Bridging to the MSc
with a Dutch academic bachelor or with an hbo bachelor’s degree
If your Dutch academic bachelor does not sufficiently match the master’s programme of your choice, then you can, in some cases, start your master’s programme after following a bridging programme.
An hbo bachelor’s degree does not give direct access to TU Delft’s master’s programmes. If you have completed a relevant hbo bachelor’s programme, then you will have to finish a bridging programme before you can start a master’s programme at TU Delft.
On the MSc programme pages you will find information about eligibility for the bridging programme. Here you will also find if the programme has programme specific requirements. The contents of the bridging programme differs per master’s programme. You will determine the contents of the bridging programme together with the bridging programme coordinator of the study programme of your choice.
For more information about general admission requirements, about deadlines, application and enrolment and about general terms and conditions, click on the tabs below.
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You must have vwo level wiskunde B. If you have a vwo diploma with wiskunde B, then you meet this requirement. We also accept a vwo certificate through the staatsexamen. The staatsexamen takes place once a year. Please find the exam dates on DUO’s website. The application deadline for the staatsexamen is before January 1st.
If you don’t have a vwo diploma with wiskunde B or a vwo wiskunde B certificate through the staatsexamen, then, alternatively, you may obtain a vwo level certificate at one of the following institutions:
- Boswell-Beta in Utrecht;
- Het Korteweg-de Vries Insituut in Amsterdam;
- Centrale Commissies Voortentamen - CCVX.
Please note that from the 2025-2026 academic year onward, certificates obtained at Het Korteweg de Vries Instituut in Amsterdam will no longer be accepted. This includes certificates obtained before the 2025-2026 academic year.
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You must have vwo level English. If you have a vwo diploma, then you meet this requirement.
We also accept a vwo certificate through the staatsexamen. The staatsexamen takes place once a year. Please find the exam dates on DUO’s website. The application deadline for the staatsexamen is before January first.
If you don’t have a vwo diploma or a vwo certificate for English, then, alternatively, you may obtain one of the following certificates with the required minimum scores:”
- TOEFL iBT certificate: a total score of at least 100 with sub scores of at least 22 on each part of the test. TU Delft does not accept TOEFL MyBest scores. The required minimum scores must be obtained in one single test.
- IELTS certificate: a total score of at least 7.0 on the Academic test with sub scores of at least 6.5 on each part of the test. The required minimum scores must be obtained in one single test. We do accept sufficient scores obtained through the de IELTS One Skill Retake.
- Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2) or Certificate in Advanced English (C1) (University of Cambridge): a total score of at least 185. Share your University of Cambridge Certificate with us.
If on the day you submit your application your language certificate is over two years old, it will not be accepted. We do not accept online tests.
If international students cannot take one of the above tests, because test centres are closed or unavailable due to safety conditions in their country, they will be allowed to take the TOEFL iBT Home Edition test. We do not accept the IELTS Indicator test or The IELTS Online (Academic) test.
Do you have dyslexia? Then please ask the test organisation where you will take your English test well in advance, about accommodations for test takers with dyslexia. TU Delft does not accept test results that do not meet the minimum score requirements, regardless of a “dyslexieverklaring”.
Exemption
You will be exempted from taking one of the tests if one of the following situations applies to you:
- Your bachelor’s programme is taught completely in English. Please submit proof of this (contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl) when applying.
- You are a national citizen of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the U.S.A.
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If your previous education prior to your Dutch university bachelor's degree was completed abroad, then a Dutch language requirement applies. This counts for Dutch-language bridging programmes (when the bachelor’s programme has Dutch as its language of instruction). Please click here to see the requirements.
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Most of TU Delft’s bridging programmes start in September, with the following exceptions:- Industrial Design Engineering only offers a bridging programme that starts on February 1st.
- Architecture offers a bridging programme that starts on February 1st (30 or 60 ECTS) and a bridging programme that starts on September 1st (60 ECTS).
Apply for a bridging programme that starts in September as follows:
Before July 1st:
- Apply in Studielink.
In Studielink, select the bridging programme of your choice at TU Delft. After applying in Studielink you will receive a student number per email. Always mention your student number in emails to TU Delft. Note that we cannot start processing your application and documents until you have applied in Studielink.
- Arrange your bridging programme with the bridging programme coordinator and send in the “rapportageformulier”.
Send an email to the programme’s bridging programme coordinator in which you ask to arrange a bridging programme. In your email, please mention:
- The name of your hbo or academic bachelor and the name of the educational institution where you follow(ed) the programme.
- The name of the bridging programme of your choice.
Note: If you filled out a rapportageformulier last year, but ultimately did not enrol, then please fill out a new rapportageformulier if you want to start the coming academic year.
Well before September 1st:- Meet the admission requirements for English and wiskunde B.
If you have deficiencies for English and/or wiskunde B, then register for tests well in advance. Preparing for and planning wiskunde B and/or English tests can take a lot of time. Take into account that the time it will take for you to receive the test results can differ per test organisation. Also, for some, a resit may be necessary.
Send your certificates to contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl in PDF-format. The certificates must be obtained before September 1st to be allowed to enrol on September 1st in that same year.
If you are unable to enrol in the bridging progamme, please withdraw your application in Studielink before September 1st.
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Only Architecture and Industrial Design Engineering offer bridging programmes that start in February.
Architecture offers the 30 ECTS bridging programme starting in February. This programme is only offered once a year.
The 60 ECTS programme is offered with a starting date of February 1st and September 1st.
Apply for a bridging programme that starts in February as follows:
Before December 1st:
- Apply in Studielink.
In Studielink, select the bridging programme of your choice at TU Delft. After applying in Studielink you will receive a student number per email. Always mention your student number in emails to TU Delft. Note that we cannot start processing your application and documents until you have applied in Studielink.
- Arrange your bridging programme with the bridging programme coordinator and send in the “rapportageformulier”.
Send an email to the programme’s bridging programme coordinator in which you ask to arrange a bridging programme. In your email, please mention:
- The name of your hbo or academic bachelor and the name of the educational institution where you follow(ed) the programme.
- The name of the bridging programme of your choice.
Note: If you filled out a rapportageformulier last year, but ultimately did not enrol, then please fill out a new rapportageformulier if you want to start the coming academic year.
Well before December 1st:
- Meet the admission requirements for English and wiskunde B.
If you have deficiencies for English and/or wiskunde B, then register for tests well in advance. Preparing for and planning wiskunde B and/or English tests can take a lot of time.
Send your certificates to contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl in PDF-format. The certificates must be obtained before December 1st to be allowed to enrol on February 1st in that same year.
If you are unable to enrol in the bridging progamme, please withdraw your application in Studielink before February 1st.
- Apply in Studielink.
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Does something change in your courses after you have started the bridging programme? Then fill in the “wijzigingsformulier” together with the bridging programme coordinator. Please fill in the form for the year in which you started the programme: either the wijzigingsformulier 2022-2023 or wijzigingsformulier 2023-2024 or wijziginsformulier 2024-2025. Open the form in Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Fill and Sign. Send the completed form to contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl.
Students who follow a bridging programme pay a one-time bridging fee before the start of the programme. The bridging fee is a proportional part of the statutory tuition fee and depends on the number of ECTS in your bridging programme. In other words, you pay for the number of ECTS in your bridging programme. The amount of the statutory tuition fee changes annually, which means that so does the amount of the bridging fee per ECTS.
Please see Tuition Fee & Finances (tudelft.nl) for all information about payment deadlines, payment methods, etc.
- Enrolment for a bridging programme is for a maximum of 1 year.*
- If you are taking the bridging programme during your bachelor enrolment is for a maximum of 2 years.
- It is not possible to switch to a different bridging programme during the study year.
- If you don’t complete a bridging programme within the set amount of time, you cannot enrol for a similar bridging programme at TU Delft. ( You are allowed to start a maximum of 2 separate bridging programmes in total)
- You pay the fee for your bridging programme once, even if courses are not taken or results are not obtained, the fee is non refundable.
- If you are given an exemption for a course that is in your bridging programme, the result will be on your transcript as an exemption, the course is not taken out of the programme. There is no refund for the credits of this course.
- If you withdraw from the bridging programme, the fee will not be refunded. If you are paying in instalments the remainder of the fees will be withdrawn from your account at once after the withdrawl from the programme.
- If in addition to your bridging programme you are also enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s programme, then you pay tuition fee to the educational institution where you are following your bachelor’s or master’s programme and will get an exemption from payment for the bridging fee. Please check how to get the exemption from payment here, at “Payment methods-Exemption from payment”. Note that as soon as you terminate your enrolment from the bachelor’s or master’s programme, you are no longer entitled to the exemption and will pay a bridging fee for the remaining months of the academic year.
You will be enrolled as a bridging student at TU Delft, only after you meet the admissions requirements and fulfil your payment obligation before our deadlines.
* For students starting in September 2025 (for students that started before September 2025 it is still maximum 2 years)
Contact
If you have any questions about the information above, please contact contactcentre-esa@tudelft.nl.