#applied sciences

10.04.2022

0-4 years old

When kids are 2 years old they can go to preschool (peuterspeelzaal). Note that I wrote ‘can’! They don’t have to go anywhere yet, you are free to choose what you think is best at this point.

Preschool is organized by the municipality so how it is organized exactly will depend on where you live. It can cost a maximum amount of 8,46 per hour your child spends there. Again, the exact costs will depend on where you live.

4-12 years old

Children can start primary school when they are 4 years old. Depending on their birthday month they either do the first grade (groep 1) for less or more than one year. Children have to go to primary school when they reach the age of 5, they will then start in the second grade (groep 2).

Primary school takes eight years when the kids start in first grade. The grades are numbered sub-sequentially (groep 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8). In the last year (groep 8) a lot of schools let the kids take a test, often a “CITO-toets”, that provides a score. This score is sometimes requested by the Secondary institution.

12-16/18 years old

After Primary School all children go to Secondary School. Which one depends mainly on how they performed in the last few years of Primary School. Kids can shift during their secondary school between these levels however, up is more difficult than down.

VMBO comes in many levels, from practical and very simple up to a level that combines practical skills with theoretical skills, they all prepare the students for a profession that is taught further at another school (MBO).

VMBO-t takes four years to complete and prepares for MBO-4.

Havo takes 5 years to complete and prepares for a Bachelor at the University of Applied Sciences, in the Netherlands, it is commonly called HBO.

VWO takes 6 years to complete and prepares for a University Bachelor.

Almost every secondary school offers an in-between level class for the first year or the first two years:

Kids leave primary school with an expected fit for their secondary school, stemming from the teacher and their score on the main, final test;

The advice is could for example indicate that 'Havo' would be best suited;

However, the child may believe that VWO is best suited;

Most schools then offer a solution, a class that combines the kids with 'Havo' and 'VWO' advice;

This can last up to two years and each child gets a grade on 'Havo' level and on 'VWO' level for all subjects;

The grades and how the child behaves in class indicate which level would be best suited.

Choosing the main specialisation courses

In the third grade (kids are around 14 years old) a general interest choice has to be made. In very generalising terms you could call it choosing alpha- or beta-sciences. Different kinds of math are offered and the kids can drop or pick some languages (German, French, Spanish) and subjects like economics, geology or physics.

N&T offers a lot of beta oriented subjects and offers the possibility to pick not one but two math varieties;

N&G offers a lot of beta oriented subjects but leaves room for some more alpha oriented subjects and includes biology;

E&M offers a lot of economic and alpha oriented courses;

C&M offers the possibility to pick the most simple math variety and more alpha oriented and artsy subjects.

16/18+ years old

MBO has four levels and level 1 educates for very simple, practical jobs. It goes till level 4 and educates for doing a profession on your own with often a very specialized expertise with a practical as well as a theoretical side.

HBO is internationally known as the University of Applied Sciences. In the Netherlands we have 180 of them, some are private institutions and cost a lot of money. However, in our country, the public institutions are of good quality so there is no need for this. You can get a well-paid job if you study at a public institution.

University uses the bachelor and master system. The Netherlands has 48 universities, some are private institutions and will cost you a lot of money. However, here in the Netherlands, the public institutions are of excellent quality so there is no need for this.

Higher Education and Academic Career Options

In Higher Education, all kinds of titles and degrees are thrown around worldwide. Each country has their own system and it isn’t always as clear what kind of background someone with a BSc has. What is actually the difference between “ing.” and “ir.”? The two people with this title are both engineers but don’t have the same background.

Day Lost-Count-Of of WTH-is-productivity:

Healing is strange phenomenon. Someday you are happy as a child, on some you're at thee deepest of your abyss, and other days you're merely a walking dead. You're doing just fine with hardly any knowledge of what you're feeling. Healing is strange, just like this city. This city with its noise and beautiful skies. This city with its heat and perchance an encounter with a welcoming cat. This city with its tired subways, pewter bus rides, the mornings peeping in like the old lady in your neighborhood, and its little caffeine breaks. This city that heals.

~ P. | 01.04.2022

Day 1/100 | 23. 01. 2022

I've been feeling a lot unproductive this last week. It took me 4 whole days to finish a 200 paged book. Research seems to get more and more drawled, and to make things more chaotic, the simulation software died at runtime. Overall, it's been a crazy week. I decided to calm down by making some chicken cheese balls. The weather is cloudy with no sign of the winter sun, syncing with my mood.

---------------- Back to campus:

Day 3/100 | 25.01.2022

Bachelor Degree Categories

Bachelor of Science (BSc)

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)

Bachelor of Education (BEd)

Bachelor of Music (BMus)

Master’s Programmes Categories

Master of Science (MSc)

Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Laws (LLM)

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Master of Education (MEd)

Master of Music (MMus)

Titles granted after completing a Dutch Master’s Degree

Doctorandus

drs.

After completing a Master Degree in Law

mr.

After completing a Master Degree in Science

ir.

PhD Programmes and Opportunities

In the Netherlands, the option of starting a PhD before completing at least one Master Degree is not possible. The minimum amount of time it takes you to finish a PhD in the Netherlands is four years. More often than not, a PhD is offered through the University instead of through a private institution, because of this almost every PhD candidate in the Netherlands is obliged to give lectures or teach assignment classes during their PhD period. Each PhD candidate gets offered a supervisor who oversees the publishing of articles and the writing process of the dissertation.

The Salary

A PhD candidate will get paid an amount of €2376 en €3766 a month. Each year the salary rises, which explains this range in amount. There are some minor differences between departments of different Universities regarding extra’s like a business phone.

Title granted after completing a PhD

Doctor

dr.

Dutch Universities in International Rankings

Mastersportal Ranking

Wageningen

WUR

This university specialises in Agriculture, Sustainability and Water Studies. The research domains of the WUR:

Agrotechnology and Food Sciences;

Animal Sciences;

Environmental Sciences;

Plant Sciences;

Social Sciences.

Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Each year, VU Amsterdam welcomes many students from all over the world to Amsterdam. They focus on the following main themes:

Human Health & Life Sciences;

Connected World;

Science for Sustainability;

Governance for Society.

Universiteit van Amsterdam

The research domains of the UvA:

Law;

Economics and business;

Dentistry (ACTA);

Humanities;

Medicine;

Science;

Social and Behavioural Sciences.

Leiden

Leiden University

Leiden University specialises in Language & Culture and has a Science Department that is also of outstanding quality. The research domains of Leiden University:

Fundamentals of Science;

Health and Wellbeing;

Languages, Cultures and Societies;

Law, Politics and Administration;

Life Sciences;

Artificial Intelligence.

Rotterdam

EUR

Erasmus University Rotterdam specialises in Business & Law; additionally, the Medicine Programme is among the Netherlands' finest. The research areas of the Erasmus University Rotterdam:

Health;

Wealth;

Governance;

Culture.

Utrecht

UU

Utrecht University offers a wide variety of programmes. The ten focus areas of the Utrecht University:

Applied Data Science;

Foundations of Complex Systems;

Game Research;

Governing the Digital Society;

Higher Education Research;

Human-centred Artificial Intelligence;

Integrative Bioinformatics for Life Sciences and Sustainability;

Migration and Societal Change;

Professional Performance;

Sport and Society.

Delft

TU Delft

TU Delft specialises in all things beta science, and their Architecture programme is excellent, and a similar Architectural Degree cannot be obtained anywhere else.

Aerospace Engineering;

Applied Sciences;

Architecture and the Built Environment;

Civil Engineering and Geosciences;

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science;

Industrial Design Engineering;

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering;

Technology, Policy and Management.

Groningen

RUG

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen is also very internationally oriented and also offers a wide variety of programmes. The main focus areas of University Groningen:

Healthy Ageing;

Energy;

Sustainable Society.

Maastricht

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is very internationally oriented and offers programmes within these focus areas:

Arts and Social Sciences;

Health, Medicine and Life Sciences;

Humanities and Sciences;

Law;

Psychology and Neuroscience;

School of Business and Economics.

Nijmegen

Radboud

Radboud University focusses on these domains:

Science;

Society & Human Behaviour;

Law;

Human- & Information Technology;

Languages & Culture;

Health;

Business.

Eindhoven

TU/e

TU Eindhoven specialises in all things beta science and offers a vast variety of programmes in the following domains:

Engineering programmes;

Math and Computer Science;

Industrial Design;

Applied Physics.

Tilburg

Tilburg University

How corona is changing the world;

Digital Society;

Sustainability and Society;

Labor Market;

Security;

Culture and Religion;

Health and Wellbeing.

Twente

UT

University Twente specialises in all things beta science and focuses its research on these main themes:

Improving healthcare by personalised technologies;

Creating intelligent manufacturing systems;

Shaping our world with intelligent materials;

Engineering our digital society;

Engineering for a resilient world.

Till next time!