Slight drop in new foreign bachelor students in the Netherlands; More started a master's

Dutch universities welcomed nearly the same number of students this year as the previous two, but a slight dip in international enrollment in bachelor's program suggests recent changes are taking effect. Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) reported 340,088 students enrolled, nearly matching previous years. About 220 fewer international students started bachelor's programs compared to last year, a levelling off which kept the total above 18,500, but there was a slight increase in foreign master's students with nearly 17,000 enrolling in a new program

"It seems our decision to halt overseas recruitment and warn about limited housing is working," said Jouke de Vries, interim chair of UNL. "But to truly balance internationalization and solve challenges, we need legal tools from the government to better manage international student numbers." One such tool, a potential cap on the total number of specific English-language programs is under debate in Parliament.

The number of international students enrolling in bachelor's programs has also decreased slightly, by 1.2 percent, to 18,594. The majority of international students come from the European Economic Area countries (76 percent), with Germany being the largest source country. Maastricht University not only had the highest total number of new bachelor's students from foreign countries, with 3,782, they also had the most growth in international students. Their total grew by 600 from the previous academic year.

The University of Amsterdam had 3,374 new bachelor's students from abroad, followed by Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (1,982), Erasmus University Rotterdam (1,804) and Leiden University (1,323). Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam showed the biggest reduction in new international students, with figures falling from 1,394 to 1,102.

International students in master's programs grew from 16,390 to 16,940. The University of Amsterdam had the most new international master's students, with 2,779. That was followed by Erasmus University Rotterdam (2,056), Maastricht University (1,863), Utrecht University (1,749), and TU Delft (1,492).

The University of Amsterdam also brought in 171 more new master's students from outside the Netherlands compared to a year earlier, similar to Tilburg University, which saw that part of their recruitment rise by 166. TU Delft saw international student enrollment in master's programs fll by 194, while RUG in Groningen saw a drop of 134.

Roughly 52 percent of bachelor's programs are taught in Dutch, and 30 percent in English. Many of the remaining 18 percent are taught bilingually. About 76 percent of master's programs are taught in English though, with 15 percent in Dutch, and the remaining 9 percent are bilingual.

The number of students enrolling in Dutch bachelor's programs has decreased for the third consecutive year, with a total of 59,213 first-year students in the 2023-2024 academic year, 1.4% (800 students) fewer than the previous year. The decline is attributed to several factors, including a lower number of VWO graduates, a smaller percentage of VWO graduates directly transitioning to university, and an increase in VWO graduates taking gap years.

There was a 7 percent drop in the number of students who graduated from the Dutch pre-university VWO secondary school system last year. The total fell from 35,614 to 33,140 in 2022-2023. Additionally, 65.7 percent of them chose to enter an academic university at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, down from 66.5 percent previously.

Additionally, there was also a drop by 2.5 percent in the number of students entering bachelor's programs from the Dutch HBO secondary school system, which focuses more on professional education. The number of HBO graduates fell to 9,640 students in 2023-2024. This may be due to the fact that HBO now offers more master's programs that are attractive to this group.

Over 51,500 students embarked on master's degree programs at Dutch universities in the 2023-2024 academic year, marking a 2.4% increase compared to the previous year. This positive trend suggests growing interest in postgraduate studies at Dutch institutions.

The majority of enrolled students (68.8%) transitioned directly from bachelor's programs at the same university, showcasing continuity within institutions. Another 17.3% represent inter-university transfers. Interestingly, there was a 13% decrease in the number of students entering with HBO diplomas, suggesting potential shifts in study pathways.

A notable portion of the enrollment in master's programs, 20.7%, comprised students new to the Dutch higher education system. This includes over 10,355 international students, highlighting the attractiveness of Dutch master's programs to a global audience. A smaller number of international students entered with prior study experience in the Netherlands, either at the bachelor's or pre-master's level.

The total number of new international master's students without prior Dutch studies also decreased slightly. Master's enrollment overall rose by 550, a figure driven by international students transitioning from Dutch bachelor's programs.

Data on late enrollment for the current academic year is not yet available.

New student enrolment figures for Dutch university bachelor programs for the 2023-2024 academic year

New student enrolment figures for Dutch university bachelor programs for the 2023-2024 academic year