You are eligible to apply for the MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations: Assyriology if you have:

• A bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in Ancient Near Eastern Studies/Ancient Cultures of the Mediterranean World: Assyriology; or
• A bachelor’s degree from a research university, equivalent to the level of a Dutch academic Bachelor’s degree; and
• Knowledge of at least one of the following with at least 30 EC (or equivalent), obtained through an academic Bachelor’s degree in the Humanities or Archaeology with a particular focus on Assyriology or the Ancient Near East:
  • the grammar of the most important phases of the Akkadian, Hittite or Sumerian language, of the relevant scripts and of the historical development of the language and scripts;
  • the archaeology, the material culture and art history of the region;
  • the cultural history of the region, including its literature, its religion, its social structure and its material culture.

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related to the level and content of a bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in Ancient Near Eastern Studies: Assyriology on the basis of the requirements specified above.

Students with a Bachelor in Ancient Near Eastern Studies: Assyriology from Leiden University are directly eligible for admission. Students can apply in Studielink. There is no need to submit an application for admission using the online application portal.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a research university that does not meet the requirements specified above, you may be eligible for a pre-master’s programme tailored to your individual background. After submitting your application in Studielink, the Board of Admissions will decide whether you can be directly admitted to the master’s programme, whether you will first need to complete a pre-master’s programme, or whether your deficiencies are considered too extensive and you can therefore not be admitted at all. It is not possible to directly apply for a pre-master’s programme. 

The language requirements for a pre-master's programme are identical to the language requirements for the master's programme for which admission has been requested. These requirements must be met before the start of the premaster.

Once you have completed the imposed pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the master’s programme. For more information about the individual pre-master’s programme, please contact the Coordinator of Studies.

Applicants with a degree from a Dutch university of applied sciences (HBO) or equivalent are not eligible for admission to the Master’s and pre-master’s programme.

February 2024 intake:

In order to successfully participate in this programme, you must be proficient in English. The following requirements apply:

• IELTS: 7.0; with a score of at least 7.0 for each component.
  • We do not accept IELTS Academic online.
  • We do not accept IELTS General Training or IELTS Indicator.
• TOEFL (Internet based) 100, with a score of at least 25 for each components
  • We are not able to accept The TOEFL IBT Home Edition™, except in the following situations only:
  • You took the test before 1 Sept 2022 (and it is not more than 2 years old), or 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.

Note that English test results may not be more than two years old.

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 bachelor at a Dutch research university.

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

From September 2024: