Admission requirements - MSc Communication, Health and Life Sciences

Interested in the master's programme Communication, Health and Life Sciences? Find out whether your knowledge and skills match the entry level of the programme.

This page specifically describes the previous knowledge and skills required for admission to the Communication, Health and Life Sciences programme. For the additional general admission requirements of Wageningen University & Research, application deadlines and the application procedure, visit How to apply for a master's programme?

Are you interested in the programme, but not sure whether your background matches the stated requirements? Feel free to contact us.

Admission requirements

Required knowledge and skills

Purpose and reason for the admission requirements

The admission requirements for the master's programme Communication, Health and Life Sciences are defined in such a way that the students should be able to successfully complete the program nominally in two years. In order to comply, the student needs to have sufficient knowledge on social sciences with a focus on either communication sciences, sociology or (social) psychology. Additionally, a solid basis in social-scientific research methodology is required. This is to ensure that the student is able to follow the advanced studies in the master's programme.

The criterion used for admission is

a WUR BSc degree in Communication and Life Sciences, Health and Society, International Development Studies, or equivalent.

The norm for this equivalence is

For both the specialisations Communication and Innovation and Health and Society ≥60 ECTS in Social Sciences on an academic level of which:

  • ≥50 ECTS in communication sciences, sociology and/or (social) psychology
  • ≥10 ECTS in advanced social-scientific research methodology (including basics in statistics)

Not all topics mentioned need to be mastered at the same level; they will be weighed by the Admission Board per individual application.

Method of assessment whether this norm is met

  • Transcript of records displaying the content of previous course subjects and project work;
  • Curriculum vitae displaying relevant work, internship and/or project experience on an academic level in a relevant field if applicable.

Scores attributed by the Admission Board

Admitted / not admitted / admitted under condition obtaining the BSc or MSc degree / not admitted with offer of pre-master

Compensation of knowledge gaps

The Admission Board may allow and/or suggest compensation of knowledge gaps by:

  • a GPA≥7.0* for the previous education for small discrepancies as new knowledge is sufficiently easily acquired;
  • a GPA≥7.0* and an individual pre-master's programme for larger discrepancies that can be compensated in ≤30 ECTS and one year of study.

*Check the general admissions page for the International credentials evaluation guide for international equivalencies to a Dutch GPA>7.0. This guide includes compensating factors for a slightly lower GPA the Admission Board may include in their judgment.

Contact us through the contact button above to discuss the possibilities of a pre-master or how to mitigate knowledge gaps if you are still in the process of obtaining your degree.

Find out more about enrolment and fees of a pre-master's programme.

Additional context for admission

Study programmes with knowledge gaps

In general, students from University of Applied Sciences (NL: hbo) are required to follow additional courses within their current programme or in a pre-master to fulfil the knowledge requirements.

Please note this is a two year programme, but registered with DUO as a one year programme. This may affect the duration of your DUO student loan and/or travel product. For more information, see Extra Studiefinanciering WU and DUO.