Whether you are eligible for the MA Philosophy (60EC) or not is up to the Board of Admissions. The Board will assess whether your degree(s) and background are sufficiently related to the level and content of a bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in Philosophy on the basis of the requirements specified on the website. The fastest way to find out is to follow the application procedures and apply through Studielink (Application procedure).

If the Board of Admissions finds you have a deficiency in your knowledge, you may have to take extra courses. If the deficiency is equal or less than 15 EC, you may be allowed to take these extra courses while you are doing the MA. You will, however, need to successfully finish these “deficiency courses” to be allowed to graduate and receive your MA diploma. If the deficiency is more than 15 EC you will have to do a pre-master. If one of  the deficiencies is “Philosophical Skills,” you will have to finish that course successfully before you can start to work on your Thesis and participate in the Thesis Seminar. See for more information below.

For the requirement regarding English proficiency see Admission requirements. For detailed information, including exemption criteria and methods of submission, refer to English language proficiency. No exceptions will be made. 

We recommend that you submit your English test result along with your initial application. If not, you can submit your application without an English test result. If you are admitted, it will then be on condition of submitting a sufficient English test result.

The deadline for submitting your sufficient language test result after admission is: 
•    If you need a student visa/residence permit: before the visa/residence permit application deadline
•    If you do not need a student visa/residence permit: before the start of your study programme.

See for more information on deadlines to meet admission conditions: Meet your admission conditions - Leiden University.

You can apply for a maximum of three separate programmes / specialisations in one application. If you want to submit more applications please contact the Student Affairs Front Office. You have to pay the application fee only once.

It is possible to combine two or more specialisations of the MA Philosophy (60 EC). In principle, you will need to complete 60 EC for every specialisation. If, however, an optional course is offered in more than one of the specialisations you are doing, it will count towards the 60 EC of each of those specialisations. You will write a single, combined thesis of 20 EC in which both specialisations should be covered.

A specialisation is not a degree. The formal degree is MA Philosophy (60 EC). You can receive a diploma of the MA Philosophy (60 EC) at Leiden University only once. This means you cannot graduate and receive a diploma of the MA Philosophy (60 EC) for one specialisation and subsequently continue to study (an)other(s) specialisation(s) to receive another MA Philosophy (60 EC) diploma. You will need to postpone your graduation until both (or more) specialisations are completed to graduate and receive your diploma. The specialisations you finished will be mentioned on your diploma and in your diploma supplement.

In the Netherlands, you are allowed to combine more programmes at the same time. If it is possible practically depends on your study skills and on, e.g. the scheduling of the classes of the respective programmes. It may be difficult to finish more than one programme in one academic year.

Many students who study two or more programmes at the same time, take some more time. 
If you are interested in combining a Culture and Art master’s programme with an MA in Philosophy, you may want to have a look at the Philosophy of the Arts (MA) - Leiden University.

In case you are thinking of combining a master’s programme in Law, Governance or Political Science with and MA in Philosophy, you may want to have a look at the Philosophy of Law, Governance and Politics (MA) - Leiden University.

If you have a Bachelor degrees from a research university, but do not meet (all) the requirements, you may have to take some extra courses or you may be eligible for a pre-master’s programme in Philosophy. This is up to the Board of Admissions. It is important, though, to realise that you cannot apply for a pre-master's programme as such.

If the Board of Admissions requires you to take a pre-master of 20 to 40 EC, you will have to start with the pre-master before you can start with the MA. If you successfully complete sufficient pre-masters courses, so that you only have 15 EC or less of courses left, you may file a (renewed) request for admission to the MA Philosophy. If the Board of Admissions at that point concludes that the remaining deficiency is 15 EC or less, you may be allowed to start your MA, but you will need to finish the remaining assigned pre-master courses during your MA. You will not be allowed to graduate and receive your MA diploma without successful completion of those deficiency courses.
 

The programme is formally a fulltime programme. This means that you pay the yearly fee for fulltime programmes as long as you are registered. It is, however, possible to spread the workload over more than the nominal one year and take, e.g. 20 EC of courses per semester instead of 30 EC.  It requires you to stay registered for a longer period and hence to pay the tuition fee for the extra time it will take you to finish.

No. The programme requires you to be present at the classes taught towards your degree.

The Board of Admissions may ask you for a writing sample, which means you do not have to upload it with you initial application. This writing sample can be a paper you wrote earlier for a class or, e.g., a chapter from your BA thesis. It preferably consists of no more than 3,500 words. The writing sample should convey your ability to formulate a philosophical research question and argue your own critical position.

At university level

You will have to complete your registration as a student at Leiden University. Please closely follow all the information and instructions you receive by email. If you have questions related to the registration as a student at Leiden University you may want to have a look at the Frequently asked questions - Leiden University. Any other questions related to this registration may be directed to Student Affairs Front Office - Leiden University. 

At programme level

If you start in September, you will receive an email from the MA Philosophy (60 EC) programme with relevant information in the first week of July. The registration for courses starts mid-July. For more information and the exact date and time see Course and exam enrolment - Leiden University.
Also check the information on registration in the course descriptions in the prospectus. Note that you can only register for courses, if your registration as a student of Leiden University is completed.

To mark in your agenda:
•    Orientation Week Leiden, last full week of August. See Summer OWL – OWL
•    Introduction meeting, week before the first Monday of September
•    Start of classes, First Monday in September

If you start in February, you will receive an email with relevant information from the MA Philosophy (60 EC) programme with information in the first week of January. The registration for courses starts mid November. For more information and the exact date and time see Course and exam enrolment - Leiden University. Also check the information on registration in the course descriptions in the prospectus.
Note that you can only register for courses, if your registration as a student of Leiden University is completed.

To mark in your agenda:
•    Orientation Week Leiden, last full week of January. See Winter OWL – OWL
•    Introduction meeting, week before the first Monday of February
•    Start of classes, First Monday in February

Although you will follow the same courses, there is a slight difference in the order of the programme. 
If you start in September, you will begin with the specialisation’s Compulsory Course of 10 EC and, furthermore, take two of the of the optional courses (Bound Elective Courses) for in total 20 EC. In Spring, you will then take one more optional course (Bound Elective Course) (10 EC), attend the MA Thesis Seminar, and write your thesis (20 EC).

If you start in February, you will take three of the of the optional courses (Bound Elective Courses) for in total 30 EC. In Fall, you will then take the specialisation’s Compulsory Course of 10 EC, attend the MA Thesis Seminar, and write your thesis (20 EC).

No. you will only pay a part of the (yearly) fee (approximately half of it) when you start in February. It is important to realize, though, that for the re-registration in September, you will be required to pay the fee for a full academic year. Once you graduate, however, you will get a reimbursement for the months you did not study. So if you indeed graduate nominally, i.e. by the end of January, you will get a refund for the tuition fee for the second semester. In this sense, it might be a good idea to choose the option of paying in installments, if you have that option.

As a student enrolled in the MA Philosophy 60 EC, you are allowed to include an internship of not more than 10 EC (280 working hours) in your programme, i.e. the internship will replace no more than 10 EC of the coursework of your programme. If you decide to do an internship of more than 280 hours (= 10 EC), the extra credits will count as an extra-curricular component and not count towards your MA degree.

For more information see the course description in the prospectus.

Leiden University offers students the opportunity to study a semester (or more) at a partner university abroad. If you are interested in doing so, you can find more information here.

Whether or not the credits obtained at the host university will count towards your degree and, if so, which courses they will replace depends on the courses taken and the permission/approval of the Board of Examiners. Getting this approval is part of the procedure to go abroad. In general, it is not possible to write the thesis in the context of an exchange programme.

See the information under career prospects. We strongly encourage you to have a look at the website of the Humanities Career Service and to attend its workshops and other activities. They will help you to prepare for the next step in your career. 

In principle, all MA programmes at research universities in the Netherlands give access to a PhDtrajectory, although we now occasionally see advertisements (not in the Netherlands) for PhDpositions which require an MA-thesis of at least 30 EC.

•    For general information on doing a PhD at Leiden University, see: Studying for your PhD - Leiden University.
•    For information on doing a PhD at the Graduate School of Humanities, see: Graduate School of Humanities - Leiden University.
•    For information on the doing a PhD at the Leiden Institute for Philosophy (within the Graduate School of Humanities), see: PhD in Philosophy - Institute for Philosophy - Leiden University.
 

Om filosofiedocent te worden in het middelbaar onderwijs, is het afronden van de MA Philosophy niet voldoende. Je zult daarvoor (ook) de MA Leraar VHO in Filosofie moeten afronden. Voor meer informatie zie Leraar VHO in Filosofie (MA) - Universiteit Leiden.

You can find many more questions and answers on our FAQ website.