The education system in the Netherlands is known for its high quality in education and research, its international study environment and its competitive pricing. The Netherlands has the most English taught courses after the UK. The Netherlands is particularly popular with international students, and according to the latest statistics from UNESCO, it is a host country to nearly 60,000 foreign students each year – including almost 1000 tertiary level students from India. The Netherlands higher educational system is a dual system composed of two main types of regular higher education: university education and universities of applied sciences. Universities and universities of applied sciences award both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. A bachelor’s programme at a university requires three years of full-time study (180 ECTS credits) to complete, while a bachelor’s programme offered by a university of applied sciences requires four years of full-time study (240 credits). Depending on the discipline, Master’s programmes at universities, universities of applied sciences and institutes for International Education, last one to two years (60-120 ECTS credits). Doctorate (PhD) programmes are only offered at universities and last at least four years. Depending on the programme, the tuition fees for non-EU residents are approximately 400,000 INR to over 1,000,000 INR per year. Living costs (inclusive of accommodation, food, transport and utilities) are in between 47,000 INR to 63,000 INR per month. The Netherlands has a very high standard of education and a total of 13 universities feature in the Global Top 400 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016, of which 8 – Wageningen University and Research Center (47), University of Amsterdam (58), Utrecht University (62), Delft University of Technology (65), Leiden University (67), Erasmus University Rotterdam (71), University of Groningen (74), and Maastricht Univeristy (88) – are ranked in the global Top 100. A database of 2,100 study programmes is available on the website of the Netherlands Education Support Office in India www.nesoindia.org/study-options/studyfinder

The Huygens Scholarships Programme (HSP) is aimed at talented students who want to come to the Netherlands in the final phase of their Bachelor’s studies or during their Master’s studies. Study in the Netherlands can include research and/or practical training. However, HSP scholarships cannot be awarded to finance PhD studies in the Netherlands. Part of the total budget is reserved for students following programmes in Dutch studies. The HSP programme is administered by Nuffic (see below). Indian students may be eligible to study in Holland and Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP). Individual universities in Holland also provide their own scholarships for international students, including students from India. These include the Leiden University Excellence Scholarships, the Maastricht University High Potential Scholarships, Radboud Scholarship Programme, the University of Twente Scholarships, and the University of Groningen Talent Grant.