Universities: 35 bachelor’s programs get Dutch language variant
All major undergraduate programs will get a Dutch language track, universities have promised. That turns out to be 35 of them. Another four programs will be completely in Dutch.
Several economic and technical bachelor’s programs, in particular, will introduce a Dutch language variant, according to an outline of the plans posted on the website of the university association UNL.
Anticipating
Universities want to keep “control” in their own hands, given their increased internationalization and considering the influx of foreign students. In doing so, they anticipate a bill that Minister Dijkgraaf will soon send to the House of Representatives.
As of yet, there are no plans for individual universities, even though the House of Representatives has asked for them. The university association is also keeping a close watch on the matter, as the codetermination body has still not agreed.
But if all goes well, 12 fully English language economics bachelor’s programs will return to teaching in Dutch in addition to the English variant. Only seven will still be taught entirely in English.
Among engineering programs, 13 have plans for a Dutch language track. And 16 completely English language bachelor’s remain in that area.
An advantage
An important advantage for programs taught in two languages is that they will soon be able to limit the influx of foreign students in the English language track, while the Dutch language track remains accessible.
The universities want to introduce such a “numerus fixus” on the English language track at 27 programs, 14 of which are in the Faculty of Society & Behavior and six at economic programs.
Altogether, universities provide 419 undergraduate programs. In just over half of them, Dutch is the language of instruction. Soon just 88 fully English language bachelor’s programs will remain, compared to 127 this academic year. That constitutes a decrease from 30 to 21 percent.
