Zuyd University of Applied Sciences OMPT requirements (2026): OMPT-C, programmes and how to prepare

Zuyd University of Applied Sciences uses one OMPT module, OMPT-C, as the mathematics route for four English-taught bachelor programmes: Applied Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (ADSAI) and Computer Science in Maastricht, and Business Process Analytics and Change (B-PAC) and Circular Cities & Communities in Heerlen. The pages say you must pass the test but publish no minimum percentage and no attempt limit. Examify checked every Zuyd programme page on 27 September 2026.

An earlier version of this guide could not open Zuyd's pages and treated "OMPT test level C" as a possible internal label. That was too cautious. The Dutch pages write OMPT-C outright, so it is the standard 30-question module.

Zuyd University of Applied Sciences OMPT requirements by programme

All four are taught in English and run for four years. None of Zuyd's Dutch-taught bachelor pages names the OMPT. Technische Bedrijfskunde, for example, points students who dropped maths to Zuyd's own maths refresher course instead.

Who at Zuyd actually has to sit OMPT-C

Most applicants do not. The test is a fallback for people whose diploma does not prove enough maths, and each page defines that group a little differently.

For ADSAI and B-PAC, three groups need it. International applicants whose diploma does not include mathematics up to and including the final year. Havo or vwo students with the Culture & Society profile and neither Mathematics A nor B. And anyone aged 21 or over who applies through Zuyd's binding admission exam, who also needs IELTS 6 or TOEFL 80 (internet) or 550 (paper). A Dutch diploma with Maths A or B, any other havo or vwo profile, or an mbo level 4 diploma gets you in without the test.

Computer Science is stricter for Dutch students and looser for everyone else. Havo and vwo students need Maths A or B in every profile except Nature & Technology, and the page lists no OMPT route for them. Non-Dutch applicants must pass OMPT-C or, according to the Dutch programme page, demonstrate the same level in another way. The English page spells the test out as an "Orientation, Motivation and Personality test". That is a copy error: it is the mathematics OMPT.

Circular Cities & Communities is the lightest. The English page accepts all havo and vwo profiles and applies OMPT-C only to international diplomas without final-year maths. The Dutch page asks Culture & Society students for Maths A or B, so the two versions disagree. If that is your profile, email builtenvironment@zuyd.nl before you plan anything.

What Zuyd does not publish

None of the four pages gives a pass mark, a maximum number of attempts, a validity period for the certificate, or whether the result must be in by the application deadline. Zuyd's admission regulations for 2026 to 2027 leave the form and content of deficiency tests to each academy director and point to the programme pages for details, so the answer sits with the programme, not with a central office.

Ask before you pay €240. One email to the programme (applied.ai@zuyd.nl, computerscience@zuyd.nl, bpac@zuyd.nl or builtenvironment@zuyd.nl) with three questions is enough: what percentage counts as a pass, how many attempts count, and whether the result must reach Zuyd by the deadline. Get the answer in writing. Until you have it, prepare for 75%.

Which OMPT module Zuyd uses and what it looks like

The figures below come from the official OMPT-C syllabus.

The four chapters are Numbers (17 topics), Algebra (28), Linear formulas and equations (17) and Geometry (4). There are no functions, no calculus, no trigonometry and no statistics. Algebra alone is 28 of the 66 topics, so it decides most results. The full topic list is on Examify's OMPT-C syllabus page, and the OMPT-C guide has a worked example.

OMPT-C checks secondary-school algebra, and that matters if you are heading for ADSAI or Computer Science. The ADSAI page says mathematics plays a central role in the first year, next to programming, algorithms and data structures. Passing OMPT-C gets you in; it does not cover the maths you will meet in the first semester.

Zuyd's OMPT requirement in context

Among the programmes Examify tracks, OMPT-C appears at Amsterdam University College (Humanities major, 70%), Radboud University (Psychology, 55%, OMPT-E or OMPT-C) and Vilnius University (55%). Zuyd is the only university of applied sciences among them. The other universities of applied sciences use OMPT-A: Hanze at 55% for Creative Media and Game Technologies, UCLL at 60%.

The sharper comparison is across the city. Maastricht University's Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science bachelors ask for OMPT-D at 60% with a maximum of two attempts. OMPT-D has 21 questions in 180 minutes over 11 chapters, with about 120 hours of suggested preparation, three times the OMPT-C estimate. Leiden asks OMPT-D at 60% for Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam asks OMPT-A at 70% for Artificial Intelligence, and Radboud asks OMPT-E or OMPT-D at 55% for its AI bachelor. Of the AI and data science bachelors on the universities list, Zuyd's ADSAI has the lightest maths entry.

If you are applying to both Zuyd and Maastricht University, prepare for OMPT-D, since it covers every OMPT-C chapter. Zuyd does not say whether it accepts a higher module in place of OMPT-C, though, so confirm that before you rely on one certificate for both. The thresholds side by side are on OMPT passing scores.

How to prepare for the Zuyd OMPT-C test

About 40 hours is the official estimate. Four minutes per question is generous, so time pressure rarely sinks an OMPT-C attempt. Wrong final answers do.

1. Take a diagnostic before you study. The free OMPT practice test shows the answer box and its input rules; then sit the full 30-question, 120-minute OMPT-C mock with the timer on.
2. Score it per chapter. Geometry is only 4 topics, but it is usually the chapter students last saw longest ago, so do not skip it because it is small.
3. Put the first 4 to 6 hours into Numbers: fractions, powers and roots without your own calculator. These errors spread into the other three chapters.
4. Spend the middle 15 to 18 hours on Algebra and Linear formulas and equations, working through the topic list and ticking topics off.
5. Practise final answers in the exact format. A computer algebra system checks each answer and a mathematician reviews it, so an unsimplified fraction or a wrong variable name costs the whole question.
6. Take a second full mock about a week before your planned date. Book only if it lands at 85% or above. With no published pass mark, the extra 10 points cover a bad day on the real test.

If you have more than 40 hours of catching up to do, how long does OMPT preparation take turns a diagnostic score into hours, and improve your OMPT score in 30 days gives a day-by-day plan you can cut down to four chapters.

Booking, deadlines and results for Zuyd applicants

An OMPT-C slot must be booked at least 72 hours in advance and costs €240 per attempt (€270 applies only to OMPT-D and OMPT-F). Results and the digital certificate arrive within 8 business days, about 12 calendar days.

ADSAI, B-PAC and Circular Cities & Communities list the same deadlines for September entry: 1 May for non-EU applicants, 1 June for EU applicants and 1 July for applicants with a Dutch diploma. Applications open on 1 October. The Computer Science page does not repeat these dates, so take them from its admission page.

If you treat the deadline as the date the result has to be in, count backwards. With one attempt and no buffer, the last safe test date is about 12 days earlier: 19 April for non-EU, 20 May for EU, 19 June for Dutch applicants. With one retake in reserve, count 38 days: 24 March, 24 April and 24 May. Non-EU applicants may also need a visa, which Zuyd warns can be slow, so aim for the earlier date. The steps, ID rules and proctoring setup are in how to book the OMPT.

Zuyd's wording can change between intakes, and the pages disagree in places, so confirm the module and ask for the pass mark before you pay for a slot. Examify is independent and not affiliated with the OMPT, SOWISO or any university.