Students with a Bachelor in Psychology from Leiden University are directly eligible for admission, if at least the appropriate specialisation course is completed. There is no need to submit an application for admission using the online application portal.

The entry requirements with regards to the specialisations for current Psychology Bachelor students from Leiden University who would like to continue a master's in Leiden can be found in the PDF file.

Prospective students should:

Requirement 1:

• have earned a Bachelor degree in Psychology from a research university and possess the skills, understanding and knowledge that are required for earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Leiden University, and;
• possess the skills, understanding and knowledge that are required for earning the bachelor’s degree; more specifically knowledge on university level of the following topics:
  •  Introduction to Psychology
  • Social and Organisational Psychology
  • Personality Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuropsychology and/or Psychophysiology and/or Biopsychology
  • Clinical and Abnormal Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Theory or training in interpersonal skills, such as interview, counselling, discussion techniques
  • Theory or training in psychodiagnostics

Note: if you have not obtained a degree in Psychology but an equivalent degree (equivalent to the bachelor degree in Psychology at Leiden University), you may also submit an application for admissions. The Board of Admissions will then assess your admissibility.

Requirement 2*:

• have obtained at least 30 ec in advanced courses on topics pertaining to this master specialisation,

Requirement 3*:

• have sufficient knowledge of Methodology and Statistics (at least 20 EC): introductory and more advanced courses in methods and statistics of psychological research (including psychometrics, multivariate data analysis) and the use of statistical software.

*An internship and/or thesis do not count towards this requirement

Leiden offers a pre-master’s programme in Psychology for a specific group of students. Completing the pre-master's grants you access to the Master's programme in Psychology. Note that the pre-master’s programme does not prepare for the five clinical specialisations. Read more about our pre-master's programme.

Students with a Bachelor in Psychology* from Leiden University are directly eligible for admission, if at least the appropriate specialisation course is completed. There is no need to submit an application for admission using the online application portal.

The entry requirements with regards to the specialisations for current Psychology Bachelor students from Leiden University who would like to continue a master's in Leiden can be found in the PDF file.

*If you have a bachelor’s degree from Leiden University in a programme other than Psychology and would like to apply to this MSc in Psychology specialisation, please see degree requirements ‘A bachelor’s degree from another university’ here below.

Prospective students with a bachelor’s degree from a research university or an equivalent degree may be granted admission to the programme, if they meet the following general and specialisation specific admission requirements:

General admission criteria

Prospective students should:

• have completed at least 30 ECTS credits (EC) at research university level in psychology-related coursework covering at least five (5) of the topics listed below:
  • introduction to psychology
  • social and organisational psychology
  • cognitive psychology
  • neuropsychology and/or psychophysiology and/or biopsychology
  • clinical and abnormal and/or personality psychology
  • developmental and educational psychology
  • theory or training in interpersonal skills, such as interview, counselling, discussion techniques
  • theory or training in psychodiagnostics
• have at least 20 ECTS credits (EC) at research university level in statistics and research methods-related coursework, specifically:
  • Knowledge of statistics, covering at least five (5) of the statistical topics listed below:
    1. Basic descriptive statistics and graphs; basic statistical techniques for numerical and categorical variables (e.g. t-tests and chi-square tests)
    2. Non-parametric statistical techniques
    3. Correlation and multiple and linear regression
    4. ANOVA (one-way and two-way designs) and ANCOVA
    5. Repeated measures ANOVA and MANOVA
    6. Logistic regression
    7. Mediation analysis
    8. Psychometric knowledge and techniques (e.g. reliability, validity, and item analysis of psychological tests)
  • Skills in the use of statistical software
  • Knowledge of research methods, including theoretical concepts in research methodology, research ethics, and practical training in research skills
• have experience with at least one scientific empirical research project with substantial quantitative data and statistical analyses as part of the bachelor’s curriculum, for instance in the form of a bachelor thesis.

Specialisation specific admission criteria

No additional specialisation specific criteria apply for the specialisation Data Science in Psychology.

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background sufficiently meet the general and specialisation specific requirements specified above.

Leiden offers a pre-master’s programme in Psychology for a specific group of students. Completing the pre-master's grants you access to the Master's programme in Psychology.

Please note that the pre-master’s programme does not prepare a prospective student for one the five clinical specialisations. Read more about our 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 except in the following situation only:
    • 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 IELTS General Training, IELTS Indicator, or IELTS One Skill Retake
• TOEFL internet based, for academic year 26-27*: 90 overall, with at least 4.0 (new 1-6 scale as of 21 January 2026) or 20 (old 0-30 scale) for each separate component, or, for academic year 27-28: 5.0 overall, with at least 4.5 for each separate component (or 90 overall and 20 for each separate component if taken before 21 January 2026).
  • We are not able to accept The TOEFL IBT Home Edition™, except in the following situation only:
    • 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.
• LanguageCert Academic: Test Centre only, 70 overall, with at least 65 for each separate component score.
• PTE Academic English test | Pearson PTE: 66 overall, with at least 61 for each separate component score.

Note that English test results may not be more than two years old and must be obtained in one single test.

* New TOEFL grading scale 2026
In January 2026, TOEFL introduced a new grading scale. Test certificates issued in 2026 and 2027 will show overall scores in both the old grading scale (0-120) and the new grading scale (1-6). Component or band scores will only be shown in the new grading scale. Leiden University’s 2026-2027 overall score requirements will be based on the old grading scale . If you took your test on or after 21 January 2026, you must meet the overall score requirement shown on our website in the old grading scale (0-120), and the component score requirements shown on our website in the new grading scale (1-6). Leiden University’s 2027-2028 score requirements will be based on the new grading scale and the language test appendix to Code of Conduct October 2026

*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 degree at a Dutch research university or (for September intake) a diploma of an English-taught higher professional education (hbo) programme completed at a Dutch university of applied sciences.

For detailed information, including exemption criteria and methods of submission, refer to English language proficiency.