Maastricht University Admissions 2026: Application Deadline, Eligibility & Fees

Maastricht University Eligibility for Indian Students

Academic and English thresholds below are the institution-wide floors from the Maastricht University admission requirements page and the language requirements page. Programme-specific floors may run higher — the School of Business and Economics, for instance, requires IELTS Writing 6.5 for all master’s applicants.

• UG general entry: Class XII (CBSE, ISC, or recognised state board) at 65 to 75 percent, with subject prerequisites for the chosen programme.
• UG fixus/selective (IBA, Medicine, PPE): Class XII with strong grades in prescribed subjects plus a competitive selection stage.
• PG entry: A recognised bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, with a class average typically 60 percent or higher from an accredited Indian institution.
• English default: IELTS 6.5 overall, TOEFL iBT 90, or Cambridge B2 First grade C+ / CAE / CPE.
• English higher band: Selected programmes require IELTS 7.0 overall. Confirm on the specific programme page.

Maastricht University IELTS Waiver for Indian Students

Indian applicants can request an English test waiver only when their prior bachelor’s or master’s was taught entirely in English. A Medium of Instruction (MOI) letter from the previous institution is mandatory. Class XII board English alone does not qualify. Applicants from Indian universities with English as the confirmed sole medium — such as most private and central universities — should upload the MOI letter through the UM Application portal after Studielink submission.

Note: Program-specific entry requirements, fees, and intake availability may differ from the institution-wide minimums shown above. Always confirm on the official Maastricht University page for your chosen program before applying.

Maastricht University PG Programmes and English Scores

Maastricht University offers around 70 English-taught master’s programmes across its six faculties. Non-EU base tuition ranges EUR 16,600 to 25,000 (around INR 18.38 Lakhs to INR 27.69 Lakhs) a year — see the course-wise fees breakdown for programme-level figures.

Insider note: The School of Business and Economics enforces IELTS Writing 6.5 as a hard sub-score — applicants who clear a 6.5 overall but land 6.0 in Writing are routinely rejected, so a rewrite before applying is often faster than an appeal after.

Note: Program-specific entry requirements, fees, and intake availability may differ from the institution-wide minimums shown above. Always confirm on the official Maastricht University page for your chosen program before applying.

Maastricht University Bachelor Programmes and Fixus Deadlines

Maastricht runs 27 English-taught bachelor’s programmes. Non-EU tuition sits at EUR 13,200 to 18,400 (around INR 14.62 Lakhs to INR 20.38 Lakhs) a year, with University College Maastricht and Maastricht Science Programme running higher at EUR 20,109 (around INR 22.27 Lakhs) for 2026-27. Fixus programmes — International Business Administration, Medicine, and European Public Health — close on the fixed national date of 15 January 2027 and no late applications are accepted.

Planning note: IBA and Medicine are numerus fixus — Indian applicants must complete Studielink and any selection material by 15 January 2027, 23:59 CET. Missing the fixus date pushes the application to September 2028.

Maastricht University PhD Admissions for Indian Students

PhD entry at Maastricht is vacancy-led: candidates apply to a funded position posted by a supervisor or research group rather than through a taught-programme cycle. There is no single deadline — vacancies open across the year, and a PhD contract typically covers a four-year salaried appointment. Fee-paying external PhD tracks list at EUR 4,000 (around INR 4.43 Lakhs) a year.

How Indian applicants find a UM PhD vacancy

Check the UM Academic Jobs board weekly and the specific graduate schools — Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE), Graduate School of Law, and Maastricht Graduate School of Governance publish separate calls. Match your master’s thesis area to a listed project before contacting the supervisor.

What the PhD application file requires

• Cover letter tied to the specific vacancy number
• Research proposal or fit statement when the call asks for one
• CV with publications, conference papers, and thesis abstract
• Two academic references with contact details
• Bachelor’s and master’s transcripts plus IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100

Insider note: Funded PhD candidates in the Netherlands are employees on a payroll, not scholarship holders. Indian applicants receive a gross salary starting around EUR 2,900 per month in year one, so the funded route removes the tuition question entirely.

Note: Program-specific entry requirements, fees, and intake availability may differ from the institution-wide minimums shown above. Always confirm on the official Maastricht University page for your chosen program before applying.

Maastricht University Application Process via Studielink

Maastricht routes all applications through the Dutch national platform Studielink, with supporting documents uploaded to the UM Application portal after the Studielink submission. The steps below apply to both bachelor’s and master’s applicants and were drawn from the UM admission and enrolment page.

1. Register on Studielink. The Studielink portal opened for the 2027-2028 cycle on 7 September 2026. Create a Studielink account, verify DigiD is not required for non-EU users, and select Maastricht University plus your programme.
2. Pay the application fee of EUR 100 (around INR 11,075) on the Studielink portal. The handling fee is refunded after enrolment, minus bank charges.
3. Complete the UM Application portal. Upload transcripts, degree certificates, passport bio page, English test report, CV, and a motivation letter of one page.
4. Programme-specific stages. Fixus and UCM/MSP applicants complete a selection interview or on-campus matching activity between February and April.
5. Await admission decision. Faculty admission boards issue decisions on a rolling basis, typically within four to eight weeks of a complete file.
6. Accept the offer and start the residence permit (MVV) pipeline through the UM Visa Office before 1 July 2027.

Maastricht University Admission Decisions

Admission decisions at Maastricht are issued on a rolling basis once the file is complete. Non-fixus master’s and non-selective bachelor’s programmes typically receive an offer within four to eight weeks. Fixus programmes announce results on the national fixus release date of 15 April 2027 for the September 2027 cycle.

• Conditional offer: Issued when transcripts, final marksheets, or IELTS are pending. Conditions must be cleared before the MVV file is finalised.
• Unconditional offer: Triggers the residence permit workflow with the UM Visa Office.
• Acceptance window: Applicants have around two weeks to accept the offer through the UM Application portal.
• Deferral: UM allows one-cycle deferral only in documented cases such as visa refusal or medical emergency; a fresh Studielink application is otherwise required.

UM Documents Required for Indian Students

Documentation for Indian applicants is uploaded to the UM Application portal after Studielink submission. The list below matches the Maastricht University admission checklist; note that academic scores and English test floors sit in the Eligibility section, not here.

• Passport bio page valid for the full duration of study
• Class X and Class XII marksheets with school stamp
• Bachelor’s degree certificate and consolidated transcript (for PG applicants)
• Master’s degree certificate and transcript, where applicable
• English test score report — IELTS, TOEFL iBT, or Cambridge
• Medium of Instruction letter from prior institution, if requesting an English waiver
• Curriculum vitae in one to two pages
• Motivation letter tailored to the chosen programme
• Two academic or professional recommendation letters (programme dependent)
• Financial proof — bank statement showing at least EUR 12,000 (around INR 13.29 Lakhs) for one year of living costs, for the MVV file
• Recent passport-size photograph in Dutch specification
• Nuffic or IDW credential evaluation, when the programme page requests it

Maastricht University Acceptance Rate for Indian Students

Maastricht does not publish an official institutional acceptance rate. Third-party estimates place it at 50 to 55 percent, based on stated intake capacity across the six faculties and the university’s access-oriented model — meaning it admits most applicants who meet the stated eligibility floor, rather than filtering aggressively at the top.

Which programmes are the hardest to enter

Numerus fixus routes are the tight funnels. International Business Administration and Medicine cap their intake by law, so admission is effectively a ranked selection rather than a threshold check — the effective acceptance rate on IBA sits well below the institutional average. University College Maastricht and Maastricht Science Programme also use interview-based selection with smaller cohorts.

What raises the odds for Indian applicants

A motivation letter that names the Problem-Based Learning model and cites a specific course in the programme, IELTS at 7.0 rather than the 6.5 floor, and a subject-prerequisite match on Class XII all read strongly to Maastricht admission boards.

Insider note: Non-fixus master’s programmes at Maastricht run closer to 70 percent admit for well-matched files. Weak files still fail on subject prerequisites and IELTS Writing sub-scores, not on rank.

Netherlands Student Visa Process for Maastricht Applicants

Indian students admitted to Maastricht apply for the combined MVV (Machtiging tot Voorlopig Verblijf) entry visa and VVR residence permit. Maastricht acts as the sponsor and files the application with the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) on the applicant’s behalf, so the file is submitted through the UM Visa Office rather than the Netherlands embassy directly. Standard processing runs four to six weeks once the fee and documents reach the IND.

The applicant pays the IND fee of EUR 228 (around INR 25,251) to Maastricht, uploads a passport copy, birth certificate, and a bank statement showing at least EUR 12,000 (around INR 13.29 Lakhs) for one year of living costs. On arrival, students collect the residence card, register at the Gemeente Maastricht within five working days, and take out Dutch public health insurance if they work part-time.

2026 update: The MVV cutoff for the September 2027 intake is 1 July 2027. Delayed IELTS results are the single biggest reason Indian applicants miss this date — clear all conditional-offer items by mid-May 2027 to keep the visa timeline safe.

Tips and Checklist for Maastricht University Admissions

The tips and steps below are drawn from Indian-applicant patterns at Maastricht University over recent September and February intakes, and cover the sequencing that keeps a file safe against the fixus and MVV walls.

• Start Studielink in October 2026 even if your marksheet is pending — the account itself carries no penalty and reserves your programme slot.
• Book IELTS by early November 2026 so a retake is possible before the 15 January 2027 fixus deadline.
• Request the MOI letter from your Indian university at least eight weeks before the deadline — most registrars take three to six weeks to issue it.
• Draft the motivation letter around one Problem-Based Learning tutorial in the programme handbook rather than the university at large; boards weight programme-fit heavily.
• Complete the UM Application portal within one week of the Studielink submission — the four to eight week decision window only starts when the file is complete.
• Fund the EUR 12,000 living-cost proof in a parent’s account with at least three months of history before the MVV file goes in — recent lump-sum deposits are flagged.
• Confirm your offer within the two-week window so the UM Visa Office can trigger the IND file before 1 July 2027.
• Book Maastricht housing through the UM guarantee scheme the day your offer arrives — private lets in the city are tight from June onwards.

Maastricht University admissions reward Indian applicants who move on Studielink early, hit the IELTS 6.5 floor with a matching Writing sub-score, and clear the MVV file well before 1 July 2027. Fixus programmes close on 15 January 2027 and non-selective September 2027 routes close on 1 May 2027 — see the wider programme catalogue and funding for Indian students as the next planning steps.