Dutch universities are supported by state funding (with the exception of University Nyenrode) so that

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

do not have to rely on private funding to facilitate tuition. All citizens of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

who complete high school at the pre-academic level ( vwo) or have a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

Propedeuse at HBO level, signifying they have finished their first-year of courses are eligible to attend university. In the case of a HBO-Propedeuse some restrictions may apply as to deficiencies in High School subjects. Three universities (

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

) have restrictive requirements based on academic ability; and all universities have restrictive requirements for some of their programs because the number of prospective students sometimes outnumbers the number of available places. Many Dutch students attend universities relatively far from their parental homes (in contrast to

Universities in Italy This is the list of universities in Italy, sorted in ascending order by the name of the city where they are situated. List of universities Source: MIUR, ''Anagrafe Nazionale Studenti'' (Academic year 2012/2013) Regional distribution Sou ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

for example), although scarcity of accommodation sometimes forces students to commute. As a compensation for this, Dutch students normally receive a card (OV-chipkaart) that allows them to use public transport for free during one part of the week (either workdays or the weekend) and with a discount during the other part. Waiting lists for student accommodation in the Netherlands can be more than a year, particularly in

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Which is why many students rent a room in the private sector. Quality differences between Dutch universities are generally small and the best university in one subject can be the worst in another. This is one of the reasons why none of them tend to end in the top tier of international university ranking systems. All of them, however, score well above average. Dutch universities used to offer only 4 or 5 year courses. Since 2002 most of them now offer 3 year undergraduate programmes, leading towards a bachelor's degree, and 1 or 2 years Master's programmes. Old habits remain, partly because stopping after a BSc is seen as 'dropping out' and a large majority of university students enroll on master's courses. To confuse matters, students attending Universities of Applied Sciences (HBO) also obtain a bachelor's degree, only the programmes in these institutes usually take 4 years. In the Netherlands these degrees are however not seen as a university education. It is possible to continue after a HBO bachelor's degree to a university master's, with often a pre-master deficiency program or other additional requirements on minimum

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

External links

Search for officially recognised programmes in the Netherlands

Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders/Belgium (NVAO)

The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences

Studiekeuze123.nl, an overview and comparison of all Dutch-taught studies of the universities in the Netherlands

Eurogates, a searching database of English-taught programmes and grants for study in Holland

Directory
an
Ranking
of the Netherlands

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutch Universities

See also

External links

References