Higher education structure

It is well known that universities in the
Netherlands enjoy a worldwide reputation and
appear to be very attractive for foreign students.
This was achieved through a unique combination
of flexibility, central regulation and a national
recognition system.

Let's take a look at the structure of the 9th best
education education system in the world (OECD,
2008).


Types of higher education institutions

In the Netherlands, there are three main types of
higher education institutions:

› Research Universities (Universiteiten)
These institutions focus on the independent
practice of research-oriented education in an
academic or professional setting. In total, 14
research universities and 8 academic medical
centers enroll more than 200.000 students and
offer three year Bachelor programs and one or
two year Master programs.

› Universities of applied sciences
(Hogescholen)
In universities of applied sciences, students are
trained for independent practice of science. All
42 hogescholen have a more practical orientation
and thus, Bachelor programs specializing in
specific areas last four years.

It should be underlined that after completing a
four-year Bachelor program, students can apply
for a second Bachelor or even for a Master
program in (almost) every university. However, a
switch program (one year) may be needed.

› International institutions
International institutions are also an option
especially for expats, offering specialized
programs, which may well suit the needs of
international students.


Funding

In terms of funding, all Dutch universities and
institutions belong to one of the two following
categories:

› Government-funded institutions, which are
legally protected and financially supported by the
Dutch government and thus, are allowed to offer
officially recognized degrees.
› Government-approved institutions that are not
funded by the Dutch government but preserve
the right to offer degrees that are officially
recognized .

Complete directories of Dutch institutions listed
by the funding criterion can be found in Ib-Groep
(in Dutch). For a complete list with all the
accredited institutions/programs click here.

Study programs

Given that there are more than 1.450 study
programs entirely taught in English the following
links might come in handy. If you are looking for
information regarding the duration, contact,
tuition fees, educational and language
requirements, modes of instruction, and
objectives of various study programs, check:

› Nuffic’s (Netherlands organization for
International Cooperation in higher education)
complete database of English taught programs.
› IB-Groep’s study program search engine.
› StudyChoice.nl
› Qrossrads.eu

To compare student cities e.g. student
population, average rent, number of pubs, bars
and restaurants click here.


Degrees & qualifications

As stated above, length as well as difficulty
(check credit system & grading section) differs
between programs. However, the Dutch system
does not differ significantly from the European
study system and thus, the following titles are
offered:

Bachelor
› Bachelor of Science (BSc)
› Bachelor of Arts (BA)
› Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
› Bachelor of Engineering (BEng)
› Bachelor of Education (BEd)
› Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
› Bachelor of Music (BMus)

Master
› Master of Science (MSc)
› Master of Arts (MA)
› Master of Laws (LLM)
› Master of Engineering (MEng)
› Master of Education (MEd)
› Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
› Master of Music (MMus)

PhD (Doktor)
A PhD is the highest academic degree and thus,
can be obtained only by universities and a
limited number of international institutes.
Nevertheless, its period depends entirely on the
type of PhD, area of study, previous
qualifications etc.