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University of Groningen

Study at Groningen University | What do you need to know?

If you are interested in spending a portion of your studying time in the Netherlands but explore more than just a local community, we have a good option. Groningen University, located 115 miles northeast of Amsterdam, has around 35,000 students, including many international students from more than 120 countries. 

It's one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and is included in the local Top 100 academic institutions. In addition, it's included in the Top 100 of the Best Global Universities according to the US News listings of 2021. 

The University has 11 faculties, allowing you to advance your academic skills in any field that might interest you now. Below you will find the essential information for your studies at Groningen University for any degree level you might currently pursue. 

What can undergraduate students do at Groningen?

There are more than 45 Bachelor's programs at the University of Groningen. For your convenience, the University organized the available programs by your chosen subject or faculty.

There are opportunities to study any program that undergraduate students might be interested in, including:

Considering the high portion of internationalization, there are around 20 Bachelor's programs taught in English.

What can graduate students do at Groningen?

The choice of Master's programs is more expansive, and there is more emphasis on academic opportunities for international graduate students at Groningen. There are more than 120 Master's programs that are entirely taught in English. Among the offered options in English, there are programs in Arts, Economics and Business, Law, Engineering, and others. 

Explore the full list of Master's programs taught in English. 

International graduate students should consider that their application procedures include more steps and, therefore, take longer than that of Dutch students.  

In 2018, due to the quality of the Master's degree programs offered by the University of Groningen, it won the award for "Best General University for pursuing a Master's degree in the Netherlands." Graduate students, both Dutch and International, have a wide choice of available programs, including:

How to apply?

The application for the University of Groningen and for any other university in the Netherlands should be submitted via the online application portal Studielink. Later, the Univerity of Groningen will evaluate your educational background and send you a separate email with the login credentials to the University's Online Application System. You should organize your application in the OAS from that moment, where the instructions manuals for OAS will significantly help you.  

The applications for Bachelor's programs are open starting from October 1. However, the deadlines might vary at the time you read this article. Therefore, make sure you check the Bachelor's application details and deadlines once again before you start your application preparations. 

Depending on the Bachelor's program you apply for, the required documents might vary. You can look at what documents you will need based on your chosen faculty and submit them all in PDF format to the Online Application System. 

Similarly, you can check the required application documents by the Master's program you choose to apply to. Also, there are different starting and ending dates of Master's studies per faculty. Consequently, each faculty has different application deadlines for Master's programs

You can come to Groningen in the summer

The University of Groningen organizes international summer schools each year and for each discipline. Depending on which summer school you want to attend (based on your studies specialization), there might be variations in requirements. However, as summer schools at Groningen have the experience to collect participants from around 126 countries globally, a good command of English is necessary for all the summer programs. 

Your steps to be involved in Groningen's summer programs are straightforward. 

  1. Choose the summer program close to your current area of studies (see the list below).

  2. Check your chosen summer school page for more details on application and deadlines.

  3. Organize the participation payment once you receive a notification that you are admitted.

  4. Organize your visa, depending on your country of residence.

Here is the list of summer schools, classified by the academic disciplines:

Participate in exchange programs

Chances are big you can apply to an exchange program to Groningen University in your home country, as the University has Erasmus + exchange agreements with universities from many different countries. 

The usual duration for the exchange programs at Groningen University varies from three to twelve months. The exchange participants are usually selected from the students who are in the last year of their Bachelor's studies or are participating in their Master's programs. 

The primary documents required for your exchange program participation include the following:

  • Passport

  • Antecendents Certificate

  • Nuffic Certificate for Chines students

Also, refer to the financial section of the exchange programs to prepare your finances and necessary documentation. 

We will not present further details on exchange programs here, as they vary significantly based on which University will organize your mobility program. The best advice on this aspect is to consult your University's foreign affairs, student mobility, or another appropriate department. 

A bit more of Groningen University

The Groningen University was founded in 1614, and it is considered one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. Currently, its participation in the country's research activities is significant. The main three directions that University invests in include Energy, Healthy Ageing, and Sustainable Society. Annually, around 24% of the admitted students to Groningen are from foreign countries.

Groningen is included in the lists of the best global universities based on many prestigious ranking platforms. In 2020, the British magazine Times Higher Education (THE) listed Groningen at the 80th place of its global rankings. For the 2020-2021 academic year, QS Ranking put Groningen at 128th and the US News at the 92nd positions in their Global University listings. 

Website

https://www.rug.nl/

Email

communicatie@rug.nl

Phone

+31 50 363 9111

Address

9712 CP Groningen, Netherlands