Universiteit Leiden

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Governance of Sustainability (MSc)

Diploma requirements

To be eligible for Governance and Sustainability at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from any research university in the Netherlands, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability issues on an academic level. Environmental sustainability refers to the capacity of the Earth to produce vital renewable resources and to allow long-term environmental quality and the governance thereof. Therefore, knowledge of environmental or earth system science is required. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, an internship or work experience where concrete knowledge has been gained about environmental sustainability. Courses and experience such as environmental law, environmental policy, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), may not suffice to meet this criterion, unless it is clearly demonstrated that they covered environmental sustainability issues. And, 
  • demonstrable experience with inter- or transdisciplinary education and research. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals or students from various disciplinary backgrounds. For instance, this may be a minor in terms of sustainability such as the minor Sustainable Development of CML or the minor Science and Technology in Society (coordinated by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences). And, 
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics, programming and/or statistics aiming at learning the necessary calculations. If these topics were covered in a research methodology course, all necessary details must be shared so that the number of ECTS can be deduced. Applications within a research project (such as a thesis, internship, integrated project or challenge) without formal training do not fulfil this requirement. Courses that are otherwise quantitative in scope (economics, finance, etc.) are not considered eligible.  

For more information, please contact the Governance of Sustainability study advisors.

If you have a degree in Dutch higher vocational education (hbo), you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

  • obtained the hbo diploma with a grade point average of at least 7.5 .  And,
  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability issues on an academic level. Environmental sustainability refers to the capacity of the Earth to produce vital renewable resources and to allow long-term environmental quality and the governance thereof. Therefore, knowledge of environmental or earth system science is required. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, an internship or work experience where concrete knowledge has been gained about environmental sustainability. Courses and experience such as environmental law, environmental policy, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), may not suffice to meet this criterion, unless it is clearly demonstrated that they covered environmental sustainability issues. And,  
  • demonstrable experience with inter- or transdisciplinary education and research. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals or students from various disciplinary backgrounds. For instance, this may be a minor in terms of sustainability such as the minor Sustainable Development of CML or the minor Science and Technology in Society (coordinated by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences). And, 
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics, programming and/or statistics aiming at learning the necessary calculations. If these topics were covered in a research methodology course, all necessary details must be shared so that the number of ECTS can be deduced. Applications within a research project (such as a thesis, internship, integrated project or challenge) without formal training do not fulfil this requirement. Courses that are otherwise quantitative in scope (economics, finance, etc.) are not considered eligible.  

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficient for admission and whether you meet the additional requirements.

For more information, please contact the Governance of Sustainability study advisors.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a foreign research university with a level similar to Dutch universities, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability issues on an academic level. Environmental sustainability refers to the capacity of the Earth to produce vital renewable resources and to allow long-term environmental quality and the governance thereof. Therefore, knowledge of environmental or earth system science is required. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, an internship or work experience where concrete knowledge has been gained about environmental sustainability. Courses and experience such as environmental law, environmental policy, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), may not suffice to meet this criterion, unless it is clearly demonstrated that they covered environmental sustainability issues. And, 
  • demonstrable experience with inter- or transdisciplinary education and research. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals or students from various disciplinary backgrounds. For instance, this may be a minor in terms of sustainability such as the minor Sustainable Development of CML or the minor Science and Technology in Society (coordinated by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences). And, 
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics, programming and/or statistics aiming at learning the necessary calculations. If these topics were covered in a research methodology course, all necessary details must be shared so that the number of ECTS can be deduced. Applications within a research project (such as a thesis, internship, integrated project or challenge) without formal training do not fulfil this requirement. Courses that are otherwise quantitative in scope (economics, finance, etc.) are not considered eligible.  

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences, you must, in addition to meeting the aforementioned requirements, have obtained the diploma with a grade point average of at least 7.5 (Dutch grading system).

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficient for admission and whether you meet the additional requirements.

For more information, please contact the Governance of Sustainability study advisors.

Please note that you will have to comply with the following requirements to be considered for the programme:

  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability issues on an academic level. Environmental sustainability refers to the capacity of the Earth to produce vital renewable resources and to allow long-term environmental quality and the governance thereof. Therefore, knowledge of environmental or earth system science is required. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, an internship or work experience where concrete knowledge has been gained about environmental sustainability. Courses and experience such as environmental law, environmental policy, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), may not suffice to meet this criterion, unless it is clearly demonstrated that they covered environmental sustainability issues. And, 
  • demonstrable experience with inter- or transdisciplinary education and research. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals or students from various disciplinary backgrounds. For instance, this may be a minor in terms of sustainability such as the minor Sustainable Development of CML or the minor Science and Technology in Society (coordinated by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences). And, 
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics, programming and/or statistics aiming at learning the necessary calculations. If these topics were covered in a research methodology course, all necessary details must be shared so that the number of ECTS can be deduced. Applications within a research project (such as a thesis, internship, integrated project or challenge) without formal training do not fulfil this requirement. Courses that are otherwise quantitative in scope (economics, finance, etc.) are not considered eligible.  

Language requirements

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, IELTS Indicator, or IELTS One Skill Retake
  • 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 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.

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

*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 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.

Do you still have questions about Admission & Application?

If you still have questions concerning Admission & Application, you can ask them to our studyadvisors Sammy or Lieselotte during our Online Walk-In Hour every month. You can find the link to our virtual office here.

Additional information

We expect students to bring a regular laptop running Windows (or running Linux for certain study programmes). MacOS may in most cases also suffice (with Parallels for Windows installed), but not all specialized applications may be supported, and less support may be available. 
•    Windows 11 compatible – 64-bits (or Linux for some study programmes) 
•    Processor/CPU – modern, medium range 
•    Memory/RAM – 8 GB, if possible 16 GB 
•    Storage – 512 GB, if possible 1 TB 

>> Go to the next step: Check the application deadlines

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