Over recent years, interest in the Netherlands as a study destination has sky-rocketed. While international students have always been seen as an important value-add to Dutch education, the increasing numbers have caused undue stress on an open education system. Universities fear that they can no longer continue to guarantee the quality of education the Netherlands has become known for. Moreover, the ongoing housing crisis is exacerbated by the influx of new students, resulting in some universities telling their students not to come if they do not have their housing sorted at the beginning of the academic year.
Does this mean that international students are no longer welcome in the Netherlands? Of course it does not. As the Minister for Education is working diligently to come up with long-term solutions to provide universities with more tailor-made options for the recruitment and selection of prospective students from abroad, universities are waiting with bated breath. Meanwhile, voices urging us not to forget the reputation Dutch higher education has globally and the potential damage of a ban on active international recruitment are growing stronger by the day. Similarly, about the significance of globalization in education and the importance of having a multitude of voices represented in the classroom, are rising.
So what is the message for international students looking at the Netherlands? You are welcome here!
However, international students may want to dig a little deeper during their university search and look for programs in places they had not originally considered. To get them (and you) started, did you know that:
- there are universities in the Netherlands that allow students to create their own unique academic curriculum, allowing them to combine disciplines and discover where their interests intersect?
- these universities offer that program in a small-scale environment, where students are only one of on average 22 students in a class-room?
- it is not only academic learning this type of program focuses on? Rather, being part of a safe academic and social community is one of the key aspects of such universities.
- to facilitate the growth of such a community, these universities guarantee housing on campus for all their students for the full duration of the program?
- while these degree-programs might not always be located in towns you have heard of before (yes, really, Middelburg), the Netherlands has an amazing railway system that will get one to any major city within the Netherlands and in the rest of Europe in a matter of hours?
- all of this comes at an incredibly affordable tuition fee rate?
University College Roosevelt (UCR) is one of these universities. There’s something special about UCR. Maybe it’s the picturesque, medieval-looking town of Middelburg, the warm and inviting campus community, or the broad, yet tailor-made academic program. Whatever it is, there is something about this university that leaves our students deeply connected to their university.
Discover it all at University College Roosevelt so that you’ll understand what we mean.