In this section you will find relevant information about studying in the Netherlands by clicking on the relevant links below.

• Education: about the educational system in the Netherlands and international courses that are offered
• Educational Organisations: about educational organisations in the Netherlands who are also internationally active.
• Programmes and Scholarships :information about scholarschip programmes and other programmes for international cooperation.

Education

In the Netherlands, three types of higher education are available: research-oriented education, higher professional education and international education. A new degree structure for higher education was officially introduced in 2002 (Declaration of Bologna). Under the new system, universities award bachelor’s degrees after three years of study and master’s degrees after one or two additional years of study.

A major final requirement for the master’s degree is a thesis based on the student’s own research. Though universities will, as before, primarily offer research-oriented programmes and universities of professional education will continue to focus on higher professional education, both types of institution are now authorised to offer both types of higher education. International Education has remained a separate type of higher education, and is provided by institutes of International Education.

Dutch universities that offer international courses and programmes:

There are 14 universities in the Netherlands ("universiteiten"). They offer research-oriented programmes and award degrees at the masters’s level, as well as the country highest academic degree, the "doctoraat", comparable to a PhD. The universities do not all have programmes of education and research in the same disciplines. Some of the universities offer education in a broad range of fields: natural science, health, economics, law, behaviour and society, and language and culture. These are the universities of Leiden, Groningen, Utrecht, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg, Rotterdam and both universities of Amsterdam. The universities of Delft, Twente and Eindhoven specialize mainly in engineering and Wageningen University specializes in agriculture.

A more detailed and up-to-date overview of international courses is also available at the web-site  Study in the Netherlands.

For a listing of universities:

•  Association of Universities in the Netherlands
•  Universities Portal

Alongside the traditional institutions there is the  Open University, which offers higher education distance learning to people who wish to obtain a degree or diploma but are unable or do not want to attend full-time, regular courses. There are no educational prerequisites for the Open University; all applicants over the age of 18 are admitted. The Open University offers some of its study programmes in English.

Other Dutch higher education institutions that offer international courses and programmes:

There are 56 universities of professional education in the Netherlands, known as "hogescholen". They offer career-oriented programmes and award degrees at bachelor’s and master’s levels, which concentrate on applied science, arts and technology. Students are prepared for professions that require scientific knowledge as well as skills for applying that knowledge. The universities of professional education offer a variety of full-time and part-time programmes in any of these seven sectors: agriculture and the natural environment, behaviour and society, health care, engineering and technology, fine and performing arts, economics and management, and education. Initial degree programmes require four years to complete, at the end of which a bachelor’s degree is awarded. An essential component of all programmes of higher professional education is the internship, or work placement, through which students acquire practical experience in real work situations.

The Netherlands has 15 higher education institutions devoted specially to International Education. The IE institutes feature development-oriented education in a wide range of fields and on different levels. The possibilities vary from short courses to a "doctoraat" or PhD. Courses and programmes designed primarily for professionals who have already embarked on their careers. Most programmes and courses are at postgraduate level and relatively short. A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent is a prerequisite for most of theses programmes and courses, plus at least some years of professional experience. Above all, the education is practical. The programmes and courses introduce participants to new methods and techniques. They can be adapted to suit individual needs and wishes. But more than this, they make sure that the participants will know how to apply their new knowledge when they get back home.

There are 25 more higher educational institutions that are officially recognized by the  Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands but operate independently, without a basic subsidy. They also offer full-time degree programmes.

More information on these education institutions is available at  http://www.studyin.nl

Dutch language and literature

•  The Dutch language

Dutch Language centres that offer courses in Dutch as a second language

•  Maastricht University Language Centre
•  Department of Dutch as a Second Language Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of arts and Letters
•  Tilburg University Language Centre
•  Institute for Dutch as a Second Language, Universiteit van Amsterdam, e-mail:  intt@hum.uva.nl
•  Utrecht University, James Boswell Institute
•  Erasmus University Rotterdam, Information Centre for International Relations
•  University of Nijmegen Language Centre

Educational organisations

•  Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
•  VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands)
•  FION (Federation of Institutes for International Education in the Netherlands)
•  NUFFIC (the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education)

NUFFIC was founded in 1952. It is a professional organization that realizes its motto "Linking knowledge worldwide" by providing professional services in four areas: development cooperation, internationalization, credential evaluation, and the international marketing of higher education. NUFFIC helps to strengthen teaching and research infrastructure in the South by facilitating international cooperation between higher education institutions. It supports national strategies for human capacity-building by administrating fellowship programmes for study in the North. NUFFIC fosters the internationalization of higher education, with special emphasis on programmes for international student and staff mobility for professional and academic careers. NUFFIC also facilitates access to national and international education and labour markets by helping to eliminate problems related to the international evaluation and recognition of diplomas and degrees. It also provides accurate, up-to-date information about Dutch higher education, which it disseminates abroad. It promotes foreign participation in Dutch higher education and helps Dutch higher education institutions to complete on the world education market.

Programmes and scholarships

The Huygens Programme (High-level University Year to Gain Excellence in the Netherlands) is a scholarship programme which fosters an influx of outstanding foreign students from countries with which the Netherlands has concluded a Cultural Agreement and from countries with which the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has concluded agreements regarding the award of scholarships. Programme offers an opportunity to study for a period of three to ten months at a Dutch university or hogeschool (university of professional education) or at one of the eligible research institutes in the Netherlands.

HUYGENS scholarships are meant for students up to the age of 35, who have recently graduated and already hold or are nearing completion of a higher education programme and are about to be awarded a higher education degree or diploma. A committee of experts selects the most qualified students. NUFFIC (the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education) is responsible for managing and implementing the HUYGENS Programme.
More information can be found on the website of the  NUFFIC.

SOCRATES Programme
is meant to encourage co-operation among the higher education institutions of Europe and is aimed for supporting students who wish to complete part of their studies in another European country. A SOCRATES scholarship covers a period of three to 12 months; the amount of the scholarship varies considerably, depending on the length of the study period, the destination and the student’s home country. Your own institution must have a bilateral agreement with an institution in the Netherlands prior to your period of study abroad. Lithuanian nationals are also eligible for this programme. More information can be found at  Socrates Programme and  Nuffic.

LEONARDO Programme
is the European vocational training programme for professional education and finances internships in the Netherlands for periods of three to 12 months. Lithuanian nationals are also eligible for this programme. More information can be found at  Leonardo Programme.

TEMPUS Programme
enables universities in a number of countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region to establish partnerships in the European Union that help them to restructure their higher education systems. The programme provides scholarships for students exchange only within such partnerships. Lithuanian nationals are also eligible for this programme. More information can be found at  Tempus Programme.

Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten
The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam is a working and meeting place for young professional artists from all over the world. Fifty studios are available for resident artists who can work for one or two years on research, projects and production. A work period at the Rijksakademie is most valuable with three to five years of professional experience, following an art study programme. Focus on the work, reflection and discussion are central to the residency. In addition to advice from internationally-practicing artists, curators and other art professionals, facilities include extensive technical workshops, a library, artist’s documentation and art collections. Resident artists pursue all major contemporary visual art disciplines: painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video, film, sound and new media, and links with other disciplines such as architecture, theatre, music, dance, literature and film are possible.

Applying Each year approximately twenty-five artists are invited for a residency. More information:  http://www.rijksakademie.nl 

Information about internationalisation in Dutch education is available at   Europees Platform voor het Nederlandse Onderwijs.