Dutch degrees appeal to foreign students

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

The recently published Annual Study in Europe Interest Monitor 2013 identified The Netherlands as the third most popular study destination in Europe. The report used visitor data from two of the informational sites published by StudyPortals.eu to identify the most popular destinations and disciplines in Europe, with specific focus on The Netherlands. Comparisons between European countries and disciplines were made using visitor trends on the sites from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 academic years.

Results from the Monitor

The findings were drawn based on what programmes and countries visitors searched for online. The indication was that both European and non-European students searched for information about study programmes in The Netherlands at a high rate, placing the country in third as a favoured study destination.

While Europeans seemed to prefer the U.K. as a top study destination,  followed by Germany, the difference between second and third place was only about one percent. Non-Europeans searched for Germany more often than the United Kingdom, but still placed The Netherlands in third.

The Monitor report showed that interest in studying in Europe has increased by 34% since the 2011-2012 year, with interest in The Netherlands growing by 29% over the same period. The majority of searches for Dutch programmes came from Greece (10%), followed by the United Kingdom (8%), India (6%), Germany (6%), and the USA (5%). However, the larger contributors such as Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany all decreased in interest in 2012-2013 with Greece falling three percentage points since 2011-2012.

Popular disciplines

The top three disciplines students searched for were Business & Economics (25%), Engineering & Technology (21%), and Social Sciences (17%). Dutch institutions did particularly well in the field of Social Sciences, drawing four percent more students to their programmes compared with the rest of Europe. Students were also more attracted to programmes in Holland in the fields of Humanities & Art, Natural Sciences, and Law.

Although Business & Economics and Engineering & Technology programmes were more sought after in other European countries, the report concluded that The Netherlands is on the right track with its ability to attract more international students. The fact that the country offers so many English-taught programmes works to its advantage and will continue to help convince students to study in Holland.

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To find out more about why students choose to study in The Netherlands see the Eurogates website, an educational portal about study in Holland.
 

Eurogates is an educational portal about living and studying in Holland. Eurogates provides information about Dutch universities, available programmes, scholarships, open days, student stories, and other news and hints that can help prospective students from all over the world come to The Netherlands and find their desired degree.