Specific admission requirements for students with a Dutch HBO degree

If you have a diploma of a Dutch professional bachelor's (HBO) you have to do 30 credits (one credit is 28 hours of workload) prerequisites (in Dutch: schakelvakken) before you can start with your MSc programme. These prerequisite courses are scheduled in the first year of your studies. Next to the five prerequisite courses you are following master's courses. You have to pass the prerequisites within 12 months.

Prerequisites or linkage programme

Students with an HBO degree must follow a prerequisite or linkage programme of 30 credits which is integrated in their programme. This linkage programme consists of the following courses:

These courses must be completed in the first year of your studies in Wageningen. The linkage programme is mixed with courses of the regular programme. After completing the linkage courses you will be registered as a master's student. When students don't complete the linkage courses in one year, they must register as bachelor's students and pay higher tuition fees. Due to the linkage programme your programme will be two and a half years.

Admission to prerequisites

To be admitted to the prerequisites you have to meet the following requirements next to the general admission requirements:


1. You should have a (i) relevant degree or a (ii) related degree to Management, Economics and Consumer studies.
(i) relevant degree: degree in social sciences in the field of management, marketing, accounting, (general, agricultural, development or environmental) economics, consumer behaviour or sociology.
(ii) related degree: degree in the field of agriculture, plant sciences, animal sciences, environmental sciences, nutrition and health or other related fields in the agriculture or food sciences.

2. Within your HBO-programme you should have 60 credits of courses within any of the following (specialisation) areas:

(i) Business studies: management, marketing, operations research, business economics, information technology, accounting, finance, financial management, commerce, law, logistics, facility management.

(ii) Consumer studies: sociology, marketing, consumer behaviour, economics, psychology, communication, law

(iii) Economics and governance: Agricultural economics, development economics, environmental economics, econometrics, agricultural policy, environmental policy, institutional economics international trade, law.

You must have done at least 30 credits of courses in one of the areas indicated above to be permitted to follow that specialisation.

Please note: Mathematics, statistics, and methodology courses are not included here. Internship and thesis will also not be included as courses for this purpose.

HBO minor

Professional BSc (HBO) students can obtain a minor at Wageningen University. This minor is scheduled during the first three periods of the academic year: from September until the end of January.

In consultation with your own study advisor you can choose to do a minor in the third or fourth year of your professional BSc programme. Your programme needs to cover fields similar to the MME programme, i.e. management, marketing, consumers or economics. Each specialisation offers a seperate minor. Together with a Wageningen University study advisor you may choose which minor to follow. In order to be admitted to this minor you should have obtained 150 of the 180 credits of the first 3 years (when you are in your fourth year) of your own study programme.

When you want to subscribe for a HBO-minor you should subscribe yourself as a 'bijvakstudent'. This means you are a student at another university or HBO who is following one or more courses at Wageningen University. You also need permission from your study advisor of your HBO or university to follow the courses here.

Exemption for internship

If you did a relevant internship of at least 24 credits, as part of your HBO degree, you don't have to do an internship as part of your study here. Instead of the internship you have do an extended essay of 12 credits in a field related to your HBO-internship or related to your chosen specialisation within MSc Management, economics and consumer studies. However, you are free to decide if you do another internship or write an extended essay.

Degree is still anticipated

If you have not yet obtained your degree but will be obtaining your degree within the next few months (before September 1), you may still apply and be admitted conditional on your obtaining a degree before September 1. In that case, please also indicate courses that you are doing at present or will be doing before you complete your studies.

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