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Admission Requirements

To apply to the MARIHE programme, applicants need to fulfil certain requirements. Please read this section as well as the other sections under “How to apply” as well as the section FAQ carefully. (This information is valid for student intakes 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028.)

Applicants to the MARIHE programme:

  • must hold a first university degree

This should be at least a Bachelor's degree issued by a university, quantified as three years of studies (full time) corresponding to 180 ECTS (information on ECTS).

Or, if ECTS is not used in the country where first degree was acquired: the official proof of a successfully completed period of study at higher education level to be considered as equivalent qualification to a Bachelor’s degree. The decision on this will be made by MARIHE Consortium. N.B.: A cumulative recognition (e.g. 2-year Bachelor + 2-year Master) for admission is not possible.

  • show a strong motivation and interest

to learn and work in the field of development and management of research and innovation in higher education.

  • have sufficient knowledge of English for academic purposes

MARIHE programme accepts the following five English language test certificates as proof of proficiency in English:

  1. TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language, internet based test) with a minimum score of 92 (out of 120); Note: scores from TOEFL ITP (institutional testing programme) and TOEFL PBT (paper based test) are not accepted.

  2. IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System); with a minimum overallscore of 6.5 (out of 9) and no individual score below 5.5 .

  3. PTE Academic (Pearson’s Test of Academic English) with a minimum score of 62 (out of 90).

  4. Cambridge English C1 Advanced (formerly known as CAE) with a minimum result of grade C.

  5. Cambridge English C2 Proficiency (formerly known as CPE) with a minimum result of grade C1.

All editions of the above mentioned tests (test center, paper edition, home/online edition) are accepted.

Please note to book a language test well in advance. There might not be many test dates available, or they may get fully booked early. If applicants cannot provide an English test certificate in time, their application will not be considered for student selection.

The results of the English test will be verified by MARIHE Secretariat. Please note: An English language test certificate you have taken in the past may have expired (usually after two years). We kindly advise you to check on your certificate. If an English language test certificate has expired before MARIHE Secretariat receives it, we may not be able to verify it and the application may be rejected due to formal reasons.

Applicants may ask for being exempted from the English language test requirement, if they have successfully completed one of the following:

  1. A Bachelor's degree completed in English in a university or university of applied sciences in any country of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), or in Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. You must have resided in the country while studying.

  2. A two-year Master’s degree completed in English in a university or university of applied sciences in any country of the European Union (EU) or in the European Economic Area (EEA), or in Switzerland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. You must have resided in the country while studying.

  3. Full secondary education completed in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. (N.B.: A student exchange year is no case for exemption.)

In addition to submitting proof of an adequate degree or secondary education as described, applicants may also be interviewed before being exempted.

>> Please note that MARIHE consortium can only accept the five English language test certificates listed, and can only grant exemptions on basis of the three cases explained. Letters issued by universities stating the proficiency in English or similar documents are not accepted. Because of national and institutional requirements of the MARIHE consortium partners, and because the proof of proficiency in English for academic purposes is an admission requirement, we cannot make any exceptions. Applicants who do not submit an appropriate proof will be rejected due to formal reasons. <<

 

  • Work experience is not an admission requirement. However, work experience can be a strong advantage for an application, especially if it has been acquired working for (higher) education institutions. To have work experience acknowledged, applicants should clearly state it in their CV and hand in a confirmation of their employer with their electronic application (as attachment to the CV). This confirmation should preferably describe the type of work experience (function and responsibilities) and include a judgement of the applicant's skills.