Dutch Universities for International Students

Let’s say you want to study in the Netherlands. Plenty of good reasons to study at Dutch universities:

The study costs are affordable
The rent costs are also affordable (two things which seem to be at a premium these days),
The degrees are internationally recognized and awarded for innovative teaching methods.
The quality of life there is pretty high-it constantly breaks the top 10s in terms of those rankings.
It’s also rather friendly towards international students, with the country boasting both an international and multicultural environment as well as a wide range of degrees which are taught in English.

Now usually when you look up for universities in this country you tend to get more or less the same choices-University of Amsterdam, University of Groningen, Delft University of Technology and so on. That being said, there are a lot of hidden gems when it comes to the more obscure universities in the country.

In this article, we’ll be taking a peek at some of those hidden gems of universities.

Table of Contents

3 Underrated Dutch Universities

Here are some of the best Dutch universities that you can apply to:

Haarlem School

Based in the city of Haarlem, Haarlem School runs things a little differently than you’d expect from most other universities. For one, their selection of majors is small-and I mean really small, they only have three majors, and it’s all bachelor’s so those wanting to study bachelors are at a big plus, while those who want to seek higher education are barred from this institution.

They’re also all related to business, so this really only applies to those looking to study business. That being said, you shouldn’t overlook this university just because of those traits-less doesn’t always mean worse. The small amount of majors could work out to your advantage in several ways:

Those going into university already know what they want to do, thus they spend less time in the ‘undeclared’ limbo and end up wasting less money and time
In a university where the majors are this focused, you’re going to be taking the same thing as all your classmates. You’d be surprised at how much this can benefit your social life-you see them more often since you go to the same classes, you can have little study sessions with them, there’s just a lot of subtle factors which enhance your social life and encourage you to seek out friends.

The campus itself also has many facilities, including cutting edge classrooms and research labs, work and meeting areas, film theatre, even a supermarket for those choosing to live on campus. Speaking of, the dorms on campus are fantastic-spacious and comfy rooms for relatively average rent prices. I could go on and on about this university, but in the end I think I’ve laid out some good reasons on why it’s a top tier institution.

Example of bachelor’s degrees include:

Inter College Business School

This might seem like a carbon copy of Haarlem Campus-and in many ways it kind of is-but it is still worth noting because even two high quality business schools are better than one. Most of the pros which I mentioned in the last university applies here-small amount of majors which have their indirect benefits, great housing, great campus, based in an interesting city which you can explore in your free time.

Unlike Haarlem Campus, however, this one has an ace up its sleeve-an actual masters program. That’s right, those wishing to study masters won’t be left out in this institution. Again, not much to say here that hasn’t already been said, but be sure to check them out if you want an easy-to-access business university which will offer you a great education.

They only have one program for those who want to Study a bachelor’s degree which is in business administration and their global master’s degree program is also in business administration. Both programs are given in both English and Dutch.

Rotterdam School of Management

I know I’m tooting the horn of business students a lot here and leaving the rest of the majors to hang out and dry, but can you really blame me when the Netherlands offers great courses in business? With over 45 years of experience in business and management education, Rotterdam School of Management is the business school of the Erasmus University, located in the same city.

This university ticks all the boxes when it comes to quality-professors, facilities, campus location, internationality, student life and accommodations, you name it. It also offers degrees to all scales of education, from bachelors to masters and even PhDs which is pretty rare in Europe.

Important Things to Know Before Studying in Netherland

Before you pack your bags and find the nearest airport, there are some things you should about studying in Netherlands to see if it’s the study destination for you.

Study costs of Netherland

Students who come from the EU, Switzerland or Surinam luck out in the department tuition of public universities as tuitions tend to be incredibly cheap for them-anywhere from 700 to 2100 EUR for the entire four years. Those coming from abroad are going to need to cough up a little more money, though.

Generally, the range is 6,000 to 15,000 EUR for a bachelor’s degree and 8,000 to 20,000 EUR for a master’s degree. Acquiring a scholarship or financial aid is recommended in these cases, especially if you’re emigrating from a country with a weak currency as the university costs are really going to cut on your wallet otherwise.

Those trying to get into private universities are going to need to pay way more money regardless of background-usually 30,000 EUR for a typical bachelor’s degree. So public universities tend to be better on the financial side if you’re an EU resident, and even those coming from the outside can benefit from scholarships and financial aid.

Language Barrier in Netherland

Thankfully, there is none. Over 80% of the population have a borderline native understanding of the language, so you should be fine when it comes to communication. That being said, if you want to apply for an internship/part-time job during your studies, it would be best if you learnt the native language-most of those professions require it.

Having a part-time job alongside your studies can be very beneficial in the Netherlands, especially since you can declare them as expenses and thus get lighter taxes compared to other people.

Teaching Methods in Netherlands

The name of the game when it comes to education in Dutch universities is teamwork. This includes your seminars, which will take place with small groups of 15 to 30 people, as well as most of your assignments being group-work. Strong relationships between students and teachers is something that Dutch universities place a heavy emphasis on.

Another big thing is practical experience-most programs will have some type of internship or workshop built into it so that the student can get some hands-on experience in the field.

If none of these universities fancy you and you want an institution which caters more to your specific taste, you could try entering a university of applied science. They’re the trade schools of Netherlands-less focus on the theoretical work, more on the practical side.

As stated before, the country has a high understanding of the English language so a good chunk of these degrees are given out in the English language.

Conclusion

And there you have it. Yeah, the list was incredibly short, but that’s the thing about obscure universities-they’re hard to find. My recommendation to you for finding any more rare universities out there is to go out there and find it for yourself. Don’t just rely on whatever university ranking is trending at the time, try and find other sources; friends, family, high school advisors, so on. Also, be sure to really think about what type of university you’d want to go to. Sure, the traditional four-year university could be for you, but for those who want to pay less and spend less time in the whole learning process, community college or trade schools might be for you. Alternatively, you could choose to study an online degree should the opportunity be available. It might not be as accredited as a degree which you got through face-to-face learning, but it can work well for certain white-collar or artistic skills and is definitely easier on the wallet.

If you’d like to do some more research on whichever university might be the one for you, be sure to check out UniApp.

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3 Dutch Universities for International Students

3 Dutch Universities for International Students