Your secondary school diploma should be equivalent to the level and content of a Dutch VWO secondary school diploma. In addition, mathematics must be one of the subjects of your final examinations.

To check if your diploma is equivalent to a Dutch VWO diploma, we provide a diploma calculator to check the international requirements. If your education is not listed, you can still apply. We assess your documents on an individual basis.

How to check the diploma requirements:

1. Type in your country or diploma
2. Check the basic diploma requirements. These are the minimum diploma entry requirements for every student
3. Check the extra/alternative diploma requirements per Bachelor’s programme. These are the additional requirements including mathematics requirements, grades, entry exams or extra academic requirements.

No rights may be derived from the diploma calculator for your future application.

Information for HBO propedeuse students

If you have obtained or will obtain a Dutch HBO-p certificate, you can apply for this Bachelor's programme. You also need to have the appropriate level of mathematics proficiency:

• VWO Wiskunde B
• State Exam Mathematics B (registration deadline 31 December)
• CCVX Mathematics B

In addition to the above diploma and mathematics requirements, non-EU students are required to submit an English proficiency test.

Transfer from another university

In general, it is not possible to transfer any coursework from another university to this Bachelor’s programme. All students must therefore apply and be accepted as a 1^st-year student. For any further questions about exemptions within your study programme, you can contact the study advisers.

Please note that we do not accept foundation programmes from other universities or institutions.

During this Bachelor’s, you must be able to read textbooks, understand lectures, participate in classroom discussions and complete written assignments in English. Therefore, you have to verify your English proficiency (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): level C1) in your application.

Proof of sufficient English language proficiency

The requirement for sufficient English language proficiency can be met if you have obtained or will obtain one of the following:

• English-taught secondary education in Australia, Canada (with the exception of Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America;
• International Baccalaureate diploma with English as an IB exam subject;
• European Baccalaureate diploma, with the subject English as first or second language (minimum final score result: 6);
• French Diplôme du Baccalauréat Général with Baccalauréat Francais Internationale (BFI)/Option Internationale du Baccalauréat (OIB), section britannique/américaine;     
• Valid English language proficiency test certificate. Please see below for the approved tests and minimum scores.

If your diploma is not mentioned above, please consult the diploma calculator to see if your prior education exempts you from taking the English language proficiency test.

Tests and required scores 

• TOEFL iBT Test: minimum total score of 92 with a minimum of 22 per subscore. You can use the institution code 9011 to have your score report sent to us. 
• IELTS Academic: overall band score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 per subscore. Please note that the IELTS Indicator test is not allowed. 
• Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: overall score of 180 and a minimum of 180 per skill. 

Other test versions or modules are not accepted. Examples of this include but are not limited to: IELTS Indicator, IELTS One Skill Retake, TOEFL Home Edition, TOEFL MyBest Scores, etc.

Validity of scores 

• Test scores may not be older than 2 years, counting back from the start of the programme. If you are applying for the September 2025 intake, we do not accept English proficiency tests taken before September 2023.
• Sufficient test scores received after the application deadline are accepted, as long as your English proficiency test was taken before the application deadline. 

Make sure to plan your test on time; test dates fill quickly, and it can take several weeks for you to receive your results. Applications without a sufficient score or with a test date after the application deadline, will not be accepted.

Our Bachelor’s programmes at UvA Economics and Business include mathematics courses that demand excellent mathematical and statistical skills. Given the significant role mathematics plays in our programmes, your secondary school diploma must include mathematics in the final examination. We expect all secondary school students to have successfully completed mathematics with a passing grade. For this programme, you need a Dutch VWO-B level of mathematics or a non-Dutch equivalent.

The following domains are defined for Dutch high-school students who take VWO-B level of mathematics: Skills, Functions, Graphs and Equations, Differential and Integral Calculus, Trigonometric Functions, and Coordinate Geometry 

Which secondary school diplomas with mathematics are equivalent to a Dutch VWO B level of mathematics?  

Some examples are:

• International Baccalaureate:  Mathematics HL or Analysis and Approaches HL, with a minimum of 4 points. However, a grade of at least 5 points is highly recommended.   
• German Abitur: Leistungsfach Mathematik in Abiturprüfung. A grade of at least 10 is highly recommended.   
• European Baccalaureate: 5-period Mathematics. A grade of 7.5 points or higher is highly recommended.

Do you have another diploma?   

Please use the diploma calculator to see the specific mathematics requirement per country and/or diploma type. Some students also need an additional mathematics test (OMPT-D test). If your diploma type requires an additional OMPT-D test, this will also be stated in the Diploma Calculator under de Extra Requirements per programme.

Additional mandatory OMPT-D test

As stated in the diploma calculator, students with certain secondary school diplomas are required to obtain an additional mandatory OMPT-D test. Without a sufficient test score, you do not have the right mathematics entry level and can therefore not start with this Bachelor programme. Please take the OMPT-D test before the application deadline. If you are in doubt, please submit your application as soon as possible and we will first determine if you are eligible without obtaining a sufficient OMPT-D test result. If you are required to take the OMPT-D test, we will inform you about this. If you already scheduled your OMPT-D test, please upload a proof of registration or your results in your application.

• You need a score of at least 70% to pass.
• You have 3 attempts to obtain a sufficient score.  
• This test is not accepted as a substitute to eliminate missing mathematics in your final examination.
• The cost of the test starts at €250.

What if you don't meet the mathematics requirement?  

If your secondary school diploma does not meet the mathematics entry requirements, you can take one of the mathematics B certificate courses. Please note that these courses are not available online, you need to take them in the Netherlands. These certificate courses cannot be used as a substitute for the OMPT-D test.