This would have major consequences: many English-language Bachelor's programmes would disappear, adversely impacting the quality and diversity of our education. To prevent this, all of the universities in the Netherlands have come together to make a joint proposal on how the the inflow of international students can better be balanced.

The universities' offer

Together with all of the other Dutch universities, the UvA has made an offer. You can read more about it hereExternal link (in Dutch).

For the UvA specifically, the proposal means:

• The inflow of international students will be limited by means of a numerus fixus in certain foreign-language Bachelor's programmes, such as Business Administration and Economics and Business Economics
• The language of instruction in Psychology Bachelor's programmes in the Randstad area (which includes the UvA) will eventually be converted from English to Dutch. This will not have any consequences for current students.
• In other Bachelor's programmes, the balance will be monitored by means of bilingual tracks

This proposal will only be valid if the minister withdraws the 'Toets Anderstalig Onderwijs' (Foreign Language Education Test), a strict test that makes English-language programmes virtually impossible. The umbrella organisation Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) will discuss this proposal with the minister before the Balanced Internationalisation bill is discussed in the House of Representatives.

Background

The political discussion about international inflow and the importance of the Dutch language in higher education has been going on for some time. The UvA also believes it is important to safeguard accessibility for Dutch students and to maintain Dutch as an academic language. Furthermore, housing is a major problem in Amsterdam. At the same time, the university is an international institution with a diverse community. Dutch education and research flourish partly because of this international character. We have made this offer proactively in order to take responsibility for extensive internationalisation. The offer to the minister was made to prevent the balance from being tipped the other way and there being hardly any room for international students or lecturers.

More information

If you would like to know more about the universities’ offer, read the FAQ (pdf).