Delft University of Technology

General information

• Location: Delft, the Netherlands, between Rotterdam and The Hague. The main and practically only campus is in Delft.
• Founded: 1842, originally as a royal academy for training engineers
• Language of instruction: for bachelor's programmes it depends on the programme – a large proportion are in Dutch, some entirely or partly in English. All regular master's programmes are in English.
• Main fields: architecture and urban planning, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and engineering, applied mathematics and physics, industrial design
• Bachelor's programmes in English: Aerospace Engineering, Earth, Climate and Technology, Computer Science and Engineering, Nanobiology

Deadlines

Applications usually open in October of the preceding year – first through Studielink, then in TU Delft's own system. For applicants with a Bulgarian or other international diploma:

• 15 January – for programmes with a limited number of places and a competitive procedure (numerus fixus), for example Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering
• 1 April – for the remaining bachelor's programmes

Academic year

• First semester: approximately September–January
• Second semester: approximately February–July/August

The year is also divided into four teaching periods (quarters).

Programmes – bachelor's

Computer Science and Engineering (in English)

• Duration: 3 years, 180 ECTS
• Start: once a year, in September
• Language: offered in English and Dutch; international applicants apply for the English-language track
• Admission: numerus fixus – 590 places, all applicants go through selection
• Deadline: 15 January, 23:59 Central European Time, via Studielink

Requirements: a Bulgarian diploma with a passed mathematics exam covering the Mathematics B level; English language; successful participation in the selection procedure. Without a maths exam, good diploma grades alone are usually not enough – in that case an additional Mathematics B exam may be requested (for example through a recognised Dutch examination body), but this must be approved by TU Delft in advance. Other programmes require different exams – for example Aerospace Engineering also requires physics.

Procedure: registration in Studielink, submitting documents in TU Delft's system and taking part in the Matching & Selection procedure. All TU Delft bachelor's programmes require an adequate grounding in Mathematics B. After selection, each applicant receives a ranking number, and on 15 April applicants with a sufficiently good number receive an offer of a place, which must be accepted within the deadline.

Aerospace Engineering (in English)

• Duration: 3 years, 180 ECTS
• Start: once a year, in September
• Language: English – international applicants can study the entire bachelor's in English
• Admission: numerus fixus – around 440 places a year for around 2,900 applicants
• Deadline: 15 January, via Studielink

Selection: all applicants take part in a procedure that assesses academic knowledge and skills, motivation and the result of a selection test. They then receive a ranking number.

Requirements: a diploma equivalent to Dutch VWO, with a strong grounding in mathematics and physics. The level is closer to advanced specialised mathematics than to standard mathematics in a language-focused secondary school. The test syllabus includes, for example:

• functions, logarithms and exponential functions
• trigonometry
• equations and inequalities
• analytic geometry and vectors
• first and second derivatives, rules for differentiating composite, product and quotient functions
• optimisation problems
• integrals, area via integration and volumes of solids of revolution
• motion, velocity and acceleration via derivatives

Differential and integral calculus in particular are key – this is one of the main differences from standard general-education mathematics.

Preparation: TU Delft offers a Pre-University Physics course (mechanics, electricity and magnetism, waves, applying differential and integral calculus in physics) with a workload of around 40 hours – it can be completed intensively over a few weeks or more slowly alongside school. For mathematics there is a separate 6-week Pre-University Calculus course covering functions, equations, differentiation and integration.