Limited enrolment

Some programmes can only accommodate a certain number of students and will conduct their own selection processes to decide which students to admit. These selection processes consider not just academic performance but also other relevant competences. You can apply for these programmes until 15 January. Participating in the selection procedure for a limited enrolment programme is free of charge.

Programmes with selection

Utrecht University offers several bachelor’s programmes that only admit a limited number of students. Places are allocated based on a selection procedure.

Bestuurs- en Organisatiewetenschap (Dutch-taught)
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (English-taught)
University College Roosevelt (in Middelburg, English-taught)
University College Utrecht (English-taught)
Utrecht Law College (Dutch-taught)

Programmes with limited enrolment

Utrecht University currently has 5 limited enrolment programmes:

			Applications on:
	Capacity	% 16 January 2025	16 January 2024	16 January 2023	16 January 2022
Biomedical Sciences (Biomedische Wetenschappen)	175	%	586	586	625
Veterinary Medicine (Diergeneeskunde)	225	%	1.088	1.051	1.222
Pharmacy,including the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences) (Farmacie)	300	%	672	649	662
Medicine (Geneeskunde)	297	%	1.372	1.523	1.523
Psychology (Psychologie)	600	%	2.169	2.176	2.141

Steps

The registration, selection and final enrolment for limited enrolment programmes consist of seven steps. During the process, you will receive information and instructions in Studielink or directly from the programme (specifically steps 3 and 4) and International Student Admissions (specifically steps 3, 5, 6 and 7).

Obtain a DigiD or Studielink username and password

If you officially live in the Netherlands (you are registered in a Dutch municipality), you will have to use DigiD to log in to Studielink. Studielink is a national enrolment system for degree-seeking university students in the Netherlands. Apply for your DigiD on the DigiD website before the Christmas holidays. You should receive your DigiD within five working days. You will need this DigiD when you register for the programme and when you apply for your study grant.

If you do not (yet) live in the Netherlands, you will need to register through Studielink using a Studielink username and password.

Submit your enrolment request in Studielink

Submit your request for enrolment for the academic year 2025-2026 for one or two programmes in Studielink between 1 October 2024 and 15 January 2025 (23.59 CET). For the following programmes, you may only do so at a single institution in any given academic year:

Dentistry
Medicine
Physical Therapy
Dental Hygiene

For example: you are not permitted to register for Medicine at both Utrecht University and the University of Groningen in the same year. However, it is possible to register for Medicine at Utrecht University and Dentistry at the University of Groningen.

There is a national maximum of three selection attempts for each programme. For bachelor’s programmes with limited enrolment at Utrecht University, there is maximum of:

Biomedical Sciences (Biomedische Wetenschappen): two attempts
Medicine (Geneeskunde): two attempts
Pharmacy, including the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences) (Farmacie): three attempts
Psychology (Psychologie): three attempts
Veterinary Medicine (Diergeneeskunde): three attempts

If you submitted your registration request late, you may ask the university to allow you to participate in the selection procedure. However, you will have to prove you were unable to submit a registration request between 1 October and 15 January due to circumstances beyond your control (see also the page on deviation from the rules).

You may withdraw or cancel your registration request until 15 January. If you withdraw or cancel after 15 January, your request will be considered as a selection attempt.

Note:

Would you like to apply for practical provisions (for example based on a disability) during the selection day? Contact the programme about this no later than 16 January 2025.

Take part in the selection procedure

After registration, you will receive an e-mail containing your login details for OSIRIS Online Application. You will be asked to upload documents (e.g. qualification certificates) and questionnaires. The programme questionnaire must be completed before 31 January 2025. If you fail to do so, you will be excluded from the selection procedure. You will subsequently receive information about the exact selection procedure, the criteria and the date of the selection day. See the programme(s) of your choice for more information about the selection procedure.

The Utrecht University selection days will be held between 1 February and 19 March 2025:

Pharmacy: 8 February 2025
Biomedical Sciences: 15 February 2025
Psychology: 15 February 2025
Medicine: 22 February 2025
Veterinary medicine: 1 March 2025

You will find the selection regulations for each programme at the bottom of this page, including the selection criteria.

Please bear in mind that the selection procedure for each limited enrolment programme will require you to do between 20 and 50 hours of homework.

Studielink will inform you of your ranking number

You will receive your ranking number from Studielink by e-mail on 15 April. Your programme will send you an explanatory e-mail about this ranking number. Please ask for an explanation of the programme by e-mail. If you still disagree, you may object. The procedure will be explained in the e-mail.

The lower your ranking, the better your chances of being admitted. Our programmes reserve a maximum of 10% of all available places for situations with special circumstances until 1 August.

For example: a programme has 200 available places and 500 candidates contending for them in the selection procedure. Places 1 to 10 are reserved. The candidates ranked from 11 to 200 will be admitted immediately and will receive their Certificate of Admission on 15 April. The candidates ranked 201 and higher will have to wait for one of the first 190 candidates to decline their Certificate of Admission or fail their final exams.

If there is another academic programme (without limited enrolment) that you would like to use as a backup option, be sure to register for it by 1 May.
If the academic programme in question is at Utrecht University, matching is not required unless you live in the Netherlands.
You may also opt for a gap year and reapply for selection next year.

You may take part in the selection process for a limited enrolment programme a maximum of three times nationwide. No such maximum applies to academic programmes without limited enrolment.

Accept your place (provided that your ranking number is good enough)

Depending on your ranking number, you may receive an offer to accept a place in the programme in Studielink. You may accept (or decline) this place within two weeks in Studielink by carrying out the ‘Arrange your placement’ to-do action. Places will be offered between 15 April and May, July or early September, as other candidates withdraw or fail to submit the requirements mentioned in step 6. If you have not received an offer by 15 September, your ranking number was too high and you will not be able to start the programme in 2025-2026.

Tip: check your e-mail, including your spam folder, at least once a week from 15 April, even while you are on holiday.

If you applied for two programmes with limited enrolment and are offered two places, you will have to decide which to accept within two weeks.

For example, if you receive an offer for a place in programme B in April (and accept it within two weeks) and then receive an offer in late July, this time for programme A, you will have another two weeks to choose A or B. You may only register for a single limited enrolment programme.

If you are sure you do not want to accept the place, inform Studielink immediately. Your place can then be given to another candidate quickly.

Meet the subject requirements before 31 August or 1 June (for ENTRY visa/residence permit only)

You will need to have met all the programme subject requirements (including the language test) and have sent a hard copy of your qualification certificates(s) to International Student Admissions before 31 August.

If you require an entry visa/residence permit for study purposes:

You must obtain your secondary school leaving qualification before 31 August 2025.
All the other subject requirements must be met before 15 June 2025.

International Student Admissions will guide you through this step. If you fail to meet all educational entry requirements by this deadline, the offer will be withdrawn. This means you will have to participate in another selection procedure in a new academic year. You can ask the university to cancel your selection attempt. There is a national maximum of three selection attempts for one programme.

Arrange an authorisation for tuition fee payment

Please remember that you need to complete your enrolment on time and arrange an authorisation for the payment of your tuition fee in Studielink. You can authorise the payment from 1st of June 2023 onwards, up until the 31st of August 2025.

Regulations

The rules for the five academic programmes with an intake restriction are recorded in:

Minister's scheme for registration and placement in Higher Education (only available in Dutch);
Regulations governing bachelor's degree programmes with selection under a fixed quota (pdf);
Selection criteria and procedures at each individual limited enrolment programme.

Deviation of the rules

In certain situations, you may ask the university to deviate from the rules, for example if you fail to pass your exams and wish to cancel your selection attempt.

Limited enrolment

Programmes with selection

Programmes with limited enrolment

Steps

Step 1: before 25 December

Step 2: before 16 January

A late request due to circumstances beyond your control

Cancelling your enrolment request

Step 3: between 16 January and 15 April

Take part in the selection procedure

Step 4: 15 April

Studielink will inform you of your ranking number

Ranking numbers

I have a high ranking number. What should I do?

Step 5: between 15 April and 15 September

Accept your place (provided that your ranking number is good enough)

What should I do if I am offered two places in limited enrolment programmes?

Step 6: before 31 August

Meet the subject requirements before 31 August or 1 June (for ENTRY visa/residence permit only)

Step 7: complete your enrolment at Utrecht University

Arrange an authorisation for tuition fee payment

Regulations

Deviation of the rules

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