You are eligible to apply for the MA Literary Studies: Literature in Society. Europe and Beyond if you have: 

• A bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in:
  • Arts and Culture, specialisation Literature
  • Film and Literary Studies
  • Taal- en Cultuurstudies
  • Literary and Cultural Analysis 
  • Italian Language and Culture
  • German Language and Culture 
  • English Language and Culture 
  • French Language and Culture 
  • Dutch Language and Culture 
  • African Languages and Cultures or African Studies
  • Latin American Studies 
  • Russian Studies
  • Classics; or
• A bachelor’s degree from a research university, equivalent to the level of a Dutch academic Bachelor’s degree, with:
  • At least 30 EC of courses in literary studies; and
  • Demonstrable working knowledge and understanding of the history of literature and of major literary works; and
  • Substantial literary research skills, demonstrated in a BA thesis and/or substantial research papers written as part of a BA programme.

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 Film and Literary Studies on the basis of the requirements specified above.

Applicants with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies are considered to have fulfilled all entry requirements for the specialisation Literature in Society. Europe and Beyond, provided that you have acquired at least 30 EC in literary studies.

Applicants with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies, European Studies, Arts and Culture Studies or Liberal Arts and Sciences with a focus on the Humanities are considered to have fulfilled all entry requirements for the specialisation Literature in Society. Europe and Beyond, provided that you have acquired at least 30 EC in literary studies.

Students with a Leiden University Bachelor in Film and Literary Studies or in another Bachelor’s programme specified under the first bullet point 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 in Humanities or Social Sciences from a research university that does not meet the requirements specified above, you may be eligible for a 30 EC pre-master’s programme. After submitting your application in Studielink, the Board of Admissions will decide whether you can be directly admitted to the master’s programme or whether you will first need to complete a pre-master’s programme. It is not possible to apply for a pre-master’s programme directly. Once you have completed the imposed pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the relevant specialisation of the Master’s programme. Read more about the pre-master’s programme.

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: