants need to provide evidence of having achieved the required level by having one of the following qualifications:

• a. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test with a minimum score of 575 for the paper-based version, 232 for the computer version or 90 for the online version.
• b. IELTS (International English Language Testing System) test with an overall minimum score of 6.5 and no individual scores below 6.0 in the separate sections of the test.
• c. Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) with a minimum score A, B or C.
• d. Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).
• e. Cambridge Certificate of English: Business Higher (BCE).

You are exempt from an English test if:

• You are a native English speaker, i.e. if you are a citizen of one of the following countries: Australia, Canada (with exception of Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States of America.
• You completed all your university education in English. This only applies to scholars from the following countries: Australia, Canada (with exception of Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States of America.
• You completed a 3-years Academic Bachelor’s program (of at least 180 ECTS credits) fully in English in an accredited Research University in the Netherlands.
• You completed a 1 or 2-years Academic Master’s program (of at least 60 or 120 ECTS credits respectively) fully in English in an accredited Research University in the Netherlands.

You need permission from the Admissions Committee before you can enroll for this program. A request for admission preceeds an enrollment. So even if you are still in doubt we strongly advise you to advance and apply for admission.

To submit a request for admission, you need the following (digital) documents:

• A copy of your diploma (s) under which you are applying for admission.
• An overview of the subjects of the study results.
• A brief curriculum vitae.
• A copy of the passport page with your personal data or a copy of your ID card (front and back).

Apply now

The Admissions Committee will assess the complete application packages after application. The entire assessment procedure will take maximally up to 6 weeks after the submission, but we will strive to address the application within 3 weeks.

You will receive an email and a letter stating the outcome of your admission request.

There are three possibilities:

• A. (Conditionally) accepted
  If you are conditionally accepted, this means that you are admitted to our program, provided that you send the originals or certified copies of your documents.
  Note: it is possible that you do not completely fulfill the requirements. Deficiencies can sometimes be addressed as mandatory courses in the elective space of the Master's program. The admissions committee will decide if there are any of such deficiencies/mandatory electives. These will be included in your letter.
• B. (Conditionally) accepted to a Pre-Master's program
  It is possible that you do not completely fulfill the requirements. If this is the case, we may offer you a Pre-Master's program to prepare you for the Master's program of your choice.
• C. Rejected
  If you do not fulfill the admission requirements, your application will be rejected. We will e-mail you personally the reasons for the rejection.

Once you decide to accept the offer, you should send all the certified hard copies of the required documents

After receiving the original/certified copies of your documents, the Admissions Officer will proceed the (relevant) application, administration and immigration procedures.

All applicants accepted for this program are required to register via Studielink, the Dutch national database for higher education

You will be given more specific information in your acceptance letter regarding the procedure. 

Important note:

• It is expected to take an additional month to register the program as a two-year MSc program. This is just a formality. So in order to open up registration as soon as possible, the program will be registered as a one-year Master's program at first.
• It is therefore important to be aware that the Master Data Science and Entrepreneurship will be a two-year master's program. You will only qualify for a master's degree once you have completed the full program of 120 ECTS. Students registering within this period are not required to take any additional action.

You need to register before the official start of the program, but we strongly advise you to register in Studielink as soon as possible after your admission.

• You will not receive information about other procedures after your admission (such as the visa procedure) until you have registered in Studielink.
• Please note: it is not sufficient to apply only via Studielink. If you do not apply according to the procedure above, you will not be accepted for the program and will not be able to come to Tilburg University.
• The name of the Master's program in Studielink is: (Joint) Master Data science and entrepreneurship.
• Make sure that you use the same email address in Studielink as the email address you registered with in Tilburg University's online application system.

Enroll via Studielink

Confirm your registration at Tilburg University

After your registration in Studielink, you will be notified by Tilburg University and need to confirm this registration before you can start with the program.