Admission and selection

Do you want to be part of the best professionals in hotel management? Is hospitality in your DNA? Then check carefully whether you meet the admission requirements for the hotel school and apply! Every year we have room for 390 students. Below you will find all admission requirements and an explanation of the selection procedure.

Factsheet

Download our factsheet here.

Apply for the English programme

Start September 2025 or February 2026
All candidates can apply via Studielink between 1 October 2024 and 1 May 2025.

Studielink

Admission requirements

Secondary education

Candidates must have an academic qualification enabling them to follow Higher Professional Education, in accordance with the guidelines specified by an independent body. Please check if your secondary diploma meets our requirements (pdf) (please note not all diplomas are included in the overview). If your secondary education is not on the list, then feel free to go to Studielink and submit your application and copies of your diplomas there. We will be pleased to verify your eligibility free of charge for you.

Proficiency in English

Candidates must demonstrate adequate proficiency in English. Candidates who:

  • are native speakers of English and/or;
  • have completed at least two years’ full-time education in the previous three calendar years with English as the language of instruction and/or;
  • have completed their secondary education in the European Union and have had English as an exam subject in their last year of study

are deemed to have fulfilled this requirement.

Those candidates to whom this does not apply must submit proof of sufficient scores on one of the following tests when applying:

  • TOEFL test (Internet-based score must be at least 80, paper-based score must be at least 550, computer-based must be at least 213, please refer to their website www.toefl.org) and please note to use the academic version.
  • IELTS test (score at least 6.0 IELTS, please refer to their website www.ielts.org)
  • Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency (any pass grade, please refer to their website www.cambridgeenglish.org)
  • Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (grade A,B or C, please refer to their website www.cambridgeenglish.org)

Only limited dates are available for testing. Please register in time for the test to ensure you have the results back in time.

Please note: We do not accept certificates that were issued longer than two years ago from the date stated on the certificate.

Second modern language

Proof of advanced knowledge of a second modern language (for example exam subject or acknowledged Language Certificate at A2 level or above):

We do not accept certificates which were issued more than two years ago.

International students whose mother tongue is French, German or Spanish are barred from choosing that particular language.

If you are a Dutch candidate who would like to enroll for the English Hotel Management study, the following admission requirements apply:

  • HAVO or VWO diploma: all profiles are admissible as long as you have chosen two modern foreign languages within your profile. Furthermore, it is recommended that you have chosen economics or management & organisation (M&O) in your profile. For the HAVO profile ‘cultuur en maatschappij’ it is mandatory to have economics or management & organisation (M&O) included in your profile.

Advice

Don’t meet our admission requirements (yet)? Read our advice to increase your chances of being admitted.

Apply 

Do you meet the mentioned admission requirements for our hotel school? And have you enrolled via Studielink? (note: Studielink will indicate that additional requirements apply to our study programme. This refers to the selection). Then you will receive an invitation for the selection procedure. We have two intake moments each academic year, one in September and one in February.

Deadline
For a start in September 2025 and February 2026, all candidates can apply between 1 October 2024 – 1 May 2025. 

Important:

  • If you apply in a timely manner, you will have a better chance of being enrolled in the intake date of your choice. 
  • You may only participate in the selection once per study year (cohort). Admission is only valid for the following study year. So only register if you can start our programme in that study year.
  • If you take part in our selection for the second time, we ask you to complete this form.

Selection procedure

After your enrolment via Studielink, you will receive a confirmation notice within 3 weeks. If you have filled in all information as required, the selection procedure will start. The selection for the bachelor study Hotel Management consists of two phases.

The first phase

During the first selection day you will be assigned a writing assignment. Within this assignment we will ask you to reflect on a concrete statement. A score for your educational background to date is added to this assignment. After the first selection day you will be informed whether or not you will be advancing to the next phase*.

* for international candidates, this is replaced by a cognitive ability test score

The second phase

Did you advance to the second phase? Then you will be invited for a second selection day. On this day we will determine if Hotel Management is a fitting study for you. You will fill in a personality test. This test will determine if you possess the right character traits for a career in the hospitality sector.

Furthermore, we will engage in a personal conversation with you. Two representatives of the hotel school - most of the times made up of a teacher and a student - will ask you several questions. This is the ideal opportunity to present yourself in the best way you can! Show us that you are motivated and show us that you have a true feeling for the world of hospitality.

And after that? Then you will need to have some patience. Candidates are ranked according to the final scores and the highest scoring candidates are admitted into the bachelor Hotel Management.
 

Selection days

Applicants living abroad

Candidates living abroad will be invited to complete the selection procedure online.

Dutch applicants

Dutch applicants applying for the international bachelor may be invited on the following selection days.

For the first phase, the selection procedure will occur on the following days (in the afternoon):

  • 5 November 2024
  • 21 January 2025
  • 11 March 2025
  • 6 May 2025

For the second phase, the selection procedure will occur on the following days:

  • 14 December 2024
  • 15 March 2025
  • 12 April 2025
  • 14 June 2025

Failed your final exam?

You will only be admitted into the study on condition that you passed your final exam. If you did not receive your diploma, your right to be admitted will expire. However, you are allowed to enroll for selection for the following academic year.

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More information?

For questions regarding your application, admission or obtaining a language certificate please contact the international recruitment department

study.hmsm@zuyd.nl

Want to study at the hotel school?