General structure Dutch Education System
HBO, HAVO, VMBO, WO,...?
Dutch people have their own educational system that looks very complicated at first glance but isn’t that difficult to understand. The great thing about is that you can start at the highest level and reach the highest level really quick, but you can also start at a low level and reach the highest level in the end. The last possibility takes a few years extra. The education in a nutshell (read it from the bottom up)
(source: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science)
Education is obligatory in the Netherlands until the age of 16
Compulsory education begins at the age of 5 but most children start
their primary education (basisschool, ages 4 to 12) when they are 4 years old. Education is obligatory until the age of 16. After that, part-time compulsory education continues for those (till the age of 17) who don’t go on studying full-time. Secondary schools are meant as a
port for the other studies, not preparing you directly to the working field.
There are three different secondary schools, all with another level:
VWO takes 6 years from ages 12 to 18 and prepares you for studying at universities (WO) or higher professional education schools (hogescholen/ HBO).
HAVO takes 5 years from ages 12 to 17 and prepares you to study in higher professional education schools (HBO). Naturally you can also continue to VWO after doing HAVO. Then you need to do the last two years of VWO.
VMBO takes 3 to 4 years from the age of 12 to 16. This is a preparatory secondary educational school. Afterwards you can go on to higher secondary professional education (MBO), you can do an apprenticeship (which is learning a profession at the working place and going for school several days a month) or you can go to class four of the HAVO.
Higher Education
There are different types of higher educational institutions in the
Netherlands: Universities (WO - wetenschappelijk onderwijs),
Universities for Higher Professional Education (HBO - hoger beroepsonderwijs), vocational education (MBO - middelbaar beroepsonderwijs) and Institution of International Education.
In addition you can study at the Open University [dutch Open Universiteit Nederland] where the only requirement is that you need to be over 18 years old. There are more and more courses in English at the Open University. The main difference with “normal” university studies is that at the Open University you study at home most of the time. The Open University offers a possibility for foreign students to study the Dutch language before starting the course at the “regular” university. They offer a number of courses in English. However, these courses are intended for students who are enrolled in a regular programme (and thus read and write Dutch fluently). Tutorship and examinations are mostly given in Dutch.
At the end of the studies you need to do a final thesis (scriptie). The graduating title is the international Bachelor or Master degree. Applying to the University should be done about one year before you want to start the course. You need to make direct contact with the university to ask about requirements.
HBO’s offer a theoretical and a tight connection to working field-based education. Duration of the courses is four years. The studies consist of theoretical and professional studies and fieldwork practice. After the first year you need to have certain amount of study points (studiepunten) in order to continue with your studies. At the end of the course, you need to make final thesis. After completing the studies you get a diploma Getuigschrift van het afsluitend examen. In addition you can use the title Ingenieur (ing.) for technical and
agricultural fields or Bachelor (bc.) for other fields. Internationally, this is comparable to a Bachelor’s degree. Most of the HBO’s offer post-academic studies. One of these is the Master in education. That is available in cooperation with institutions in other countries and the teaching language is English.
Vocational education MBO (also adult education) has four levels, starting with course studies that last 6 – 12 months up to studies that last four years. There are no pre-education qualifications for the first two levels. For the third and fourth level you need to have VMBO
or the first three years of HAVO or VWO.