The Kingdom of Netherlands, better known as the Netherlands, is located in North-Western Europe, the islands of Aruba, Curacao, and Saba also belong to it. The country is considered one of the most densely populated worldwide, with over 400 residents per sq. km. Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city with a population of over 1.3 mil. There are two officially adopted languages – Dutch and Frisian. The Netherlands are known for its liberal policies and huge tolerance in society.

ECONOMY

Its economy is progressing and open. The strongest sectors are the food and drinks industry and the chemical industry, oil refining, the electrotechnical and electronic industry, as well as the highly mechanized agricultural sector. The country ranks third in terms of exports of farming products, after USA and France.

EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS

The Dutch tertiary education system consists of universities and hogescholen (vocational colleges) or also known as HBO-Hoger Beroepsonderwijs.
There are 9 big universities in the Netherlands. These include the technical universities, which offer mostly engineering specialties. In addition to the big universities, the Netherlands also offers to would-be students smaller but more tailored universities, such as a business sciences university, a humanities university, as well as a number of international tertiary schools.
The HBO sector consists of 42 colleges. They train students for autonomous scientific work in the academic sector or for strictly specialized professional direction.

TEACHING METHODS. STRUCTURING OF PROGRAMS

Bachelor’s programs: 3-4 yrs.
Master’s programs: 2 yrs.

– 282 Bachelor’s programs in English
– 1 172 Master’s programs in English
– over 50% of the total number of doctoral programs in the country are also in English.
Most Bachelor’s programs are 3-4 years in duration, except for the engineering programs, which are 5-year ones, and medicine, which is studied for 6 years. Training at universities is more extensive and covers more subject matter compared to profiled training at colleges. The tertiary education system in the Netherlands has created a framework for colleges, which is strongly focused on internships and acquisition of professional experience. Students at colleges also have a big variety of programs and may make their own choices of the courses to study during the semester.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS – STATS

The total number of students in the Netherlands exceeds 700 000, some 90 000 thereof being international students. Europe is the biggest source of students for the Netherlands – nearly 2/3. Most European students arrive from Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, UK, France, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. Nevertheless, students from 157 different countries study in the Netherlands, according to 2015 data. A large number of students come to the country from China, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Turkey, as well as from African countries, such as Ghana and South Africa. The Netherlands are also a popular destination for students from Mexico.

SPECIALTIES

The specialties most desired by international students are:
– business and management
– economics
– design
– engineering sciences
– psychology and sociology

RANKINGS

The QS World University Rankings® 2018 includes more than 12 Dutch universities.
The top positions are held by:

  • Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) (54 място)
  • University of Amsterdam
  • Eindhoven University of Technology
  • Leiden University
  • Utrecht University
  • University of Groningen
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Wageningen University
  • Maastricht University
  • VU University Amsterdam
  • Radboud University Nijmegen
  • the University of Twente
  • Tilburg University

According to Times Higher Education Ranking 2014 6 of the Dutch universities are among the top 100 of the most prestigious in the world.