Chemistry and Science Communication and Society (MSc)

Admission requirements

To be eligible for Chemistry and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Master’s admissions: exceptional circumstances

The university is providing an option for third-year bachelor’s students who have encountered a study delay because of the corona measures and wish to begin a master’s programme in the 2020-2021 academic year.

For this Master’s programme, this means that students are allowed to complete their Bachelor’s programme during the 2020-2021 academic year and will already be allowed to start the Master’s programme on 1 September 2020. The following additional conditions apply:

students must have a minimum of 150 ECTS to be able to apply,
the missing 30 ECTS must include the final bachelor’s project.

You will have to have completed your Bachelor’s programme by 31 August 2021 at the latest.

This option does not apply for students from applied universities or students who are following a pre-Master’s programme.

What do you need to do?

Enrol on and request admission to both programmes (Bachelor's and Master's):

Fill out this form before 15 June
Register for the Master’s programme in Studielink
Request admission in uSis before 15 June
Re-enrol for the bachelor’s or pre-master’s programme before 1 September for a maximum of one month.

Your Master’s programme enrolment will be definitive as of 1 September 2020 on the condition that you have completed your Bachelor’s programme before 31 August 2021 at the latest; otherwise your Master’s programme enrolment will be cancelled.

You pay only one tuition fee, so you only pay for your master’s programme. This is on the condition that you have completed your bachelor’s programme by 31 August 2021 at the latest and have de-registered for this programme. If your master’s enrolment is cancelled, you pay the tuition fee for continuing the bachelor’s programme. If you are following a bachelor’s programme at another institution, you can request proof of tuition fee payment (bewijs betaald collegegeld) via the contact form from Student Affairs Front Office, so that you will not have to pay the tuition fee. In the form choose the option tuition fee in the field *Category.

Questions

If you have any questions about admission and enrolment, please use the online contact form to contact the Student Affairs Front Office, using ‘Admission request’ as the subject.

Diploma requirements

Entry requirements for students from a Dutch research university

You are eligible to apply if you have

a BSc degree in Molecular Science and Technology (MST) or a BSc in Chemistry from any research university in the Netherlands.
OR
a bachelor’s degree in an MST- or Chemistry-related programme from a research university in the Netherlands, under the condition that you have accumulated at least 100 EC in courses/projects belonging to the domain of Chemistry.
The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related.

If you do not meet the requirements above, you may still submit a request to the Board of Admissions. The board then reviews whether you demonstrate the academic ability to mitigate such a deficiency. The following matters will be reviewed:

the average final grade of your obtained degree (at least 7.5 in the Dutch grading system) and
your research project/internship grade (at least 8.0 in the Dutch grading system)

For more information, please contact the Chemistry study advisor.

Entry requirements for students from a Dutch university of applied sciences (hbo)

If you have a a degree in Dutch higher vocational education (hbo) in a Molecular Science and Technology- or Chemistry-related field of science, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

accumulated at least 100 EC (or the equivalence thereof) in courses/projects belonging to the domain of Chemistry, and
obtained your hbo degree with an average final grade of at least 7.5, and
a research project/internship grade of at least 8.0

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related to the level and content of the Dutch BSc degree in Molecular Science and Technology or Chemistry and, if applicable, whether you meet the additional requirements.

For more information, please contact the Chemistry study advisor.

Entry requirements for students from a foreign research university

If you have a Molecular Science and Technology- or Chemistry-related programme from a foreign research university with a level similar to Dutch universities, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have accumulated at least 100 EC in courses/projects belonging to the domain of Chemistry.
The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related.

If you do not meet the requirements above, you may still submit a request to the Board of Admissions. The board then reviews whether you demonstrate the academic ability to mitigate such a deficiency. The following matters will be reviewed:

the average final grade of your obtained degree (at least 7.5 in the Dutch grading system) and
your research project/internship grade (at least 8.0 in the Dutch grading system)

For more information, please contact the Chemistry study advisor.

Language requirements

English Language requirements

English language proficiency

The following requirements apply*:

IELTS Academic modules only, on paper or on computer: 6.5 overall, with at least 6.0 for each separate component score.
- We do not accept IELTS Academic online.
- We do not accept IELTS General Training, IELTS Indicator, or IELTS One Skill Retake
TOEFL internet based: 90 overall, with at least 4.0 (new 1-6 scale as of 21 January 2026) or 20 (old 0-30 scale) for each separate component.
- We are not able to accept The TOEFL IBT Home Edition™, except in the following situation only:
  You are unable to take an in-person test on location because test centres are inaccessible or closed due to unsafe conditions in a country.
- We do not accept the following types of test: TOEFL My Best™ scores (multiple test scores combined), TOEFL Essentials™ or institutional tests such as ITP.

Cambridge English Exam C2 Proficiency, or C1 Advanced (180), with a minimum score of 169 for each separate component.

Note that English test results may not be more than two years old and must be obtained in one single test.

* New TOEFL grading scale 2026
In January 2026, TOEFL introduced a new grading scale. Test certificates issued in 2026 and 2027 will show overall scores in both the old grading scale (0-120) and the new grading scale (1-6). Component or band scores will only be shown in the new grading scale.
Leiden University’s 2026-2027 overall score requirements will continue to be based on the old grading scale. If you took your test on or after 21 January 2026, you must meet the overall score requirement shown on our website in the old grading scale (0-120), and the component score requirements shown on our website in the new grading scale (1-6).

*You do not have to submit an English proficiency test if you have completed your education in the USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada (except French-taught programmes in Canada) Singapore, South-Africa or Malta; or if you have obtained an English-taught International Baccalaureate™; or if you have completed a Dutch VWO diploma or an English-taught degree at a Dutch research university or (for September intake) a diploma of an English-taught higher professional education (hbo) programme completed at a Dutch university of applied sciences.

For detailed information, including exemption criteria and methods of submission, refer to English language proficiency.

Additional information

Laptop profile

We expect students to bring a regular laptop running Windows (or running Linux for certain study programmes). MacOS may in most cases also suffice (with Parallels for Windows installed), but not all specialized applications may be supported, and less support may be available.
•   Windows 11 compatible – 64-bits (or Linux for some study programmes)
•   Processor/CPU – modern, medium range
•   Memory/RAM – 8 GB, if possible 16 GB
•   Storage – 512 GB, if possible 1 TB

>> Go to the next step: Check the application deadlines