Hey there – Kristin from BTS over here. I wanted to share a fresh piece of news that just fell into my lap this week on higher education changes in the popular country of the Netherlands. We’ve been keeping our eyes and ears open as things are evolving rapidly in this country with regard to international students and English-language bachelor’s courses here.

The Dutch education minister just submitted a letter this week to the House of Representatives that states intentions to cut English-taught bachelor’s degree programs in the Netherlands by a substantial amount. He believes that the saturation of international students in the Netherlands has had a significant impact on the country’s current housing crisis, has stressed resources, and has limited Dutch student access to programs.

The minister wants Dutch “to be the norm”, and is attempting to implement Dutch proficiency as part of these undergraduate programs taught in English, mostly for the benefit of transitioning foreign students to the Dutch labor force after graduation. In short, the many English-taught bachelor’s programs that exist now in the Netherlands will most-likely will be trimmed in number or have strict student caps applied, and the international student fees will increase.

We’ll continue to keep our community posted on any new developments.

Here is the minister’s letter: https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2024/10/15/government-wants-to-see-dutch-as-the-norm-and-fewer-foreign-students-in-higher-education