Study in The Netherlands

The Netherlands (also referred to internationally as Holland) is a small country with a high population density and proud record of high achievement, and this is certainly true in their higher education. The country is located on the coast in North-Western Europe, with Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. It is, with Belgium, one of the famous low countries, with its flat rolling fields and much of its land below sea level. Springing from its geography it is a country of ports and trade, and active exchanges with the rest of the world.

The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament, as in Australia, but its 16.3 million people fit into just over over 41,000 square kilometres, about one fifth the size of the state of Victoria. The country is both multicultural and multilingual and mono-lingual Australians may find themselves squirming with envy as they watch the Dutch switch effortlessly in and out of English and often French and German as well! The country is located in a pivotal position in Europe and travel to and from other major centres is usually both quick and simple, Brussels, London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin are all within easy reach by Australian standards.

Outside of the UK and Ireland the Netherlands is arguably the European country most easily navigated by and English speaker. The Dutch were the amongst the first of the non-native English speaking nations to offer courses in English and today there are over 1,000 of them.

As a place to study Holland also has the advantage of being modestly priced for a West European country and this combined with the culturally rich environment makes it very appealing in terms of the whole life you can live while pursuing your qualification.
The currency in the Netherlands is part of the Euro zone and this means your money travels easily with you if you need to cross borders for research or leisure.

For a small country the higher education system in the Netherlands is extensive, there are 14 government funded universities that between them enrol over 215,000 students. In addition there are 45 government funded universities of professional knowledge. As in Australia the universities vary in size from smaller institutions of around 6,000 students to larger ones with around 30,000 enrolled. In keeping with Dutch culture the emphasis in the education system is strongly on analysis and problem solving based on an ethos of self-reliance and self-study. An average of over 20,000 international students were studying full time in the Netherlands in early to mid 2000s.