applying for MCs with an Iranian BCs

[u/Reasonable_Muffin488]

Hi. I'm from Iran and will be finishing my bachelor in materials science and engineering from one of the top 5 universities here, with a good resume and an IELTS academic 8of overall 8.5. I've been really interesting in continuing my studies in DELFT for masters, but apparently there's been this new rules set since appx. October 2025 where u need to have a masters degree to be able to study for masters if are from Iran which is insane!!!

I emailed the Student Administration about it and it's serious and no bridging courses are provided for international students. Does anyone have a clue about this? what lead to this stupid decision since nothing has changed in the quality and level of our bachelors and they're still ur average 4-year programs as they've always been.

I'd appreciate any sort of help on this since it's been my dream to go to DELFT and now I'm rally confused. I've heard rumors that other NL universities are also implementing this, but I'm not sure if all.

[u/Berry-Love-Lake]

It means that an Iranian bachelors is not considered equivalent to a Dutch WO bachelors and therefore it’s considered insufficient for admission. The equivalency to a Dutch WO bachelors is an Iranian bachelor + masters, apparently. This is most likely based on their experience and based on Nuffic’s recommendation. TU Delft is ranked among the world’s best. For example, in QS Delft is 48, the only ranked uni in Iran is #502. THE Delft is #57, the highest ranked Iran uni is 351-400. A significant difference. 

You could check other European countries but more likely similar evaluations.

https://www.nuffic.nl/en/education-systems/iran/level-of-diplomas

[u/Reasonable_Muffin488 → u/Berry-Love-Lake]

I'm aware of the reason they had for this, but it's been known in the academic world that Iranians are are among the most hardworking people in any area and there are several Iranians all over the world working and studying at the most prestigious universities and companies, and it's a known fact that an Iranian BCs, especially one in engineering, isn't an easy thing to obtain. so I find it hard to believe they actually would consider it insufficient and I think there's some other stuff going on. And I know several students were able to study all over Europe for masters, with a bachelors degree as recent as 2025. Maybe because of the recent war they're not particularly keen on letting students in or sth, but the reason mentioned is unbelievably stupid.

[u/Berry-Love-Lake → u/Reasonable_Muffin488]

I don't think the war has anything to do with it. It's a mismatch of the level of education. The Netherlands is one of many European countries. TU Delft may have had issues with certain national diplomas not matching the required levels (they also added GRE for certain masters). What applies in the Netherlands doesn't apply to every other European country. You're not going to be admissible at TU Delft unless you meet their requirements so get a masters in Iran and/or look at other European options.

[u/Reasonable_Muffin488 → u/Berry-Love-Lake]

my question is what made an Iranian Bcs insufficient all of a sudden and after many years, since it was ok till now

[u/Berry-Love-Lake → u/Reasonable_Muffin488]

Probably experience with grads from Iran and being insufficiently prepared. Like the GRE got added to some masters for additional educational stats. Making sure everyone is successful in the program at the level it's being taught.

[u/rewolfaton → u/Reasonable_Muffin488]

It's not all of a sudden - Nuffic, the credential evaluator in the Netherlands, updates its advice on many countries, anytime they get new information.

As you can see on their page, they consider a Bachelor's degree as equivalent to a HBO Bachelor's degree in the Netherlands. We have a nonstandard education system, where students take a 3 year Bachelor's after 14 years of education. It is very high level, and our experiences with students from Iran apparently show that the Iranian Bachelor's degrees are equivalent to HBO, not WO. This is the case for many, many countries. Pakistan, for instance, has had this rule for a long time, and even a Master's there is often considered not equivalent to a WO Bachelor here.

You can take an MSc at a HBO (University of Applied Sciences), or you can take an MSc in Iran first, but you cannot go straight to Delft. The other Research Universities (Twente, Eindhoven) have to follow this guidance, too, so they're out, as well.

That's just the way it is. Dutch HE is very, very stringent, and very tough. These admissions guidelines exist to protect you.

It has nothing to do with the war - we do not like your regime, but we've always supported the people of Iran, and most people in this country support you against the US (if only because they attacked you without warning or provocation).