• You are eligible to apply for the MA North American Studies if you have:A bachelor’s degree from a university, equivalent to the level of a Dutch academic bachelor’s degree, in American Studies, or in the field of Humanities or Social Sciences with an (official) specialisation in American History.
• You should have completed courses worth at least 30 EC in the field of American Studies.

The following applicants are considered to have fulfilled the requirements mentioned above:

• Applicants who have a Bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in Humanities or Social Sciences and who have completed the minor in American Studies at Leiden University are considered to have fulfilled this requirement. 
• Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in International Studies who have completed all area courses for North America worth 20 credits, and wrote their BA Thesis on North America and/or completed at least one 10-EC course which is included in the minor or pre-master programme in American Studies.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a research university in the Humanities or Social Sciences that does not meet the requirements specified above, you may be eligible for a pre-master programme of 30 EC. If you have completed the imposed pre-master programme, you will be admitted to the master’s programme. Read more about the pre-master’s programme.

Students holding a Bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences (hbo) in History, English, European Studies or Journalism will be admitted after completing the pre-master programme of 60 EC. Read more about the pre-master’s programme.

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 or IELTS Indicator.
     
• TOEFL internet based: 90 overall, with at least 20 for each separate component.
  • 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.

• 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.

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.