To be admitted to the selection procedure for the master's programs at the Academy of Architecture, your previous education must meet one of the three criteria below:

1. You have a diploma from a Dutch bachelor's or master's program that is in line with the program to be followed at the Academy of Architecture. Are you unsure whether you have a relevant previous education? View the overall guidelines here, or the list of matching Dutch diplomas here.
2. You have a foreign bachelor's or master's program that is in line with the master's program at the Academy of Architecture. If a foreign previous education is unknown to us, it can be assessed by Nuffic, the expertise and service center for internationalization in Dutch education.
3. You have a relevant foreign previous education in combination with sufficient relevant work experience, so that you think you qualify for the desired education. The work experience is apparent from CV and portfolio. Relevance is weighed by the admissions committee.

Diploma still to be obtained:
If you have yet to obtain your (bachelor's) diploma, you can still participate in the selection process. If you are then admitted, it is with a proviso. In that case, a copy of the diploma must be in our possession no later than 1 September, otherwise the admission will expire. When you register, upload a note stating when you expect to have the diploma.

Not quite the right diploma?
If you want to follow a master's degree in Architecture, Urbanism or Landscape Architecture, but do not have a constructional technical training and/or lack important professional knowledge or design skills, you may be able to follow the pre-master Architecture & Technology or the pre-master Urbanism & Landscape architecture.

The portfolio must be submitted as a PDF file. Please limit your portfolio to a maximum of about twenty pages. A good portfolio consists of:

• A wide variety of your design work. These are projects from your previous education and/or from your professional practice. Preferably as diverse as possible.
• Own projects in which you show what your design qualities are. In joint work you state exactly what your role was in that project. Or projects that you initiated and designed yourself.
• Various design work - in scale - in which you show which design skills you have mastered. Don't just show final results. Also initiations in sketch stage and ideas. And images such as floor plans and cross-sections and surroundings in different scales, details, etc.
• Various design work – in images – in which you show what your visual skills are, such as hand sketches, models, visuals, diagrams and models.
• Work from relevant work experience or courses with which you can show your design knowledge
• Your own fascinations within the profession – make sure you show us this!

Gaining practical experience is an important part of the master’s programme. At the start of the study (or shortly afterwards), the student must be working in a workplace relevant to the study. Please click here to learn more about this concurrent model.

If English is not your native language, you must demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English – at least at B2 level (Dutch: havo level) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), or an equivalent level. This can be demonstrated with one of the recognized English tests listed below or with other relevant evidence.

Recognized English Tests and Minimum Scores

IELTS Academic
Minimum score: 6.0

TOEFL iBT (Traditional & Paper Edition)
Minimum total score: 72

Cambridge English
Minimum total score: 169

LanguageCert Academic
Minimum required level: B2

Pearson PTE Academic
Minimum required level: B2

Alternatively, you can demonstrate your English proficiency with:
– a list of marks from a previous study;
– or another document that unequivocally shows that the command of English is at the required level.

International candidates who pass the first stage of selection will be invited for a short online interview with the admissions committee. During this interview, English language proficiency will be further assessed.