Admission procedure for 2025-2026 for EU/EEA candidates
NOTE: this info is also applicable for candidates with Swiss nationality!
The admission procedure for the bachelor's programme of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie consists of two rounds:
First admission round:
- For all EU/EEA appilcants for 1st bachelor Basicyear full-time or for DOGtime: online consultation interview (book your appointment a.s.a.p.);
- For EU/EEA applicants for the 2nd/3rd year full-time: submitting portfolio application online (before the deadline).
Second admission round:
- For all candidates: entrance examination.
For all information regarding our admission rounds, dates, deadlines, etc., scroll down in the text below.
Application through Studielink
Application for our bachelor's program 2025-2026 is open from 4 November.
All candidates for our bachelor programme first have to apply through Studielink. So, to start your application, go to the Studielink website: www.studielink.nl to read their guidelines to register. NOTE: once you've submitted a registration request for our program, you can still decide to withdraw or change it and start an application for other academies too. So participation in our admission procedure does not obligate you to study with us.
Once you have registered in Studielink, you must submit a registration request for our bachelor programme in Studielink, with the blue button 'Add new course'. In the search filter Educational Institution, put 'Gerrit Rietveld Academie' to find our 2 courses at HBO Bachelor level (so do not search with 'basicyear' or the name of a specific department).
If you use the search filter 'Gerrit Rietveld Academie' in the Educational Institution field, you can generate the two HBO Bachelor level choices below:
- Fine Arts and Design fulltime, or;
- Fine Arts and Design parttime (= DOGtime).
Select your choice for fulltime or parttime, and then you have to select the next choice:
- first year;
- advanced year (which you select if you want to apply for the 2nd/3rd year, directly into one of our departments).
NOTE: In Studielink, you cannot select a specific department! So you only choose for our bachelor fulltime or parttime, and for first year or advanced year.
Once you've submitted your registration request in Studielink, you will receive automatic e-mails with info about the next steps in your application process. You have to fill out the additional application quesitons on our closed application page, and indicate your choice for the Basicyear or a department.
First admission round through consultation interview
All EU/EEA candidates applying for the 1st bachelor Basicyear full-time or for DOGtime (part-time all years) do the first admission round through online interview, so have to book a consultation appointment. Our regular consultations for application 2025-2026 start in November and run till mid-February.
OUR ADVICE: don't wait too long and book your appointment before the X-mas break. This gives you more time to prepare for the entrance exam and less chance that all consultations are fully booked, and running the risk of being too late to secure participation in our admission procedure.
Appointments can be booked by candidates who have submitted a registration requestin Studielink for the 1st bachelor Basicyear fulltime, or for DOGtime (1st or 3rd year). Appointments can be booked maximally 3 weeks in advance only.
NOTE: to book an appointment, first, you have to register for our bachelor programme through Studielink. Once you have registered through Studielink, you receive an automatic e-mail with the link to the appointment form.
NO DATES? If no dates appear after selecting a week on the appointment form, this means all slots in that week are already fully booked. Wait for a new week to be added to the form (this happens almost weekly, on Fridays around noon).
How to book your consultation appointment?
To book an appointment, you first have to register for our bachelor programme through Studielink (probably from end-October/beginning of November): www.studielink.nl . Once you have registered through Studielink, you will receive an automatic e-mail with the link to the appointment form.
Appointments can be booked maximally 3 weeks in advance only, and only on the basis of availability.
NOTE: application for DOGtime is only open to EU/EEA candidates, and in some cases to non-EU/EEA candidates who already have a valid residence permit for the Netherlands (on certain other grounds than full-time studies).
Residence permit
EU/EEA candidates do not have to apply for a residence permit to study in our program.
Proof of English proficiency
Candidates are obliged to provide proof of English proficiency during the application process. We accept one of the three options as explained below:
- Proof A = a copy of your European high school/secondary school diploma, with English as exam subject, level B2 or higher - to be submitted before mid-July 2025, or in case proof A cannot be provided;
- Proof B = proof that English is your mother tongue and that you have completed high school in a native-speaking country (high school diploma) - to be submitted before mid-July 2025, or, in case proof A or B cannot be provided;
- Proof C = your valid Academic IELTS certificate, with minimum overall band score of 6.0, with at least 6.0 for Speaking - to be submitted by July 2025 if you participate in our online consultations for the first admission round. NOTE: If you do the first admission round through the online portfolio machine, proof C has to be submitted with your portfolio application before the portfolio deadlines that are mentioned below! WE DO NOT accept TOEFL or University of Cambridge ESOL Examination language tests as alternative for an IELTS certificate!
NOTE: if you cannot provide proof A or B as described above, you are obliged to provide proof C. If you do the first admission round by submitting your portfolio application online through the portfolio machine, and you cannot provide proof A or B as described above, your proof C must be submitted before the portfolio application deadline - otherwise your portfolio application will not be taken into consideration!
What to expect from the consultation interview
The online interview is conducted through Microsoft Teams, with the aim to assess your possible suitability for our academy, which you will discuss with a teacher. You can show as much of your work as possible, by sharing a portfolio pdf in Teams with an overview of your work of the past 3 years, and on camera (make sure you collect your work in the room with you before the interview), and you can also share other digital files or urls.
If your work receives a positive assessment, you pass on the second admission round: the entrance examination. To be scheduled for the entrance exam, you have to provide the required information and documentation in your Osiris application first.
NOTE: we strongly advise you to study our complete website and at least take note of our academy philosophy (which can be found at menu option About) before participation in our first admission round.
To maximize your chances, we advise you not to wait too long, and book your consultation appointment before the X-mas break. The consultation teacher can give recommendations on how to prepare for the entrance exam (second round of the selection procedure). If you participate early, you have more time to prepare for the exam.
NOTE: all non-EU/EEA candidates are required to submit a portfolio application for the first admission round, instead of doing the consultation interview. And EU/EEA candidates applying for the 2nd/3rd year full-time are also required to submit a portfolio in our portfolio machine for assessment by the department (scroll down for info below).
Selection of works for the 1st admission round
In your pdf document for the first admission round, show a wide variety of visual work, taking into account:
- to make your selection as diverse as possible, with a main focus on work of the past three years.
- to not only show final results, but also include initial sketches, ideas and plans to provide some insight into your work (process).
- to show plenty of work, at least 20-30 pieces (but possibly more!). These can be drawings, sketches, design sketches, sketch books, paintings, photographs, collages, graphics, textiles, garments, ceramics, items of jewellery, floor plans, models and, if applicable, texts , etc..
- when applying for the first bachelor (basic)year, make sure the work you show is not too one-sided, so if you have a main interest in photography or graphic design, do not only show photos or graphic work, but also work in other media.
- do not only show assignment-based work but also include your 'free work,' based on your personal ideas, created at your own initiative.
- to keep the document size of your pdf as small as possible, maximally 30-40 MB (and reduce the resolution of your photos/images, if necessary).
First admission round through portfolio machine : submitting your portfolio for assessment
All EU/EEA candidates applying for the 2nd/3rd year full-time, have to submit a portfolio application for assessment in our online 'portfolio machine'. On the basis of your submitted portfolio application, the department admissions committee will determine whether or not to invite you to participate in the department entrance examination.
But first, you have to register through Studielink (see info above). Once you have registered through Studielink, you will receive automatic e-mails with information about the next steps and how to submit your portfolio application for assessment.
2nd/3rd year candidates can submit their portfolios from mid-January onwards until the deadline mentioned below. The guidelines for the selection of works that are outlined above, under Selection of works for the 1st admission round, also apply here.
NOTE: you can only apply for the 2nd year, if you have completed at least 1 bachelor year of studies in fine arts/design successfully (by July 2025 at the latest).
Deadline to submit your portfolio
For 2nd/3rd year fulltime application for 2025-2026:
- PORTFOLIOMACHINE opens mid-January.
- DEADLINE to submit your portfolio = 1 March 2025!
We urge you to submit your portfolio application a.s.a.p., well before the deadline! Take into account unexpected technical problems, so don't wait until last-minute, to avoid missing the deadline. Only applications submitted before the deadline will be taken into consideration!
Second admission round: entrance examination (for all candidates)
If you receive a positive assessment of your portfolio, you pass on to the second admission round; the entrance examination. After submitting the additional questionnaire in the Osiris application website, your participation in the 2nd round is guaranteed and your entrance exam will be scheduled.
Dates entrance exams
The entrance exams are scheduled in:
- the week of 17-21 March, 2025 (& extra round iin the week of 14-17 April) - for candidates full-time Basicyear:
- the week of 14-17 April, 2025 (15 & 17 April) - for candidates DOGtime (extra round on 20-21 May);
- the week of 19-23 May, 2025 for 2nd/3rd programme year candidates full-time. NOTE: exact date varies per department.
Two weeks before the exam week, registered candidates who passed the first round successfully will receive all relevant information by e-mail. Candidates for the first bachelor course year will then also receive the home assignments.
Information about entrance exam
In principle, all candidates are required to attend their entrance exam in person at our academy in Amsterdam (on 1 morning or afternoon in the exam week). Bring an elaborate and diverse selection of your art/design work of the past 3 years, including the home assignments, to the exam.
NOTE: candidates living outside of the EU, who are unable to attend the entrance exam in person, can send a request to do the entrance exam long-distance, to apply[at]rietveldacademie.nl .
With your input during the entrance exam, the admissions committee hopes to gather enough information about your visual abilities, your work and the various media you have worked with, your work process and outcome of the home assignments (if applicable), your motivation, background, sources of inspiration, expectations of the study programme, and the quality of your English communication, so we can get an idea of your possible suitability for our programme.
The entrance exam consists of an admission interview with an admissions committee (two interviews for Basicyear candidates). The interviews takes approximately 20 minutes.
Entrance exam result
The result of the assessments will be sent by e-mail, within one month after the exam week.
Application for a higher year
In principle, all candidates who have studied at an art academy at bachelor level, and have completed at least the 1st bachelor year of studies successfully (before their possible studies here), can apply for entrance into the 2nd (and by exception 3rd) year (instead of the 1st bachelor Basicyear). After successful participation in the entrance exam, you do have to complete your 1st bachelor year and submit proof of this in your application in Osiris, before the start of your possible studies here.
Code of conduct
The Code of Conduct guarantees the quality of higher education provided to international students. The Code of Conduct puts the institutions under a number of obligations in their dealings with international students.