You are eligible to apply for the MA North American Studies if you have:

• a bachelor’s degree from a university, equivalent to the level of a Dutch academic bachelor’s degree, in American Studies, or in the field of Humanities or Social Sciences with an (official) specialisation in American History.
• completed courses worth at least 30 EC in the field of American Studies.

The following applicants are considered to have fulfilled the requirements mentioned above:

• Applicants who have a Bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in Humanities or Social Sciences and who have completed the minor in American Studies at Leiden University are considered to have fulfilled this requirement. 
• Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in International Studies who have completed all area courses for North America worth 20 credits, and wrote their BA Thesis on North America and/or completed at least one 10-EC course which is included in the minor or pre-master programme in American Studies.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a research university in the Humanities or Social Sciences that does not meet the requirements specified above, you may be eligible for a pre-master programme of 30 EC. If you have completed the imposed pre-master programme, you will be admitted to the master’s programme. Read more about the pre-master’s programme.

Students holding a Bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences (hbo) in History, English, European Studies or Journalism will be admitted after completing the pre-master programme of 60 EC. Read more about the 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.
  • 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.