Requirements

In order to be admitted to our study programmes, you will have to meet the entry requirements below.

For this study programme it is recommended that you have the following qualifications:

  • A secondary school diploma including economics or mathematics

Are you a Dutch student applying for one of our English taught programmes? Please check the entry requirements for Dutch students. The information below applies to the academic year of 2025– 2026. These entry requirements are subject to changes in government policy and Saxion regulations.

The student must be admissible to Higher Education through a diploma with good results at least equivalent to the Dutch HAVO, VWO or MBO-4 for our bachelor programmes and four years University of Applied Sciences for our master programmes. Does your diploma match with these requirements? Check here what the Nuffic has to say about the diploma you’ve obtained.

Select the relevant country and open the pdf file. At the ‘evaluation chart’ you’ll find an overview of the most common diplomas and their comparison in level to the Dutch educational system. This will give you a clue about your admission possibilities.

The other chapters of the pdf file contain more information about the curriculum of the specific education. Sometimes it depends on the curriculum of your previous studies if your diploma will meet the full described level, so this file from the Nuffic must only be used as a guideline; our student registration will determine the final admission.

The students’ qualifications will be assessed by the Admission Officer of the specific course on the basis of the provided diplomas, curriculum vitae, letter of motivation, course description issued by the university and, if necessary, an intake interview.

As proof that you meet the English language requirement, you will be asked to upload one of the English language certificates below. The minimum required scores are applicable to our bachelor- and master study programmes.

  • IELTS (academic) with a minimum overall score of 6.0. We do not accept the Academic IELTS Online certificate.
  • TOEFL Internet Based (minimum score of 80) and TOEFL Paper Based (minimum score 550). Please note that we do not accept the MyBest scores of the TOEFL test as well as the TOEFL iBT Home Edition certificate.
    Make sure you add Saxion as a score recipient by using our institutional code 7533.
  • Cambridge language assessment with a minimum score of 169 – First, Advanced, Proficiency.
  • TOEIC certificate, both listening and reading (minimum score 670) and speaking and writing (minimum score 290).

Please be aware that we do not accept language test certificates that are older than 2 years at the desired start date of the study programme.

Exemptions
You are exempted from submitting one of the above test certificates if:

  • Your diploma is on Nuffic's diploma list and the subject English is on your final transcript of grades.
  • The medium of instruction of your completed bachelor or master studies was English (this requires submitting a copy of your bachelor or master diploma). Please provide us with an official signed and stamped statement from your university in which they confirm that the medium of instruction of the entire curriculum was English.
    This also applies to the English taught American High School curriculum that is accredited by an American regional accreditation organization, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and GCE AS/A level certificates issued by AQA, Pearson, Edexcel, OCR or Cambridge.
  • In some cases exemption is possible if the diploma is obtained in a country where English is the main language of communication. Please inquire via studentregistration@saxion.nl whether you qualify.

IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC and Cambridge English grades & scale

IELTS

TOEFL Paper Based

TOEFL Internet Based

TOEIC

Cambridge English Score

Listening and Reading

Speaking and Writing

5.0

500

60

600

240

154 - 161

5.5

525

70

620

260

162 - 168

6.0

550

80

670

290

169 - 175

6.5

575

90

720

310

176 - 184

7.0

600

100

780

350

185 - 190

7.5

625

113

790

400

191 - 199

Planning to enrol in a study programme at Saxion in September? If so, you will receive an invitation after 1 March to an online Meet & Greet for your study programme. During this informal online event you will get to know our university of applied sciences, current students and lecturers. In addition, you will have the opportunity to get to know future fellow students via our digital platforms, such as intosaxion.nl. To complete the picture, you are also invited to check out our video clips about the teaching and the facilities at Saxion.

Meet & Greet: the perfect time to ask questions and to ascertain whether there is a match between you and the study programme. If you still don't know which programme to choose after the online Meet & Greet, you may request an individual online interview (study choice check).

Further information

Please contact our Servicepoint for more information. There is a Servicepoint in Deventer and Enschede. They are open every working day. All (future) Saxion students can ask their questions here, regardless of the location of their programme.