The Netherlands is a prosperous industrial and trading nation, and has an elaborate system of higher education. Of a population of some 16,1 million, approximately 490,000 persons enjoy some form of higher education.

The higher education system in the Netherlands is currently in a state of transition as a result of a European initiative known as the Bologna Declaration. This document was signed by 29 European ministers of education in 1999, and endorses the creation of a European area of higher education "based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate". People, organizations and institutions involved in higher education in the Netherlands have been occupied with the implementation of necessary changes since the adoption of the Bologna Declaration. The Dutch Higher Education Act of 1993 has been revised to accommodate a degree structure including bachelor's and master's degrees, and higher education
institutions have organized study programmes around a bachelor's or undergraduate phase and a master's or graduate phase. The bachelor/master system, referred to colloquially as "bama", was officially introduced in this country at the beginning of the academic year 2002-2003. Students who enrolled while the "old" system was in force will continue to study in the system in which they started however, meaning that both old and new systems will exist simultaneously for several more years. For this reason, both the old and new systems will be described here.

The regular system of higher education in the Netherlands is referred to as a binary system, because there are two main types of education. The distinction between the two types of higher education will remain in the new bachelor/master structure. There is a third type of higher education which is  primarily for students from foreign countries, referred to as International Education.

The three types are: University education (wetenschappelijk onderwijs, wo) offered by universiteiten, (universities) The Netherlands has 14 universities, including the Open University. In principle these institutions train students to be scientists and scholars, although many study programmes also have a professional component and most graduates indeed find work outside the research community. The universities vary in size, with enrolments ranging from 6000 to 30,000. Altogether they enrol some 171,700 students. Higher professional education (hoger beroepsonderwijs, hbo), offered by hogescholen (universities of professional education)

The study programmes offered by universities of professional education are above all career-oriented. The country has more than 60 such higher education institutions. The largest enrol 20,000 to 25,000 students; others are much smaller. Altogether some 315,000 students are enrolled in this form of higher education. International education (internationaal onderwijs, io) Thirteen institutes for International Education offer post-graduate courses in a wide range of fields. The courses are conducted in English and have been designed with foreign students in mind. For admission to most of the courses, a degree is required as well as several years of practical work experience. The International Education institutes have a total enrolment of several thousand students. The universities and the universities of professional education also offer international courses taught in English.

Degrees and curricula offered in university education
Before 2002

Up until 2002, university programmes in the Netherlands have revolved around one major degree before the doctorate, a degree known in Dutch as the doctoraal. A doctoraal programme isn't divided into an undergraduate and graduate phase, but combines enough depth and breadth to be considered comparable in many countries to a master's degree. University study programmes require four years of full-time study in many fields, or five years of full-time study in engineering, math/natural sciences and agriculture. University curricula in the Netherlands focus on the major field in which the degree is earned and don't include components that could be classified as liberal arts. These are covered in the university preparatory stream of secondary school known as VWO, which qualifies young people for university study. Independent research is an important part of every university programme. The doctoraal thesis is a major requirement. This is a thesis written on the basis of the student's own original research. The best doctoraal theses find their way into scientific journals in abbreviated form, as articles. A doctoraal degree confers eligibility for the pursuit of a doctorate through a process known as the promotie. This entails four years of full-time research following the doctoraal under the supervision of a promotor, who must be a full professor at a university. To earn the title 'doctor', a student must write a dissertation based on his or her own research project, and then successfully defend it in a public ceremony before a committee of professors. The Dutch doctor's degree is considered to be equivalent to a PhD. Individuals with a doctoraal degree use the academic title doctorandus (drs.) unless their field is engineering or agriculture, in which case the title is ingenieur (ir.), or law, in which case the title is meester (mr.). The doctoraal degree is evaluated in many countries as comparable to a master's degree and according to Dutch law, all university graduates can use the title Master.

Degrees and curricula offered in university education
After 2002

Beginning with the academic year 2002-2003, university degree programmes are organized around a bachelor's or undergraduate phase lasting three years and a master's or graduate phase lasting one to two years, depending on the discipline. Although universities primarily offer programmes with an academic emphasis, the new legislation permits universities to offer programmes in the applied arts and sciences, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. All universities will of course continue to award the doctor's degree in the way described above. Master's programmes in engineering, math/natural sciences and agriculture will require two years of study to complete and all other programmes will last one year. A bachelor's programme provides a broad, in-depth exposure to the discipline in question. Some universities require students to complete the requirements not only for a major subject, but in a minor subject as well, outside the major discipline of study. Upon completion of a bachelor's degree programme, students obtain the degree Bachelor of  Arts/Bachelor of Science, depending on the discipline. Graduates can opt to continue studying for a master's degree, or, for example, terminate their studies permanently or for the time being and look for employment in their field. For admission to a master's programme, a bachelor's degree in one or more specified disciplines is required. Universities are also offering "top master's" programmes, designed to attract the most qualified students, admission to which will be based on more selective criteria. A master's degree programme is characterized by increased specialization and the development and implementation of research skills, resulting in a master's thesis. Graduates obtain the degree Master of Arts/Master of Science.

Degrees and curricula offered in higher professional education Before 2002 Like the universities, degree programmes offered in higher professional education up until 2002 revolve around one degree, and all degree programmes require four years to complete. Internships, or periods of work placement in a company or other organization, are important components in these programmes, which are always strongly oriented towards specific careers. Unlike the universities described above, the universities of professional education do not conduct fundamental research and they do not offer possibilities for pursuing a doctorate. Individuals who earn a diploma from a university of professional education may use the title baccalaureus (bc.), or, in engineering and agriculture, the title ingenieur (ing.). According to Dutch law, all graduates of higher professional education programmes can use the title Bachelor. For admission to universities of professional education, the secondary school diploma known in Dutch as HAVO, or its equivalent, is required.

Degrees and curricula offered in higher professional education After 2002 The introduction of a new bachelor/master degree structure has had less of an impact on undergraduate degree programmes offered by universities of professional education than it has on those offered by universities. Degree programmes last four years, an extensive period of work placement remains an important part of the programme, and students are required to write a major paper or complete a major project in the fourth year. Upon graduation, students receive a bachelor's degree indicating the field of study completed (i.e. Bachelor of Engineering, B Eng, Bachelor of Nursing, B Nursing). Although universities of professional education will continue to offer programmes with an emphasis on the applied arts and sciences, the new legislation permits these institutions to offer programmes with an academic focus as well. Universities of professional education will also offer professional master's degree programmes. Many of these are available on a part-time basis, enabling students to combine work and study.

Degrees and curricula at the institutes for International Education All programmes and courses that fall under International Education are conducted in English. They vary in length from three months to one or two years. In most cases, students are required to have completed a programme of higher education in their own country. Usually this is a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. The longer International Education courses lead to a master's degree. Some of the International Education institutes have an arrangement with a Dutch university by which students can go on to pursue a doctorate after earning their master's degree.

Accreditation and Quality Assurance

Higher education in the Netherlands enjoys a worldwide reputation for its high quality. This is achieved through a national system of legal regulation and quality control. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for legislation pertaining to education. The agriculture and public health ministries play an important role in assuring the quality of study programmes in their respective fields. An important aspect of the higher education system in the Netherlands is the recently established system of accreditation, that aims to guarantee a high standard of quality of programmes offered in higher education. A quality control system is of course not new and has always played an important part in Dutch higher education, but as of 2002, the responsibilities for quality assurance have been allocated to the Netherlands Accreditation Organization (NAO). According to the Act on Accreditation of Higher Education of 2002, all degree programmes offered by universities and universities of professional education will be evaluated according to established criteria, and programmes that meet those criteria will be accredited, i.e. recognized.

Only accredited programmes will be eligible for government funding and students receive financial aid and will graduate with a recognized degree only when taking or after completing an accredited degree programme. Accredited programmes will be listed in the Central Register of Higher Education Study Programmes and the information will of course be available to the public. The NAO plans to review all study programmes by 2006. This system of quality control guarantees that the education offered at all the universities in the Netherlands meets the same high standards. When Dutch students choose where they want to study, they are not thinking of which institution is best, but instead are looking at which specializations the universities offer or which emphasis or academic tradition they feature. Each of the universities in the country has its own atmosphere and style. They distinguish themselves in this way, and not through any absolute measure of quality. For these reasons, employers in the Netherlands look first at the degree a person has earned. Where the person earned it is not so important.