Soft cut rule ('zachte knip') 2022-2023

The Bachelor’s-before-Master’s-rule (‘Harde Knip’ in Dutch) states that students must first successfully complete their Bachelor’s or Pre-Master’s programme before they can move on to a Master’s programme.

Due to the corona measures, almost all programmes offer online education until the end of this academic year (2021-2022). This situation may cause study delays for some students since not everything can be done digitally.

In order to limit possible study delays and related adverse consequences, the Board of the University has decided to adjust the existing entry requirements for starting a programme in the academic year 2022-2023. The 'Soft Cut' rule does not apply to the February 2023 intake.

The adjusted entry requirements will allow certain students to start with a Pre-Master’s, Bachelor’s or Master’s programme while they are still working on completing their previous programme. This is referred to as the ‘Soft Cut’ rule (‘Zachte Knip’ in Dutch).

The following students can apply for the 'Soft Cut' rule:

• Bachelor’s students who wish to start with a FEB Master’s programme on September 1 2022;
• Pre-Master’s students who are enrolled in a Pre-Master’s programme at FEB in the academic year 2021-2022 and who wish to start with a FEB Master’s programme on September 1 2022;
• Bachelor’s students who want to start a FEB Pre-Master’s programme on September 1 2022;
• Students with a degree from a University of Applied Sciences who want to start a FEB Pre-Master’s programme or Bachelor’s programme on September 1 2022.

Please see the menu on the left for detailed information on the conditions and application procedure.

The following categories are excluded from this arrangement:

• Students who have made use of the ‘Soft Cut’ rule to enrol in a previous academic year may not apply for the ‘Soft Cut’ rule to enrol in the academic year 2022-2023.
• Students of the Research Master Economics & Business. If you want to enrol in the Research Master Economics and Business, please contact the programme director Rian Drogendijk via rian.drogendijk rug.nl.
• Students of the Double Degree (DD) Master’s programmes. If you want to enrol in a DD Master’s programme, please contact the coordinator of these programmes.

Talk to your study advisor

Please consider that the degree programmes are all-time intensive programmes. If you are not able to finish your Bachelor’s or Pre-Master’s programme within the academic year 2022-2023, you are not allowed to continue with the Master’s programme in the following academic year.

The Bachelor’s or Pre-Master’s programme needs to be completed before the Master’s programme can be completed.

We strongly advise you to consider if the option of already starting your Master’s degree programme is suitable for you or not. In some cases, it is better to focus on the completion of your Bachelor’s programme or Pre-Master’s programme first, before starting a Master’s programme.

Please contact the study advisors of the Faculty of Economics & Business if you wish to discuss your study plan.

Contact

If you have any questions about this information, please contact the Educational Administration via transfer.feb rug.nl.