Diploma assessment

Applying with a foreign diploma

When you apply for a degree programme or a preparatory course at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS/HvA), with a non-Dutch diploma you must send your diplomas and academic records to the student administration for your degree programme.

The student administration for your programme will ensure that your diploma and academic records are evaluated by the diploma assessors working at the General Office Student Affairs (Dienst Studentenzaken)

The assessment is carried out to make sure your diploma is authentic and is of the right standard and level for admittance to the degree programme of your choice.  Furthermore your academic record (subject and grade list) is checked to see if you meet the additional entrance requirements for the programme.

It is not sufficient to have an old assessment by the NUFFIC, an admission declaration from another university or, for instance, a havo diploma from Surinam. Your previous non-Dutch education will always need assessing.

The examination board ultimately makes the final decision to either accept or reject the applicant for the programme, after carefully considering the advice of the diploma assessors.

Information on applying for degree programmes is available on our website at: international.hva.nl/programmes

Information on applying for the preparatory course is available on our website at: preparatory courses for foreign students

The assessment of your diploma will take four to six weeks

The student administration will send your file to be assessed and this will take four to six weeks, depending on whether you have provided all the necessary and correct information or on the complexity of the assessment.

Deadlines

If you are applying for a degree programme: no later than 1 May.

If you are applying for a preparatory year: no later than 1 March.

If you submit your application at a later date we cannot guarantee that your diploma assessment will be completed in time.

What is the next step?

The diploma assessment can lead to one of the following decisions:

• Full admittance
• Provisional acceptance
• Rejection
• Request for further information

The student administration for your degree programme will inform you on the decision of the examination board.

When are you admissible?

You are admissible to a programme at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam with a foreign diploma if this diploma is authentic and of a sufficient standard and level and if your subjects meet the entrance requirements of the programme.

If you wish to attend a programme taught in the Dutch language

1. Your diploma is equivalent to at least the Dutch havo/mbo-4 level, and your subjects match the profile requirements for the programme of your choice.
2. You demonstrate the level of your Dutch language skills by either one of these options:

• Sitting the State Exam Dutch as a Second Language, programme 2 (all four parts of NT2-II). The Hogeschool van Amsterdam offers candidates who need to learn Dutch a preparatory year to prepare them for the State Exam Dutch as a Second Language

     Please go to: preparatory courses for foreign students

• The Certificate Dutch as a Foreign Language, of either the Language Proficiency for Higher Education Profile or the Academic Language Proficiency Profile.

If you wish to attend a programme taught in the English language

1. The diploma is equivalent to at least the Dutch havo/mbo-4 level, and your subjects match the profile requirements for the programme of your choice.
2. You will need to meet the programme's requirements regarding the level of your English language skills. These requirements can be found on the website for the programme itself.

Information about entrance requirements is available on our website at:  international.hva.nl/programmes

What is a provisional acceptance?

If you do not meet the language requirements or if you have not taken the correct subjects to match the profile requirements you will receive a provisional acceptance with an advice on how to meet these requirements. This could either be that you need to take a language course or a language test or that you need to take extra subjects to meet the requirements.

What to do if you receive a rejection?

If you receive a rejection and you do not agree with the decision made by the examination board you are advised to contact the student administration first. You can receive more detailed information on the reason(s) for the rejection.