Piazza Duomo in Trento

Application and admission Double degree Sociology and Social Research

This is the application and admission procedure for all applicants of the Double Degree program in Sociology and Social Research.

a) Check your eligibility

1. Educational background

Bachelor’s students of the University of Trento

Students who start at the University of Trento must have:

  • Fulfilled the credit requirements of the first year (75%) of the MSc program in Sociology and Social Research at Trento before they enter the second year at Tilburg University.
  • A GPA of at least 25/30.
  • Sufficient motivation and English skills as shown through a selection interview (with a minimum of level B2 of the Common European Framework).

Application deadline: April 1

Application procedure: You are selected during your first Master's year by the Academic Coordinators of Trento University and Tilburg University.

Bachelor’s students of Tilburg University, other Dutch universities, or non-Dutch universities

In order to qualify for the Double Degree in Sociology, you must have (a)n:

  • University degree (undergraduate and/or graduate) in a –preferably- relevant discipline, e.g., the field of sociology, social sciences, or humanities.
    • You cannot be accepted onto this Master's program without having either a Bachelor's or Master's degree in a related field.
  • Sufficiently conversant in the social sciences, e.g., knowledge of and practice in the application of (key) questions of sociology and of classical and modern sociological theories; basic knowledge of other social sciences e.g. psychology and economics.
  • Adequate knowledge of social science statistics and research methods.
2. English language requirements

You must prove your proficiency in English by submitting the results of one of the following tests:

IELTS Academic: minimum overall band score of 6.5 and a minimum score of 6.0 on all individual parts of the test. 

  • We do not accept IELTS Online.  

TOEFL iBT: minimum total score of 90 for (TOEFL iBT: Computer based and Paper Edition) at a test center. 

  • We only accept scores from a single test date. We do not accept MyBest Scores. 
  • We accept TOEFL iBT Home Edition only under exceptional circumstances, such as when on-site language test centers are closed or inaccessible due to unsafe situations in a country. 

Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 proficiency: with grades of A, B or C.  

Please note 

  • The test results must not be older than two years at the time of application. 
  • You must be able to prove your English language proficiency at the time of application. Without test results your application cannot be processed unless you are exempted. 

An English proficiency test is not required if one of the following applies to your situation: 

  • You hold a passport from one of the following countries
    Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States of America. 
  • You have studied and completed your entire Bachelor's or Master's program in one of the following countries
    Australia, Canada (with the exception of Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States of America. 

For all other countries and situations, the English language test is compulsory

For information and registration details regarding the tests, including applicable fees, please visit the official websites of IELTS, TOEFL, and Cambridge.

b) Please note the deadline to register

You must submit your application in our online application system before the deadline that applies to you: 

EEA Nationals

June 1st

Non-EEA Nationals

April 1st

Please note:

  • Applicants with a Swiss citizenship can follow the deadline for EEA nationals.
  • UK citizens should follow the deadline for non-EEA nationals.
  • Applicants with a non-EEA nationality and a valid residence permit of an EEA country, other than the Netherlands, should apply before the non-EEA deadline.
  • Applicants with a non-EEA nationality and a valid residence permit of the Netherlands, can follow the deadline for EEA nationals. The residence permit should be valid until at least up to the intended start date of your study program.
Scholarship deadlines

If you are applying for a scholarship, please carefully read the information provided for this scholarship on our tuition fees and scholarships page.

  • Certain scholarships will require you to apply before the application deadline of the program at Tilburg University.
  • If your scholarship application requires you to be (conditionally) admitted by Tilburg University, please take into consideration when applying for admission at Tilburg University, that it can take at least six weeks for you to receive your (conditional) Admission Letter.

c) Follow the application procedure

If you are a current student of the University of Trento AND have fulfilled all requirements as described under a) above, you don’t need to follow the procedure described below. You are selected during your first Master's year by the Academic Coordinators of Trento University and Tilburg University.

All other students should follow the procedure described below.

Make sure you apply for the correct study program
  • The name of this Master's program in Studielink is:
    M Sociology - Politics, Policy and Society in Comparative Perspective
Step 1: Prepare your application documents

During the application process, you must upload the following documents in pdf format only.


  1. Copy Passport / ID card 
    Please check the exact requirements, including the minimum validity of your passport or ID card, on the webpage Documents to verify your identity.
  2. Resume/Curriculum Vitae
    This must include your personal information and details of any jobs (part-time, research assistant, etc.) which you have done. Please include membership of any professional bodies and details of any articles you have published. We do not require a standard format.
  3. Motivation Letter
    Please use this format (pdf) to write your motivation letter.
  4. Transcript of Records
    This is a list from your University of the courses you have taken in your Bachelor's (and Master's) degree, with the grades you have achieved.  This must be an official list from your University, not your results downloaded from the University’s student system. If you have not yet completed all courses at the time of application, please provide the Transcript plus a list of the courses you still need to complete before graduation.
  5. Diploma(s)
    Your Bachelor's (and Master's) diploma(s), if you already have them.
    • If you have not yet completed your higher education study program, you should upload a provisional transcript with your grades up to this point (see 3). Once conditionally admitted, you must send a certified hard copy of your diploma to us, according to the details in your conditional Admission Statement.
    • If you already have completed your higher education study program but have not yet received your diploma, you can provide us with a Graduation Statement from your university that states you have completed all graduation requirements for your study program and the date the diploma will be awarded. Such a statement must have an original seal/stamp and signature.
  6. Official translations of the Transcript of Records and diploma(s)
    If your Transcript of Records and diploma are not in English or Dutch, a certified translator must translate the documents. The translator must attach the translation to copies of the original document and stamp both documents. Please note: we cannot accept translations that are not attached to a copy of the original document; the translator must make sure that s/he stamps the copy of the original document and attaches the two documents to each other.
  7. English language test results (unless you are exempted).
    You can check the requirements above under the heading 'English language requirements'. Please note that it is obligatory to have obtained the required English language test results before submitting your application.
  8. TSB Statistics checklist
    Please complete both pages of the TSB Statistics checklist as requested, and sign, date, and upload the document.
Step 2: Register in Studielink

You must register in Studielink, the Dutch national registration system for higher education, and include the information below. Please do this correctly otherwise we will not be able to process your application.

  • Make sure you register for the correct study program as described above.
  • Enter your personal details (including your full name) as stated in your passport.
  • Add details of all your educational programs leading to your Bachelor's, Master's or PhD degree, even if you did not complete the program.
  • Enter an e-mail address that you use regularly. Tilburg University will send important information to this e-mail address, so please check it regularly.
  • For instructions on how to register via Studielink, please watch our video How to register in Studielink or check the Step-by-step plans on the Studielink website.

Register in Studielink

Please note: you must follow the application procedure in step 3 to be considered for admission. Registration in Studielink alone is not sufficient. Both processes must be completed by the deadline stated above.

Step 3: Continue your application in our online application system

After you have registered in Studielink, you must continue your application in OSIRIS Aanmeld, our online application system.

Within 48 hours of your registration in Studielink, you will receive two e-mails from Tilburg University. Please also check your spam/junk inbox. 

  • One e-mail contains your OSIRIS Aanmeld account details as well as information on how you can start your application in OSIRIS Aanmeld. If you have not received this e-mail within 48 hours of your registration in Studielink, please first check if you have completed the details of your prior education correctly. If you have not received this email after correction, please contact internationaladmissions@tilburguniversity.edu.
  • The other e-mail contains your Tilburg University account details (your student number and Tilburg University e-mail address). You will not need these details for your application, but please save them carefully, as you will need them at a later stage.

For instructions on how to apply via OSIRIS Aanmeld, please watch our video How to apply for a Master in OSIRIS Aanmeld (07:06).

Some tips for your application:

  • In OSIRIS Aanmeld, the name of the application process in the Type column is "Application pre-Master + Master" for all applicants. This is independent of the type of program you have registered for in Studielink.
  • If you want to upload a document with more than one page, scan each page of the document into one PDF.
  • You do not have to complete your application in one go. You can save your application and return to it later.

Submit your application before the deadline as stated above

If you submit your application either close to or on the deadline, but have not uploaded the correct documents, Tilburg University reserves the right not to process your application.

After submitting your application

Our International Admissions Coordinator will check that your application is complete, according to the requirements above.

You can check your application status anytime you log in to your account in OSIRIS Aanmeld.

Step 4: Confirm your application to your International Admissions Coordinator

After submitting your application

You must send an e-mail to your International Admissions Coordinator via Admissions-TSB@tilburguniversity.edu to confirm that you have submitted your application for this Double degree in Sociology and Social Research program.

Our International Admissions Coordinator will check that your application is complete, according to the requirements above.

  • If your documents are not complete, you will be asked to submit any missing or replace any illegible document(s). Your International Admissions Coordinator may request additional information from you during the assessment process.  Please check your e-mail regularly (including your spam folder) to avoid a delay in the processing of your application.
  • You can check your application status anytime you log in to your account in OSIRIS Aanmeld.
Step 5: Admissions Committee's decision

After your application is complete, your application will be assessed to determine whether your academic background meets our admission requirements, based on your application documents.

From the University of Trento you will receive per e-mail a University of Trento admission letter, a Tilburg University admission letter, and a joint admission letter stating the outcome of your admission request and information about the rest of the admission procedure.

Tilburg University complies with all the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) regarding all personal information included in the application process, including photocopies of passports/residence permits, etc. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Statement.

Do you have any questions?

Please feel free to contact us for your personal queries. You can contact us on every page of the Master's website.