Tilburg University

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 5 November 2026.

About Tilburg University

Tilburg University was founded in 1927 as the Roomsch Katholieke Handelshoogeschool, a Roman Catholic university of commerce. It was renamed Katholieke Economische Hogeschool in 1938 and Katholieke Hogeschool Tilburg in 1963, later became Katholieke Universiteit Brabant and now uses the name Tilburg University.^[3] The university describes itself as strongly rooted in Brabant society, with a compact, green campus and an emphasis on personal contact and small scale.^[1]

According to its 2025 annual report it had 18,400 students, 67 programmes (45 of them master’s programmes) and more than 103,000 alumni since 1927.^[1] Its schools are Economics and Management, Law, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities and Digital Sciences, and Catholic Theology.^[3] The university is also a partner in ENGAGE.EU, an alliance of ten European universities.^[1]

How is Tilburg University ranked?

In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published on 18 June 2026, Tilburg University is 429th with a score of 36. That is the lowest position among the twelve Dutch universities in the NL Times list, which covers all Dutch research universities except the Open University.^[2] In the 2026 edition the university was 347th, so it fell by 82 places.^[3] We did not find a reason for the drop in the sources we read.

Tilburg’s own rankings page leads with subject results: 17th worldwide in Business Administration (Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2026), 35th in Law (Times Higher Education 2026) and 66th in Psychology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026).^[9] The university calls itself a specialized university that ranks in accounting and finance, business and management, economics and econometrics, social sciences and psychology, law and public governance, and arts, humanities and communication.^[9] Rankings differ by publisher and year, so treat one position as one view. How we compile rankings.

What can you study at Tilburg University?

The bachelor’s programmes are grouped by field of interest: behavior and society, communication and digital sciences, culture, philosophy and religion, economics and econometrics, law and governance, mathematics, data and AI, organization, management and entrepreneurship, and University College Tilburg.^[8] Examples from the overview, all three years long and starting at the end of August:^[8]

• Global Law (LLB)
• International Business Administration (BSc)
• Psychology (BSc), also offered in Dutch as Psychologie
• Economics (BSc)
• Human Resource Studies: People Management (BSc)
• Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence (BSc)

The master’s offer includes research master’s programmes and a range of pre-master’s programmes for applicants who need to close gaps before starting a master’s.^[10] All bachelor’s programmes start once a year in late August; master’s programmes start in the fall semester (late August) or, for some, the spring semester (late January).^[5][6]

How much does Tilburg University cost in 2026/27?

These are the 2026/27 rates on Tilburg University’s fee page. The statutory fee was €2,601 in 2025/26. It is set by the Dutch Minister of Education, applies at all Dutch institutions and is paid only once if you take several programmes at different institutions.^[4] The institutional fees are the “main” rates; the university says rates may differ per programme, so check your programme page.^[4]

Who pays which fee?

You pay the statutory fee if you hold an EU, EEA, Swiss or Surinamese nationality and have not yet obtained a bachelor’s degree (for a bachelor’s) or a master’s degree (for a master’s) in Dutch higher education. Some non-EU students are treated like EEA students if they meet the nationality conditions of the Dutch Student Finance Act 2000.^[4]

Pre-master’s, living costs and scholarships

• Pre-master’s students pay a weighted fee instead: €269 per 6 ECTS credits in 2026/27, capped at the statutory fee of €2,694.^[4]
• Living costs in Tilburg: about €1,000 to €1,200 a month, with furnished accommodation from €600 a month.^[10]
• Master’s scholarships and tuition-fee waivers exist for incoming students, mostly based on academic achievement, with limited places and none for pre-master’s programmes. The page we read describes the 2027/28 round.^[10]

How do you apply to Tilburg University?

Bachelor’s (non-Dutch diploma). Check the diploma, English, mathematics and any additional-document requirements for your programme. Then register in Studielink, the national application portal for Dutch higher education, and submit a complete application in the university’s OSIRIS Aanmeld portal. Registering in Studielink alone is not enough.^[5]

• Documents: copy of passport or ID, secondary school diploma (or a statement if you have not graduated yet) and official grade lists, translated by a sworn translator where needed. Some programmes ask for an interview, assessment, CV or essay.^[5]
• A one-time application fee of €100 applies to applicants with a non-Dutch diploma.^[5]
• In Studielink you can apply for at most four programmes at different Dutch universities, and for at most two numerus fixus (capped-enrolment) programmes at the same time.^[5]
• Psychology uses a selection procedure instead of rolling admission. For all other programmes the university evaluates applications as they arrive and decides within four to six weeks.^[5]

Master’s. You generally need an academic bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. Every programme has its own admission requirements, such as a minimum number of ECTS credits in certain subjects, and the Admissions Committee decides on your complete file. The university cannot give pre-admission advice; a decision follows within four to six weeks of submitting. Clinical Neuropsychology has a selection procedure.^[6]

We give no deadlines here because they differ by nationality, intake and programme and change every year. Both pages list the current deadlines and the programmes with early or extended deadlines.^[5][6]

Which English level do you need?

Applicants to English-taught programmes must prove their English unless an exemption applies. Results may not be older than two years and must come from a single test date.^[11]

IELTS Online is not accepted, and TOEFL iBT Home Edition only in exceptional circumstances.^[11][6] Exemptions exist, for example for applicants who completed their entire secondary education in English, hold an IB diploma taught in English, or hold one of the listed national diplomas.^[11] The master’s figures above apply to the February 2027 intake shown on the page; the September 2027 intake has its own requirements box there.^[6] The Data Science bachelor’s has different English rules.^[11] Dutch-taught bachelor’s programmes require proof of Dutch.^[5]

More about studying in Netherlands

• Netherlands: best universities
• Study in Netherlands: complete guide
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

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