If you have a relevant bachelor’s degree (such as, but not limited to, computer science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, biology, design, mechanical engineering, or creative/performing arts) from any research university in the Netherlands, you are eligible to apply.

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficient for admission, and whether you meet the additional requirements.

For more information, please contact the Creative Intelligence & Technology study advisor.

If you have a relevant bachelor’s degree (such as, but not limited to, computer science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, biology, design, mechanical engineering, or creative/performing arts) in Dutch higher vocational education (HBO), you are eligible to apply.

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related to the level and content of the requirements set out for students with a Dutch research university bachelor’s degree, and whether you meet the additional requirements.

For more information, please contact the Creative Intelligence & Technology study advisor.

If you have a relevant bachelor’s degree (such as, but not limited to, computer science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, biology, linguistics, mechanical engineering, philosophy, or creative/performing arts) from a foreign research university with a level similar to Dutch universities, you are eligible to apply.

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related to the level and content of the requirements set out for students with a Dutch research university bachelor’s degree, and whether you meet the additional requirements.

For more information, please contact the Creative Intelligence & Technology study advisor.

The Creative Intelligence & Technology MSc programme requires that you meet the following specific qualitative admission requirements:

1. You have demonstrable affinity and experience with fundamental and/or knowledge-driven research that aims at contributing new insights to academic discourses and is not primarily directed at solving (engineering, societal, commercial etc.) problems. And,

2. You have demonstrable affinity and experience with technology and its embedding in the human context. And,

3. You have a creative attitude towards science and research in the sense of the programme, i.e., not necessarily demonstrated by artistic creativity, but by the abilities to think and reason beyond disciplinary borders and/or be open to unconventional ways of producing and disseminating academic knowledge. And,

4. You have affnity with and demonstrable (basic) mastering of, imperative programming. Examples of imperative programming languages are C, C++, Java and Python. And,

5. You have demonstrable mathematical knowledge and skills with regard to numbers, algebra, linear formulas and equations, systems of linear equations, quadratic equations, functions, exponential functions and logarithms, descriptive statistics, combinatorics, probability, random variables, and common probability distributions. This requirement counts for admission per September 2026 onwards.

These qualitative admission requirements will be assessed according to the following method:     

• To evaluate qualitative requirements 1, 2, and 3, the candidates must complete and submit a research assignment that demonstrates their qualities in relation to these points. The research assignment is published online, and can be started at any time. The submitted work is evaluated by the Board of Admissions, who may decide to interview the applicant to determine whether they meet qualitative requirements 1-3. This requirement counts for admission per September 2026 onwards.
• Sufficient mastering of programming skills as mentioned in qualitative requirement 4 can be demonstrated by 1) having obtained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence; 2) having completed a bachelor’s course on imperative programming; or 3) submitting a certificate of successful completion for the online programming course (external to Leiden University) selected by the programme. More information regarding the course can be found here.
• The mathematical knowledge and skills mentioned in qualitative requirement 5 can be demonstrated by having 1) a Dutch pre-university education (VWO) diploma with Mathematics B, or 2) having obtained at least 60% for the Online Mathematics Placement Test “OMPT-E”. This requirement counts for admission per September 2026 onwards.
• The deadline for submitting the research assignment coincides with the regular application deadline (depending on the desired semester start and visa/residence permit requirements).
• Proof of sufficient programming skills and mathematical knowledge and skills (qualitative requirements 4 and 5) can be submitted until 1 month before the start of the semester

Additional information

Laptop profile
We expect students to bring a regular laptop running Windows, MacOS (for certain situations Parallels might be required) or Linux

• 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