Masters degree - Postgraduate in English in Netherlands for international students

The Master degree programs in the Netherlands have more than 30 thousand international students. It is distinguished by a wide range of English-language programs, international teaching staff and support from universities and the state for employment.

According to Nuffic information, the most popular areas among international students are psychology, MBA, music, art and design, space engineering, international business, architecture and urbanism, economics and business, artificial intelligence, electrical engineering.

Higher education in the Netherlands is organized according to the Bologna system, so all universities use ECTS credits. The academic year averages 60 credits, where one credit corresponds to 28 hours of work. The Master's program usually includes lectures, seminars, internships, term papers, exams and the final draft of the dissertation.

The academic year lasts from September to June. The summer vacation period (from June to September) is often reserved for internships or work on a dissertation.

At universities of applied sciences, the curriculum is designed with an emphasis on the practical application of knowledge. Compared to research universities, less attention is paid to analytical research and more to classroom classes (for example, lectures). In many universities, most classes are held in absentia so that students can combine work with study. Internships are of great importance. They are much more common here than in research universities.

The studying lasts 1-2 years, but in many programs and longer — from 1.5 to 4 years (90-240 credits).

In public universities of Netherlands there are two types of payment:

• Statutory tuition fee - the cost set by the state for Dutch citizens and visitors from the EU and Switzerland, usually it does not exceed 2,494 USD.
• Institutional tuition fee - cost for all other international students. They have to pay for their studies on average up to 16,960- 17,957 USD per year, depending on the program and the university. In case of the Master degree MBA in Netherlands, the tuition fee is significantly higher – 24,941-59,858 USD per year.

In the universities of applied sciences, the foreign students can pay much less for your studies. If you see Applied sciences in the name or description of the university, it means that it specializes in vocational education. Such universities are less popular among masters, especially among the international students: 3253 students study (against 29 thousand in research). The cost in them is lower than the average — 10 974-11 972 USD/ year.

The process of admission to universities in the Netherlands begins with registration on Studielink. This is the national system for accepting applications. There the foreign student must attach a scan or a photo of your identity card (passport). Verification may take some time, so it's worth doing it in advance.

After registration, the international students need to specify the data of previous education and select one or more studying programs. There is no need to submit any more documents at this stage.

The continuation of the admission procedure at many universities is individual. In any case, the student will receive a letter first. In it, the student087 can be invited to submit documents on the university's website or ask questions about the data that you previously indicated. Some universities have special systems, for example Wageningen University & Research uses its own application for admitting students.

Your bachelor's degree must be in the same subject area as the program you are applying for. If you want to change your profession, you can take preparatory courses at universities.

Some programs have the numerus fixus system. This means that the places on them are limited. Most often this happens in popular directions, which are distinguished from the usual programs by higher requirements and a separate deadline — January 15.

The enrolment requirements can vary in the various universities. In general, the applicants may be required to submit a motivation letter, language certificates, recommendations, a resume and a list of achievements. Research universities often conduct interviews.

The academic year in Netherlands starts in the first week of September.

Below the list of compulsory documents is provided to enroll on Master degree in Netherlands:

• Bachelor degree with notarized translation into English or Dutch
• IELTS – 6.0 or TOEFL 80 for English programs
• University language proficiency test in Dutch (if the program is in Dutch)
• Application form
• Motivation letter
• Resume
• GRE/GMAT (for MBA).

In case of Master degree in English in Netherlands, it is necessary to have the certificate TOEFL with minimal score 80 or IELTS with 6.0. At the same time, most universities require the submission of certificates received no more than 2 years ago.

To study in Dutch, you need to confirm the level of language proficiency at least Upper-intermediate (B2) by passing the NT2 or CNaVT test. Exams can be taken at universities. You will be given a certificate that can be used in all universities of the country, so you can take it before admission.

The Netherlands is one of the most multilingual countries in Europe. This is also reflected in higher education — there are about 1,900 master's degree programs available here entirely in English. The full list of courses can be found on the study in holland website.

MBA is one of the most popular directions of studying among the international students in Netherlands. This is largely due to the high salaries of graduates of this program and the availability of courses with relatively low requirements. For example, without GMAT results, you can enroll in the Maastricht School of Management, the Saxon University of Applied Sciences, the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. And without work experience, the students are accepted to the Amsterdam Business School and Webster University.

The QS Global MBA Rankings 2022, which takes into account 280 business schools from around the world, includes two Dutch universities: Erasmus University (RSM) on the 30th place and TIAS Business School - on the 90^th.

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