Clinical Psychology (MSc)
Application procedures February 2023
The application procedure is broken down into four parts.
Part 1. Application in Studielink
All students applying for a degree programme at Leiden University must start the application process in Studielink, the national online registration system for students wishing to follow a degree programme at a Dutch university. Studielink is open for applications from 1 October in the year preceding the academic year in which you wish to start.
- Go to Studielink and enter your details according to the instructions provided.
- Within two days you will receive:
- an email with information on the next steps you'll need to take;
- your university ULCN student account details (unless, of course, you already have a ULCN account)
- the link to Leiden University’s online application portal (uSis)
Please note: If you wish to apply for a specialisation of a Master's Programme: First select the Master’s Programme in Studielink, then select the specialisation for which you wish to apply in Step 4 (Institutional Questions) in Studielink.
Part 2. Admission to Leiden University
If you cannot be directly admitted, you must apply for admission via Leiden University’s online application portal (uSis). Please follow all steps below.
In our online application portal (uSis) you can finalise your application by uploading the necessary documents and answering a few questions. This portal provides an overview of what you need to do to complete your admission application. Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure to include all the items that are asked for. We strongly recommend that you complete your application well in advance of the application deadline.
All applicants with an international degree must pay a non-refundable €100 application fee, which entitles you to apply for up to three programmes/specialisations in the same academic year. We cannot start processing your application until we receive this application fee, so please pay it as soon as possible. The online application system explains how you can pay it.
Can I be exempted from paying the application fee?
You do not have to pay the application fee if:
- You are following, or have completed, a bachelor’s degree at a Dutch university (of applied sciences).
- You have previously registered as an exchange, bachelor’s, master’s or pre-master’s student at Leiden University.
- You have previously been admitted to the same degree programme at Leiden University, but you decided to postpone your studies. This does not apply if you are applying for a different study programme or specialisation.
- You have refugee status in the Netherlands (with a residence permit for asylum).
Exemptions cannot be granted for any other reasons.
After you have submitted your application, the online application portal (uSis) will, if applicable, ask you if you want to apply for student housing, a visa/residence permit or a scholarship. Be sure to make a careful note of the relevant deadlines for these options.
After receiving your application fee payment (if applicable), the Admissions Office will check whether all the necessary documents have been uploaded and they will inform you by email whether any further items are required. The Board of Admissions of the faculty will then:
- decide whether you meet the admission requirements for the programme;
- strive to issue a decision on your completed application within four to six weeks of the University receiving it.
Once a decision has been reached you will be informed by email. You can also view your admission status in the online application portal (uSis).
There are two possible outcomes:
- You are conditionally admitted; in other words you will be admitted, provided you meet certain conditions.
The condition(s) will be given in the decision letter. Important: the decision letter will always contain the condition, that, in case that more candidates meet the admission requirements than can be admitted, a qualitative selection procedure will decide on your placement in the master’s specialisation (see Part 3: Qualitative selection below). - You are not admitted
The reasons will be clearly stated in the decision letter.
The Admissions Office will ask you if you want to accept the offer of (conditional) admission. Send your response via the online application portal (uSis), by going to ‘Application study programme(s)’ then accessing the ‘Confirm’ screen, where you will have three options:
- Accept
- Accept, but defer to a later start date
-
Decline
Accepting the offer in uSis does not automatically mean that you have also accepted your placement into the program (or have even been placed into the program). These are two different steps, see Part 3: Qualitative selection below for more information.
Part 3. Qualitative selection
When more candidates meet the admission requirements than can be admitted, a qualitative selection procedure will decide on your placement in the master. The selection of applicants will be based on the selection criteria (see Admission Requirements).
There are two possible outcomes of the selection procedure.
Based on your rank in the selection procedure and the draw, you are offered a place in the master’s specialisation. You will have 14 days to accept this offer. If you accept the offer, you can proceed to finish your registration as a student of the master’s specialisation Clinical Psychology. If you do not accept the offer within 14 days, you will forfeit your place.
Based on your rank in the selection procedure, you are not offered a placed in the master’s specialisation. In this case, due to exceeding the maximum capacity of the master’s programme, you will not be placed as a student in master’s specialisation Clinical Psychology. However, if a candidate declines the offer, the highest ranking subsequent candidate on the admission list will obtain the offer that was rejected.
Applicants who have received placement or post-placement into the program will receive a confirmation of placement. They will receive:
- A new decision letter in uSis confirming their placement, and
- an email containing a link to the online form that needs to be used to accept the placement.
14 days
From the moment an applicant receives confirmation of placement they have 14 days to accept their place in the program. Applicants who do not fill out and submit the form within 14 days will automatically forfeit their place.
Please fill out the form as soon as possible, even if you wish to decline your place. The quicker you accept or decline your place, the more likely we will be able to place applicants who are on the waiting list into the program in time.
Part 4. Student registration
If you’ve been (conditionally) admitted, follow these steps to register as a student at Leiden University:
Check in the online application portal (uSis) whether you need to submit any documents to meet the conditions of your admission. Instructions on how to do so will be provided in uSis.
Arrange the payment of your tuition fee before the official start date of your programme. You will receive instructions and information on the available payment methods by email.
If you are an international student, go to the Prepare your stay page of our website for information about the practical matters you should take care of before and upon arrival. These include, for example, arranging housing, scholarships, applying for a visa/residence permit and insurances.