Dutch Education System
The Higher education system in Holland enjoys a worldwide reputation for its high quality. Although Dutch is the mother language, the common population in Holland understands the English language. Because the Dutch government is attempting to make Dutch higher education as accessible as possible for everybody, the higher education is heavily subsidized in the Netherlands, which means that tuition fees can be kept relatively low, especially compared with other countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Primary education
Children starts their school careers at the age of 4 to 12 years old.
Secondary education
On the advice of the school, based on the result of several tests (CITO Test) they move on to the secondary education, which can be divided into:
* pre-vocational (VMBO) – 4 years;
* senior general (HAVO) – 5 years;
* pre-university (VWO) - 6 years;
Secondary vocational education
After the VMBO a pupil can choose to go the MBO (secondary vocational education), which will take 2 to 4 years.
Higher education (HBO)
Higher professional education lasts 3-4 years, resulting in a Bachelor Degree. The University of Applied Sciences, in Holland known as a Dutch “Hogeschool” is a type of the higher education study.
University (WO)
After the pre-university secondary education of 6 years, the pupil may directly enter the university (WO), which last 4 to 5 years study and results in a Master degree. The titles are drs (doctorandus), Mr (Master for law graduates) and Ir (Engineer for Technical studies). Those who have obtained a Bachelor Degree from the University of Applied Sciences may follow the Master program at a classic university taking another 1 or 2 extra years, depending on the study field.
Doctor / PhD
A graduate from university can choose to write a Ph.D. thesis, which will take at least four more years of scientific research under the supervision of a university professor. The final title will be dr (doctor).
