• Your previous education must satisfy the requirements listed below (see ‘Previous education’):
• It is highly valued during the selection process if your previous study programme included courses on tax law, or if you have acquired relevant competencies through work experience in tax law (see ‘Tax law’ below);
• You must have obtained a minimum standard in English language proficiency – see further below;
• You must be willing to participate actively in the classroom; and
• You must have an open mind towards different cultures.

It is possible to apply while finishing a previous degree, in which case acceptance to the programme is conditional on satisfactorily completing the previous degree. We will need these documents before the deadline stated in step 1. Please take into consideration that you have taken the English language proficiency test before you apply to the programme and that the test often get booked up months in advance and the results take more than two weeks to be published.

Previous education

The candidate must satisfy one of the following sets of requirements:

• Have completed a university degree in law that is the equivalent of a master’s degree in the Netherlands. An initial master’s degree from a university that follows the European BA-MA system is equivalent. Degrees from universities that do not follow the European BA-MA system must require a study of at least four years in order to be equivalent; if you are not sure whether your degree is the equivalent of a Dutch master’s degree, please consult us.
• Have completed a university degree in law at bachelor level and be admissible to a traditional legal profession such as advocate, attorney, barrister, judge, notary, solicitor, etc.
• Have completed a Master’s degree from a research university (Dutch: WO) in any discipline, who has obtained at least 30 EC of law courses during university education. An initial master’s degree from a university that follows the European BA-MA system is equivalent to a Dutch master’s degree. Degrees from universities that do not follow the European BA-MA system must require a study of at least four years in order to be equivalent; if you are not sure whether your degree is the equivalent of a Dutch master’s degree, please consult us.
• Have completed an (advanced) Master’s degree from a technical college in a strongly related discipline, namely tax law, fiscal economics, or accountancy. An initial master’s degree from a university that follows the European BA-MA system is equivalent to a Dutch master’s degree. Degrees from universities that do not follow the European BA-MA system must require a study of at least four years in order to be equivalent; if you are not sure whether your degree is the equivalent of a Dutch master’s degree, please consult us.
• Have completed a professional accountancy qualification.

Tax law

It is valuable to have some prior knowledge of tax law, obtained either through university study or work experience. This study or work experience can be in either domestic or international tax law. This helps students entering this programme to have a good understanding of the content of the programme and give them the opportunity to share their knowledge in the field with their fellow students. Applicants that do not have any experience in tax law, either through university study or work experience, will also be considered, provided that they can show a genuine interest in the topic.

English language proficiency

The Amsterdam Law School accepts the following tests and test results:

• TOEFL* (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The minimum TOEFL score required is: 100 iBT, with a minimum of 24 for subscores reading and writing, a minimum of 22 for subscore listening and a minimum of 25 for subscore speaking. Please make sure to mention our institutional code: 9011 when signing up for the TOEFL test so we can verify your scores online.
• IELTS** (International English Language Testing System). The minimum IELTS score required is 7.0, with a minimum of 6.5 for each subscore. Please provide us with a scan of your test report.
• Cambridge English Language Assessment: minimum grade C1 Advanced with a minimum score of 190. Please make sure to ‘share’ your test results with us so we can verify your scores online.

* The TOEFL ITP test (Institutional Testing Program) and the TOEFL iBT special home edition are NOT accepted.  
** The IELTS Academic Online, IELTS General Training and IELTS Indicator are NOT accepted.

Please note: The Amsterdam Law School only accepts English-language proficiency test results that are no more than two years old at the time of the start of the programme. Chinese applicants will need to submit an IELTS or TOEFL iBT test score and request a Nuffic certificate.

The following students are exempted from the above-mentioned test requirements:

• Students who have received their prior education in one of the following English speaking countries: Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.
• Students who possess an international or European baccalaureate diploma (with English as the only language of instruction).
• Students who have completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s programme taught entirely in English (note: this does not include exchange, summer school or other non-degree programmes).
• Students who possess a Bachelor’s diploma from a Dutch research university.