Required Qualifications

You are eligible for admission to the MSc. Public Administration if you have obtained:

1) a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Political Science, Public Management, Public Economics or a similar program closely related to Public Administration from a research university (WO) and can show competence in the methodology of social science research as evidenced by prior course work, or  

2) a Bachelor’s degree from a research university (WO) in another field, provided that you have completed the minor ‘Public Administration: Multi-Level Governance’ or the minor ‘Bestuurskunde: Openbaar Bestuur, Beleid en Management’ at Leiden University, and can show competence in the methodology of social science research as evidenced by prior course work.

If you have a Bachelor's degree from a research university (WO) in another field (for example Cultural Anthropology, Pedagogical Sciences, Law, and Public Health), or if you have a Bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences (HBO) in a relevant field, such as Public Administration or European Studies, you may be admitted to the pre-master's programme. After successfully completing the pre-master's programme, you will be eligible for admission to the MSc. Public Administration.

Please visit the pre-master’s webpage for more information about the possibilities and admission requirements of the pre-master’s programme.

You must be proficient in English if you want to be admitted to the MSc. Public Administration.  You can find the exact language requirements for the MSc. Public Administration below.

English Proficiency for cohort 2024 - 2025

• IELTS: Where each separate constituent score must be at least 6.0
• TOEFL: Where each separate constituent score must be at least 20.

Exemptions

You do not have to provide proof of English proficiency if you have:

• an International Baccalaureate diploma (or other with English A);
• a diploma of secondary or higher education completed in the US, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia or Canada (with the exception of French-taught education in Canada);
• a pre-university education (VWO) diploma;
• a diploma of a Bachelor program completed at a Dutch research university or a Dutch university of applied sciences.

Please check out English language proficiency page for detailed information on the English qualifications and other exam criteria, as well as the procedure on how to submit your exam results.