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Maastricht University · Netherlands

University College Maastricht (Liberal Arts and Sciences)

NSaad (WMF) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Where: Maastricht, Netherlands
Length: 3 years
Taught in: English
Starts: September
Apply by: 1 February 2027
Admission: Limited places

More facts

Length: 3 years
Taught in: English
Starts: September

Deadlines

1 April 2027, 23:59 CET

University College Maastricht closes for EU/EEA and Swiss applicants

Hard deadline
Details
Neither 15 January nor 1 May. UCM is selective without being numerus fixus and sets its own date.
Source
1 May 2027, 23:59*

Last day to keep your right to a place (programmes without selection)

Equal consideration
Details
Apply by 1 May and you are entitled to admission to a non-selective programme you qualify for. The government says a first application after 1 May may be refused - the programme can still take you, but does not have to. Some institutions set earlier dates of their own, and theirs is the one that binds.
Studielink closes at 23:59 on 1 May. The government’s rule is what makes it an equal-consideration date: apply by 1 May and you are entitled to admission to a programme you qualify for ("Aanmelding tot en met 1 mei betekent ook recht op toelating"); a first application after 1 May "kan door de opleiding geweigerd worden" - the programme may still take you, but it does not have to. Some programmes close earlier for capacity or matching reasons, and the programme’s own date is the one that binds.
Source
31 August 2027, 23:59 CET

All enrolment tasks complete

Hard deadline
Details
Including the certified copy of your diploma — which is why IB results arriving in early July is workable here: the diploma is an enrolment task, not an admission task.
Source

All dates for this programme (2 more)

1 December 2026*

Create your Studielink account

Your own plan
Details
Not an official deadline. With a Dutch address you log in with DigiD, which the government says takes about five days. Without one you upload a scan or photo of your passport or EU identity card and Studielink verifies it automatically. Either way, do it well before 15 January.
Source
6 July 2027*

IB results released

Details
Both Dutch deadlines fall well before this. How a conditional place pending results is handled is set by each institution; ask yours.
Source

* Last year’s date, not yet confirmed.

Every date in the Netherlands

What it is

Three years in which you build your own curriculum from across the sciences, social sciences and humanities, choose a concentration as you go, and are taught in groups small enough that not preparing is visible. Two hundred and fifty places, an interview rather than a ranking, and a first year you must pass at 45 of 60 credits or leave. If the breadth of the Diploma is the part you liked, this is its continuation.

Degree and length

Length: 3 years, 180 ECTS
Field: Interdisciplinary

What you need

Open question: Documented English proficiency — Maastricht's English exemption for IB Diploma holders could not be captured as a quoted sentence (the programme page answers it through a questionnaire), so it is not counted here. Confirm it on the programme page before you rely on it.

Check my subjects against it

Check it on maastrichtuniversity.nl

How places are decided

First-round review of your application documents Asks for the full IB Diploma.

Requirements in full, and how places are allocated

Which IB award this asks for

This asks for the full IB Diploma. DP Course Results — what the IB awards for individual Diploma Programme subjects where the Diploma itself is not — do not satisfy it on their own.

No route published for this programme. Other Maastricht faculties test applicants from 21, so ask in writing.

How that route works

This programme's own admission page publishes no route: it states the requirement as a VWO diploma, an HBO or OU propaedeutic diploma, or a non-Dutch diploma equivalent to VWO, and the word colloquium appears on it only in the site menu. Maastricht does run Colloquium Doctum admissions under article 7.29 of the Dutch Higher Education Act — its Faculty of Law publishes one for 2027-2028 at 100 euro, written on 12 May 2027 and oral on 26 May 2027, open to applicants who are at least 21 at the start of the academic year and requiring the English rather than the Dutch language requirement; its Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences publishes another; and University College Venlo publishes one on the same kind of page that University College Maastricht leaves blank. So the question for this programme is not whether the university can do it but whether this faculty will, and the only way to find out is to ask its admissions office in writing, early, naming article 7.29 WHW. Two doors are shut whatever the answer: Maastricht "does not accept Foundation Programmes for admission to a bachelor's programme", and it "does not accept equivalency statements", so a Nuffic credential evaluation will not stand in for the diploma. And all of it waits for your 21st birthday. Retaking to be awarded the full IB Diploma is the only route that reaches this at eighteen. One further route is national rather than this institution's, and it is the only one that produces the qualification itself instead of an exemption from it: the Dutch staatsexamen vwo. Anyone who registers may sit vwo subjects one at a time with DUO — registration for the 2027 examinations runs from 15 October to 31 December 2026, each subject costs 144 euro with a ceiling of 720 euro a year, and the certificates stay valid for ten years, so the package can be built up and exchanged for a vwo diploma at the end. No age limit applies, which is what makes it different from every colloquium doctum above, and Dutch law lets the College voor Toetsen en Examens grant you ontheffing from individual subjects on the strength of International Baccalaureate results — the one place in Dutch education law where the IB is named. The bill is linguistic: by statute the examinations are sat in Dutch.

Nuffic compares the full IB Diploma to a VWO diploma. Maastricht warns separately that being VWO-equivalent does not by itself satisfy a programme's additional subject requirements, which are assessed on their own. On Course Results specifically, Maastricht says nothing at all: its diploma list names the "International Baccalaureate Diploma, at least 3 Higher Level (HL) subjects" and no page on the site mentions DP Course Results, an IB Certificate or a partial IB. That silence is not permission — the requirement is a diploma, and Nuffic compares Course Results to vwo-deelcertificaten, which are not one.

What decides who gets in

These do not decide whether you qualify. They decide the order among everyone who does, so not meeting one is not the same as being ineligible.

First-round review of your application documents
An online interview in English, 30 to 45 minutes

Sources (12)

Entry requirements and admission rules for University College Maastricht (Liberal Arts and Sciences).

Open this to see the exact page each rule came from, when it was read, and whether a person has checked it.

Maastricht University — University College Maastricht, admission requirements institution

At UCM, we are looking for highly motivated students with a genuine passion for academics. To find the right match between your academic interests and what UCM offers, we use a selective admissions process. Each year, we have 250 places available for new students. [...] 1 February 2027, 23:59 CET — Deadline for applicants with a non-EU/EEA nationality [...] 1 April 2027, 23:59 CET — Deadline for applicants with an EU/EEA or Swiss nationality [...] At UCM, we review applications on a rolling basis, so you can apply at any time up until the deadline. [...] First round: The Board of Admissions will review your application documents and let you know by email if you have been selected for an interview. Second round: If selected, you will be invited for an online interview in English with a UCM academic staff member. The interview takes about 30-45 minutes and focuses on your academic plans and how you see your education at UCM supporting these goals. [...] in your first year of the programme, you must obtain a minimum of 45 out of 60 ECTS credits.

University College Maastricht has 250 places, a two-round selective admission of document review then an online interview in English, and deadlines of 1 February 2027 for non-EU/EEA applicants and 1 April 2027 for EU/EEA and Swiss applicants. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. First-year students must earn 45 of 60 ECTS or be excluded from the programme for six years.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Maastricht University — Additional subject requirements 2027-2028 institution

To qualify for admission to a bachelor's programme at Maastricht University (UM), you must hold a secondary school diploma that is considered equivalent to the Dutch pre-university VWO diploma. [...] Please note: Diplomas listed as VWO equivalent that meet the general admission requirements do not always meet the additional subject requirements. The additional subject requirements will be assessed separately. [...] International Baccalaureate Diploma | Business Analytics — Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL/HL or Mathematics Applications and Interpretation HL | Econometrics and Operations Research — Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL/HL or Mathematics Applications and Interpretation HL | Economics and Business Economics — Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL/HL or Mathematics Applications and Interpretation SL/HL | International Business — Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL/HL or Mathematics Applications and Interpretation SL/HL | Data Science and Artificial Intelligence — Mathematics Analysis and Approaches HL | Computer Science — Mathematics Analysis and Approaches HL

Maastricht University publishes its additional subject requirements per programme in IB terms. International Business requires Mathematics Analysis and Approaches at SL or HL, or Applications and Interpretation at SL or HL. Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and Computer Science, require Mathematics Analysis and Approaches at HL.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Maastricht University — University College Maastricht, admission requirements institution

The admission requirements for the academic year 2027-2028 for the bachelor's programme University College Maastricht (UCM) depend on your previous education. […] Applicants with a Dutch diploma: If you have one of the diplomas stated below, you qualify for admission: VWO diploma; HBO or OU-propaedeutic diploma. […] Applicants with a non-Dutch diploma: If you have a non-Dutch diploma equivalent to the Dutch VWO diploma, you qualify - in principle - for admission to this study programme.

University College Maastricht's 2027-2028 admission page states the qualification requirement as a VWO diploma, an HBO or OU propaedeutic diploma, or a non-Dutch diploma equivalent to VWO, and publishes no Colloquium Doctum or any other route for an applicant without one. The same is true of the International Business admission page.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Maastricht University — Non-Dutch diplomas equivalent to the Dutch VWO diploma institution

International Baccalaureate — International Baccalaureate Diploma, at least 3 Higher Level (HL) subjects. […] Maastricht University does not accept Foundation Programmes for admission to a bachelor's programme. […] Maastricht University does not accept equivalency statements. Applications will be assessed based on the curriculum as followed in the final two years of your secondary education. […] Diplomas not listed will be assessed individually. […] Maastricht University reserves the right to give a binding judgement regarding your prior education. The assessment of diplomas and eligibility for admission is carried out within the applicable legal framework, including the Dutch Higher Education and Research Act (WHW) […] In the evaluation of foreign diplomas and education systems, Nuffic may be consulted. Nuffic provides credential evaluations and advice; however, the final decision regarding admission always rests with Maastricht University.

Maastricht lists the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least three Higher Level subjects as equivalent to the Dutch VWO diploma, refuses Foundation Programmes for bachelor admission, refuses equivalency statements, assesses unlisted diplomas individually, and reserves a binding judgement on prior education. Nuffic may be consulted but the decision is the university's.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Maastricht University, Faculty of Law — Colloquium Doctum entrance exam institution

If you do not have the required diploma, or do not meet the additional requirements, you can still qualify for admission by passing an entrance exam (art. 7.29 WHW), the so-called 'Colloquium Doctum'. […] Conditions of participation: You are at least 21 years old at the start of the academic year you want to register for. You meet the language requirements for English language programmes. […] The exam will take place at the Faculty of Law building […] It is not possible to join the exam online. […] The written component of the Colloquium Doctum exam 2027-2028 will take place on Wednesday 12 May 2027, from 9.30 am to 4.00 pm. The oral component […] on Wednesday 26 May 2027 […] The participation costs for the Colloquium Doctum exam are € 100,-. […] Apply as soon as possible via Studielink. This is possible from 1 October 2026 onwards. Deadline for completing the entire application process is 15 January 2027, 23:59 CET. […] Passing the Colloquium Doctum does not automatically guarantee a place in the bachelor programme for academic year 2027-2028.

Maastricht's Faculty of Law publishes a fully specified Colloquium Doctum for 2027-2028: at least 21 at the start of the academic year, the English language requirement rather than a Dutch one, application through Studielink from 1 October 2026 with the whole process complete by 15 January 2027, a written exam on 12 May 2027 and an oral on 26 May 2027, sat in person in Maastricht, at a participation cost of 100 euro payable again for any resit — and passing it does not guarantee a place on a numerus fixus programme.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek (WHW), artikel 7.24 — wetten.overheid.nl ministry

Artikel 7.24. Vooropleidingseisen. 1 Onverminderd het derde lid geldt voor de inschrijving voor een opleiding in het wetenschappelijk onderwijs als opleidingseis het bezit van het diploma vwo, bedoeld in artikel 2.58, tweede lid, onderdeel a, of 2.80, tweede lid, onderdeel a, van de Wet voortgezet onderwijs 2020. 2 Onverminderd het derde en het vierde lid geldt voor de inschrijving voor een opleiding in het hoger beroepsonderwijs als vooropleidingseis het bezit van: a. het diploma vwo […] b. het diploma havo […] c. het diploma van een middenkaderopleiding of van een specialistenopleiding als bedoeld in artikel 7.2.2, eerste lid, onder d, onderscheidenlijk e, van de Wet educatie en beroepsonderwijs […]

Dutch law makes possession of a vwo diploma the entry requirement for a bachelor at a research university, and a vwo, havo or mbo-4 diploma the entry requirement for a bachelor at a hogeschool. What the article requires is a diploma; no partial or modular certificate appears in it.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek (WHW), artikel 7.29 — wetten.overheid.nl ministry

Artikel 7.29. Vrijstelling op grond van toelatingsonderzoek. 1 Het instellingsbestuur kan personen van eenentwintig jaar en ouder die niet voldoen aan de in artikel 7.24, eerste onderscheidenlijk tweede lid, bedoelde vooropleidingseis noch daarvan krachtens artikel 7.28 zijn vrijgesteld, van die vooropleidingseis vrijstellen, indien zij bij een onderzoek door een door het instellingsbestuur in te stellen commissie hebben blijk gegeven van geschiktheid voor het desbetreffende onderwijs en van voldoende beheersing van de Nederlandse taal […] 2 De bij het onderzoek te stellen eisen worden opgenomen in de onderwijs- en examenregeling. 3 Het instellingsbestuur kan ten aanzien van een bezitter van een buiten Nederland afgegeven diploma dat in het eigen land toegang geeft tot een opleiding aan een instelling voor hoger onderwijs, afwijken van de in het eerste lid genoemde leeftijdsgrens. Van die leeftijdsgrens kan het instellingsbestuur ook afwijken, indien in bijzondere gevallen geen diploma kan worden overgelegd.

An institution may exempt an applicant of 21 or over who holds neither the required diploma nor a statutory exemption, if a committee it appoints finds them suited to the programme and sufficiently proficient in Dutch. The requirements are set in the institution's own teaching and examination regulations. The age limit may be waived for the holder of a foreign diploma that gives access to higher education in its own country, in special cases where no diploma can be produced, and for art programmes.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Nuffic (Dutch ENIC-NARIC) qualification body

When students do not meet the requirements for a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate, they receive a DP Course result. We compare a DP Course result with VWO modular certificates (vwo-deelcertificaten) for the subjects with a pass. […] We compare a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate with a VWO diploma.

Nuffic states what a DP Course result is — what the IB awards when a student does not meet the requirements for the Diploma — and compares it to vwo-deelcertificaten for the subjects passed, against a full IB Diploma which it compares to a vwo diploma.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs) — Staatsexamen vo, aanmelden en kosten national agency

U kunt zich vanaf 15 oktober tot en met 31 december 2026 aanmelden voor de staatsexamens in 2027. Wijzigingen voor bestaande aanmeldingen kunt u tot en met 31 januari 2027 doorgeven. […] U mag zich aanmelden voor de vakken die u nodig hebt om een diploma of certificaat binnen uw profiel te halen, met maximaal 1 extra vak. […] Deelnemen aan het staatsexamen kost € 144,- per vak. Een vak met alleen een college-examen kost € 71,-. U betaalt maximaal € 720,- per examenjaar.

Anyone can register with DUO to sit Dutch state examinations subject by subject. For the 2027 examinations registration runs from 15 October to 31 December 2026, with changes accepted until 31 January 2027. Each subject costs 144 euro, or 71 euro where it has only a college examination, capped at 720 euro per examination year. No age condition is published.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Wet voortgezet onderwijs 2020, artikelen 2.72 en 2.74 — wetten.overheid.nl ministry

Artikel 2.72. Staatsexamens en deelstaatsexamens. 1 Het College voor toetsen en examens geeft degenen die zich daarvoor hebben aangemeld, en, indien van toepassing, voldoen aan de bij of krachtens algemene maatregel van bestuur te stellen regels voor toelating tot het staatsexamen, jaarlijks de gelegenheid om een staatsexamen vwo, havo of vmbo of een daarvan onderdeel uitmakend deelstaatsexamen af te leggen. […] Artikel 2.74. Afnametaal bij toetsen en examens. 1 De toetsen en examens als onderdeel van het staatsexamen of deelstaatsexamen worden afgenomen in het Nederlands. 2 Bij het afnemen van de toetsen en examens kan een andere taal dan het Nederlands worden gebruikt als: a. de toetsen en examens betrekking hebben op die andere taal; b. dat noodzakelijk is vanwege de specifieke aard, de inrichting of de kwaliteit van het onderwijs; of c. dat noodzakelijk is vanwege de herkomst van de kandidaten.

The College voor Toetsen en Examens must give anyone who registers the annual opportunity to sit a state examination or a partial state examination for vwo, havo or vmbo, and those examinations are sat in Dutch, with other languages allowed only where the examination is about that language or where the nature of the teaching or the origin of the candidates makes it necessary.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Uitvoeringsbesluit WVO 2020, artikel 4.8 — wetten.overheid.nl ministry

Artikel 4.8. Ontheffing staatsexamen wegens eerder gevolgd onderwijs. 1 Het college kan op aanvraag van de examenkandidaat voor het staatsexamen ontheffing verlenen voor een vak, indien de examenkandidaat op grond van eerder gevolgd onderwijs aantoonbaar in het bezit is van voldoende kennis en vaardigheden over dat vak. 2 De ontheffing, bedoeld in het eerste lid, kan worden verleend op basis van een diploma, getuigschrift, certificaat of ander bewijsstuk, al dan niet behaald in Nederland, dat door het college wordt aanvaard als bewijs van voldoende kennis en vaardigheden. […] 3 Het tweede lid is van toepassing indien na het jaar waarin het diploma, getuigschrift, certificaat of ander bewijsstuk is vastgesteld, nog geen tien jaar zijn verstreken. 4 Tot het diploma, getuigschrift, certificaat en ander bewijsstuk, bedoeld in het tweede lid, behoren in elk geval die van het Internationaal Baccalaureaat, het Europees Baccalaureaat en die van het overeenkomstige onderwijs in een lidstaat van de Europese Unie.

The College voor Toetsen en Examens may, on application, exempt a state examination candidate from a subject where earlier education demonstrably gave them sufficient knowledge and skills in it, on the basis of a diploma, certificate or other document less than ten years old — and the documents that count include, in any event, those of the International Baccalaureate.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.
Regeling aanmelding en toelating hoger onderwijs (RATHO), artikel 1.4 — wetten.overheid.nl ministry

Artikel 1.4. Gelijkwaardig diploma. De volgende diploma's zijn tenminste gelijkwaardig als bedoeld in artikel 7.28, tweede lid, van de wet aan een diploma als bedoeld in artikel 7.24 van de wet: a. het schooldiploma als bedoeld in artikel 24, eerste lid, onderdeel a, van het Besluit Saba Comprehensive School en Gwendoline van Puttenschool BES voor wat betreft de toelating tot het wetenschappelijk onderwijs; b. […] voor wat betreft de toelating tot het hoger beroepsonderwijs; c. het diploma behaald in Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten of Suriname […]; d. het diploma van het Europees baccalaureaat van de Europese school […] voor zover dat diploma het vak Nederlands als eerste of tweede taal omvat.

The ministerial regulation that designates diplomas as at least equivalent to the vwo diploma, which institutions are obliged to accept under article 7.28 lid 2 WHW, lists only four: two BES school diplomas, a diploma from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten or Suriname, and the European Baccalaureate where it includes Dutch as a first or second language. The International Baccalaureate is not on the list in any form.

Read 2026-09-23. Applies to the 2027 autumn intake.

None of these sources has been checked by a person yet.

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