Does my daughter need to take IELTS, TOEFL, or GRE for admission in Netherlands for a Master's?
Your daughter will almost certainly need IELTS or TOEFL for an English-taught Master's in the Netherlands, with no preference between the two tests, unless her Bachelor's was fully taught in English. The GRE is rarely required, mainly for selective Economics or Finance research programs.
Your daughter will very likely need an English proficiency test, but the GRE is a different story entirely. Dutch universities almost universally require IELTS or TOEFL for English-taught Master's programs, treating both tests equally, while the GRE only comes up for a narrow set of selective, research-heavy programs.
Test Requirements for a Dutch Master's
| Test | When It Is Required |
|---|---|
| IELTS Academic or TOEFL iBT | Almost always required for English-taught programs, either test accepted equally |
| Medium of Instruction (MOI) waiver | May exempt her if her prior degree was fully taught and examined in English |
| GRE or GMAT | Rarely required, mainly for competitive Economics, Finance, Business, or STEM research programs at schools like Erasmus, UvA, or TU Delft |
Steps to Confirm Her Exact Requirements
- Check the specific "Admission Requirements" and "Language Requirements" tabs for each Master's program she is targeting.
- If her Bachelor's was taught in English, ask her university to issue an official MOI certificate to try for a waiver.
- Note that Research Universities (WO) and Universities of Applied Sciences (HBO) can differ in what they demand.
My Advice
Have her request the MOI certificate from her current university now, even before she finalizes her program list, since having that document ready lets her skip IELTS or TOEFL entirely wherever a waiver is accepted.
IELTS, PTE or Duolingo: which does Netherlands accept?
Find out which test your universities accept, and which is easiest for you.
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