Universiteit Leiden

nl en

Industrial Ecology (MSc)

Admission requirements

To be eligible for Industrial Ecology at Leiden University and Delft University of Technology, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Diploma requirements

If you have a bachelor’s degree in any of the Natural Sciences, Engineering Sciences, or Social Sciences from any research university in the Netherlands, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

  • demonstrable experience with multi- or interdisciplinary education and research on an academic or professional level. Relevant to this criterion is experience in an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary bachelor’s programme (or equivalent), an interdisciplinary research project or minor, or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals from various disciplinary backgrounds. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience; and
  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability challenges on an academic or professional level, with a focus on climate change and mitigation, design and assessment of sustainable systems, society’s metabolism, circular economy, or sustainable innovation and transitions. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience; and
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics or programming or statistics, or a combination of these three topics.

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 Industrial Ecology study advisor.

If you have a bachelor’s degree in Dutch higher vocational education (hbo) in any of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Sciences, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

  • demonstrable experience with multi- or interdisciplinary education and research on an academic or professional level. Relevant to this criterion is experience in an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary bachelor’s programme (or equivalent), an interdisciplinary research project or minor, or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals from various disciplinary backgrounds. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience; and
  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability challenges on an academic or professional level, with a focus on climate change and mitigation, design and assessment of sustainable systems, society’s metabolism, circular economy, or sustainable innovation and transitions. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience; and
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics or programming or statistics, or a combination of these three topics; and
  • an average grade of at least a 7,5.

The Board of Admissions will assess whether your degree and background are sufficiently related to the level and content of the requirements set out for students with a Dutch or foreign research university bachelor’s degree.

For more information, please contact the Industrial Ecology study advisor.

If you have a bachelor’s degree in any of the Natural Sciences, Engineering Sciences, or Social Sciences from a foreign research university with a level similar to Dutch universities, you are eligible to apply under the condition that you have

  • demonstrable experience with multi- or interdisciplinary education and research on an academic or professional level. Relevant to this criterion is experience in an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary bachelor’s programme (or equivalent), an interdisciplinary research project or minor, or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals from various disciplinary backgrounds. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience; and
  • demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability challenges on an academic or professional level, with a focus on climate change and mitigation, design and assessment of sustainable systems, society’s metabolism, circular economy, or sustainable innovation and transitions. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience; and
  • passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics or programming or statistics, or a combination of these three topics.

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 Industrial Ecology study advisor.

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

  • You need to have demonstrable experience with multi- or interdisciplinary education and research on an academic or professional level. Relevant to this criterion is experience in an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary bachelor’s programme (or equivalent), an interdisciplinary research project or minor, or work experience in an area relevant to environmental sustainability challenges together with professionals from various disciplinary backgrounds. This experience can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience;  Please describe your experience in a motivation letter to the admission committee.
  • You need to have a demonstrable knowledge of environmental sustainability challenges on an academic or professional level, with a focus on climate change and mitigation, design and assessment of sustainable systems, society’s metabolism, circular economy, or sustainable innovation and transitions. This knowledge can be demonstrated through, for instance, successfully completed (elective) academic courses, a minor, major, a (thesis) research project, internship or work experience. Please describe this in a motivation letter by giving at least one relevant example of the relation between your bachelor’s education or previous experience and the field of Industrial Ecology.
  • You need to have passed one or multiple courses that included a minimum of 8 ECTS of mathematics or programming or statistics, or a combination of these three topics.

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.

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