Higher education
Amsterdam has a tradition of innovative higher education, providing a meeting point between worlds of learning. Its commitment to the advancement of academic excellence in teaching, research and publication continues today, with two leading universities and a myriad of vocational institutes to choose from. Free thinkers have long thrived here and it’s a reputation that distinguishes Amsterdam apart.
Research and vocational institutions
The two types of higher education institutions in the Netherlands are research-orientated universities and vocational universities or colleges of applied sciences. Research universities stress independence in academic and professional settings, whereas vocational institutes focus more on preparing students for specific careers. Both types offer bachelor and master degree programmes, but only research universities offer doctoral degree programmes. Most institutions have courses which are taught in English.
UvA and VU: global quality standard
There are two universities in Amsterdam: UvA, which stands for Universiteit van Amsterdam and the VU or Vrije Universiteit.
Globally renowned for research, both universities are at the forefront of academia, as reflected by their positions among the top 100 European Universities in the recent Shanghai world rankings. The league table awards merit according to an institute’s number of Nobel Prize winners, important publications and oft-quoted researchers.
Exceptional alumni go back as far the 20th century; the UVA has 4 Nobel laureates including Tobias Asser (1911) who the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as legal arbiter. The VU, which is a rising star among Dutch universities and in Shanghai rankings, also cites the current Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkenende, among esteemed former faculty members.
AUC screens for new leaders
Amsterdam recently introduced a unique undergraduate programme, which will be taught in an equally unique cutting-edge faculty setting: Amsterdam University College (AUC). By association with the city’s two universities, its founding institutes, AUC brings a rich amalgam of research knowledge to its new curriculum skewing the best international minds.
The focus is a full-time, three-year degree in liberal arts and sciences, taught solely in English in small groups, with one-on-one tutorial assessment. With the AUC, the city aims to hothouse and optimise student potential to shape a future generations of leaders. Accordingly, entrance requirements are high. Term starts in September 2009.
For more information, see Amsterdam University College.
Duisenberg School of Finance
The Duisenberg School of Finance (DSF) is an important step in the further development of the Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, as an international financial center.
The institute was created in 2008 through a public-private partnership between the finance sector and the Tinbergen Institute to offer quality, competitive undergraduate programmes.
Its appeal lies in its combination of academic theory and professional expertise, offering students exposure to both international experts and network opportunities in the field.
For more information, visit The Duisenberg School of Finance.
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