AUC aims to admit 300 students per year. Both Dutch and international students are encouraged to apply. AUC is committed to non-discrimination, welcomes students from all backgrounds and persuasions, and selects based on academic interest and performance. To further promote equality of access to the programme, the AUC Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to talented students who require financial support to study at AUC.

All applications are assessed on their merits in a review process. The whole application dossier is taken into consideration, with due attention given to students' academic abilities.

Batch processing
AUC reviews applications in two batches that correspond with the two application deadlines. Applications from candidates who apply as ‘early birds’ (by 1 December) will receive a decision on admission in the first week of February. Applications for those who apply for the regular deadline (by 1 February) are processed after initial offers are made to ‘early bird’ candidates, with decisions on admission being issued in the first week of April.

Batch processing helps to ensure equality in consideration of all candidates who apply for a given deadline, regardless of when they apply before the stated deadline.

Procedure for reviewing applications
Each application is assessed by faculty members working in the admissions team, which is composed of experienced academic and support staff members. During an initial check, the AUC admissions team looks to see if an application is complete (including having received their recommendation) and the minimum diploma requirements are met.

All complete applications which meet the minimum diploma requirements and are submitted on time are then reviewed by academic tutors under the guidance of AUC’s Admissions Committee. Each application is independently reviewed by two admissions tutors based on clearly defined criteria as described in the policy on admissions below. If the two tutors reviewing a certain application agree as to whether the applicant should be offered a place at AUC, they put the applicant forward to the Admissions Committee for consideration in the cohort. Should the two reviewers diverge in their decision, the Admissions Committee will investigate whether the candidate qualifies for an offer.

Based on the recommendations of the admissions tutors, the Admissions Committee decides on the number of offers to be made based on the criteria and composition of all possible applicants in a cohort, per batch.

Applicants who are selected by the Admissions Committee are made an offer of a place to study at AUC. For early-bird candidates (applying by 1 December), offers are made in the first week of February. For candidates applying for the regular deadline (by 1 February), offers are made in the first week of April. Applicants who receive an offer must respond by the stated deadline in their offer letter as to whether they accept the offer and intend to study at AUC (usually within one month). 

Optional: Online Information Sessions & Campus Visits

Online information sessions for students who have received an offer
If students receive a (conditional) offer to study at AUC, they will be invited to attend an online information session (in February for early-bird applicants; in April for regular applicants). While not mandatory to attend, the online information sessions further explain the conditions of the offer, the steps the student needs to take to accept their offer and what they can expect in the months before starting at AUC.

Campus visits for accepted students
AUC organises two days (also optional) where accepted students can visit campus and meet other students starting in their year. These days are typically organised in May and include a programme for students to meet the AUC community and fellow members of their incoming class. They'll be able to visit the campus, speak with academic staff members, chat with current AUC students, tour the student residences and ask any final questions they may have before starting their studies at AUC.

Parallel to the consideration of individual students on their performance and profile, the Admissions Committee also pays attention to the composition of a socially coherent yet diverse cohort of students. Consequently, AUC seeks to establish an academic community that reflects the social, cultural and economic diversity of our world and encourages intercultural learning through ongoing dialogues between people with a variety of experiences and world views.

The AUC Admissions Committee aims to put together a student body with a high academic profile and diverse mix of social, cultural and economic backgrounds.

Prospective students are in principle eligible for admission to AUC if they have a secondary school diploma that can be considered equivalent to the Dutch VWO.

Whether or not a prospective student will be offered a place at AUC will depend on their:

• academic performance: they must demonstrate their ability to meet the academic demands of the AUC programme
• level of proficiency in English and mathematics: they must meet AUC’s English and maths requirements
• motivation and ambition to study an intensive and broad Liberal Arts and Sciences programme
• commitment to contribute to AUC's student and campus life (please note that AUC is a residential programme)

A prospective student’s grade point average (GPA) will be used as an indicator of their academic performance and will be taken into consideration alongside their interests and motivation as expressed in:

• a personal study plan, motivations and description of interests/activities (see application guidelines)
• an academic recommendation from, for example, the head of their secondary school or (former) teacher

For more details, please see our application form and application guidelines.