Record amount of Univ. students, freshman enrollment drops

A record number of 253 482 students enrolled in a course at a Dutch university in the academic year 2014 - 2015, according to figures from VSNU, the association of universities. That is an increase of 2.1 percent compared to the previous academic year. The most popular courses in the current academic year is Law, Psychology and Medicine. Despite the record number of students, the enrollment of first-year undergraduate students decreased by 2.4 percent to 44 304 students. Most first-year students chose a course within the Economics and Social Sciences, but the increase in the number of new students is greatest in the sectors of law, engineering and in the cross sector studies which are primarily offered by the English University Colleges. The enrollment of international students also increased by 8.3 percent. "The growth in the number of international students is encouraging, it shows the attractiveness and quality of our university education." said VSNU chairman Karl Dittrich. Most of the foreign students come from Germany, China, Italy, Greece and Great Britain.