The Netherlands has two types of universities: universities of applied sciences and research universities. In short: a university of applied sciences offers you the best of both worlds: challenging theoretical classes combined with a lot of practical skills that you will be able to use directly on the work floor. HZ is a university of applied sciences and here are some of the major differences between applied and research universities.
Research universities
Studying at a research university is theory-based. Compared to a university of applied sciences, you will do a lot of (scientific) research. This also goes for the internships: you will be more involved in performing research for a company and less in working on projects within a team.
Universities of applied sciences
Studying at a university of applied sciences is practice-based. You develop skill sets that you will also use in your future work environment. You work on projects directly related to your field and you work together with other students all the time. You don’t just learn the skills you need, you get to use them in practice all through your time at HZ. Studying at a university of applied sciences will prepare you for a professional role in your field.
Bachelor’s degree
A bachelor’s degree at a research university takes at least three years to complete. Students that get a bachelor’s degree from an academic university can advance to an academic Master’s programme directly after getting their degree.
You can get a bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences in four years, but in some cases you can get the degree in 3 years as well, depending on your diplomas.
Master’s degree
You can get a Master’s degree (in sciences or arts) from a research university in one to three years, after getting a bachelor’s degree from a research university. It is the highest degree you can get after graduating from a research university. After getting your Master’s degree, you can choose to get a PhD or doctorate.
From a university of applied sciences, you can also get a Master’s degree. If you would like to follow this up with a Master’s degree at a research university, you must follow a pre-Master programme to be accepted into their programme. There are, however, exceptions; some research universities have cooperative partnerships with universities of applied sciences. This means that you may enter their Master’s programme with your degree from a university of applied sciences.
Training professional skills
One of the main reasons for picking a university of applied sciences over a research university is its focus on practice. A university of applied sciences like HZ will help you develop a professional skill set from day one. At HZ, you work on your teamwork skills by having to work together with other students the entire time. We offer you all the theoretical knowledge you need and then you get to apply this in practice right away; often in challenging real-life projects for companies. If you want to be prepared for the many challenges your professional life will hold in store for you, picking a university of applied sciences might just be the smart thing to do.
Interesting isn't it? In this whitepaper you can find more detailed information about the Dutch Education system:
