As a student in the Netherlands you will pay an annual tuition fee. There are two different fees: the statutory fee and the institutional fee. Which fee you pay depends on your nationality, your degree programme and – for the statutory fee only – whether you study full-time or part-time. During the 2021-2022 academic year, students will pay a lower tuition fee. The Dutch government is doing this to help students cope financially with the pandemic’s impact.
Statutory tuition fees 2021-2022
| full-time students | €1,084 | |
| part-time students | €923 | |
| dual students | €1,084 | |
| AUC students | €3,476 | |
| PPLE students | €3,252 |
For first year students who haven’t studied before the tuition fee of the first year is halved, so full-time students pay €542. This only applies if you pay the statutory fee. You can find more information on the website of the Dutch government.
The tuition fee rate is valid for a full academic year. The rate for enrolment as of 1 February can be determined by calculating 7/12ths of the given rate.
Second degree programme in education or health care
If you have already obtained a Dutch Bachelor’s or Master’s degree and you enrol in a second degree programme in education or health care, you pay the statutory fee (€1,084) instead of the institutional fee.
This does not apply if you have already obtained a similar degree in health care or education, in that case you pay the institutional fee.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees and accommodation costs are paid by all AUC students. For tuition, the level of fees you pay will depend on whether you qualify for the statutory tuition fee or not (see “Who pays the statutory tuition fee level?“).
Academic year 2021-2022
| All in euro, per year | 2021-2022 Dutch & EU/EEA1 | 2021-2022 non-EU/EEA |
| Tuition fees | 45602 | 12,460 |
1“Dutch and EU/EEA” refers to those students who pay the statutory tuition fee. See also “Who pays the statutory tuition fee level?“. Students not eligible to pay the statutory tuition fee pay the “non-EU/EEA” tuition fee.
2 Students paying the statutory fee will receive a discount for the tuition fee in their first year of study, provided this is their first programme at a Dutch higher education institution. You can find more information about this discount on the website of the Dutch government.
One-off reduction in tuition fees for Academic Year 2021-2022
As a result of hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Dutch government has announced that all students will receive a one-time discount of 1084 EUR on tuition fees paid for the academic year 2021-2022. For first-year students who pay the statutory fee (and therefore already receive a discount of 1084 EUR on their first-year fees, see here), there will be an additional discount of 542 EUR. You can find more information about the one-off tuition fee reduction for 2021-2022 on the Dutch government’s website here.
Accommodation
AUC is a residential programme, and all AUC students live in the AUC student residences for three years. The AUC student residences are owned and run by Stichting DUWO. The exact amount of rent you will pay to DUWO varies depending on the type of room selected. You can find an overview of costs for the various room types on the Student Residences page. As an indication, the approximate costs for a typical single room are given below, adding together rent, estimated water and waste taxes, service costs and including rent benefit (‘huurtoeslag‘).
| All in euro, per year | 2020-2021 Dutch & EU/EEA1 | 2020-2021 non-EU/EEA |
| Accommodation (approximate)2 | 4328 | 4328 |
1“Dutch and EU/EEA” refers to those students who pay the statutory tuition fee. See also “Who pays the statutory tuition fee level?“. Students not eligible to pay the statutory tuition fee pay the “non-EU/EEA” tuition fee.
2 Adding together rent, service costs, estimated water and waste taxes, and including rent benefit (‘huurtoeslag‘). These costs are based on single rooms (where the majority of students live).
Personal and daily living expenses
The overview below is meant to give you an estimate of some of the additional costs to consider when studying at AUC. The actual costs of these types of expenditures will vary depending on your personal situation and lifestyle.
| All in euro, per year | 2020-2021 Dutch & EU/EEA1 | 2020-2021 non-EU/EEA |
| Insurance (approximate)2 | 460 | 460 |
| Books (rough estimate) | 350 | 350 |
| Visa/residence permit (approximate) | — | 192 |
| Living expenses (including food – rough estimate) | 5400 | 5400 |
Studying in the Netherlands – Tuition Fees and Funding
The Netherlands is a great destination for international students looking for quality education in Europe. The Dutch environment and people are very friendly towards foreign students and there are many English-taught programmes available. On our portals alone, you can find over 400 Bachelor’s and 1,400 Master’s degrees in the Netherlands.
The low tuition fees and affordable living costs are the most important benefits for students. Keep on reading as we’ll offer more information about them to help you decide if studying in the Netherlands matches your personal and academic goals.
1. University tuition fees in the Netherlands
Public Dutch universities charge tuition fees to all international students regardless of their country of origin. However, students coming from the EU/EEA, Switzerland and Surinam often pay lower tuition fees than non-EU/EEA students.
On our portals, we use the terms “EU/EEA” and “International” (non-EU/EEA citizens) to make the difference between tuition costs. If you visit individual university websites, you might encounter different terms: Statutory and Institutional. The difference between them is:
- Statutory tuition fee: usually applies to international students from the EU/EEA, or to graduates who have already studied in the Netherlands, or have a certain type of residence permit (like the one you receive if you’re a family member of an EU/EEA national, if you have an unlimited residence permit or an asylum permit, if you have a “long-term resident-EC” residence permit, and so on).
- Institutional tuition fee: usually, if you don’t meet the statutory tuition fee criteria, you are automatically required to pay this type of fee. It applies for most non-EU/EEA students.
As a general rule of thumb, institutional fees are higher than statutory fees because the government offers higher education institutions money to subsidize the statutory fee. I know, it’s a lot of bureaucracy behind this, so never take these tuition fees personal.
Average tuition fees for EU/EEA students
- Bachelor’s programmes: between 1,040 and 2,083 EUR/year
- Master’s programmes: between 1,070 and 2,083 EUR/year
Average tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students
- Bachelor’s programmes: between 6,000 and 15,000 EUR/year
- Master’s programmes: between 8,000 and 20,000 EUR/year
Maximum costs for a degree in the Netherlands
- Bachelor’s programmes: 19,400 EUR/year
- Master’s programmes: 52,000 EUR/year
The most expensive degrees are offered in disciplines like Business Management or Communication. You’re also more likely to encounter higher costs at private Dutch universities.
Most affordable Dutch universities
Check examples of Dutch universities with affordable tuition fees for international students:
- Radboud University – average tuition fees 2,143 EUR/year
- University of Twente (UT) – average tuition fees 2,083 EUR/year
- Utrecht University – average tuition fees 2,143 EUR/year
- HAN University of Applied Sciences – average tuition fees 2,083 EUR/year
Universities we recommend in the Netherlands
- Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Utrecht University
- Radboud University
- Tilburg University
- Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen
2. Scholarships and funding options in the Netherlands
You can find scholarships, grants, student loans as well as rent subsidies and support for your health insurance and costs of living during your study experience in the Netherlands.
- Tuition fee loans apply to EU/EEA students who are not eligible for Dutch study finance
- Various scholarships and grants offered by Dutch universities and organisations
Fees for EU/EEA, Swiss and Surinamese nationals
Statutory tuition fees apply to you if you are a EU/EEA region, Swiss or Surinamese national who is undertaking their first degree in the Netherlands. This means that you pay the same amount as Dutch students for your tuition. These statutory tuition fees are determined by the Dutch government on a yearly basis.
The statutory tuition fee for a full-time student for the academic year 2019-2020 is €2,087, but some universities offer a lower yearly rate for part-time students. Also, fees can be higher for some courses, particularly in private universities, so it is helpful to take a look at your university of choice’s course page.
Institutional tuition fees
If you are not an EU/EEA, Swiss or Surinamese national, or if you are enrolling in your second Dutch Bachelor or Master’s degree, then you are obligated to pay an institutional tuition fee; these fees are not paid for by government subsidies. You can expect to pay around €10,000 for the 2019-2020 academic year, but the fee can vary quite a bit across different courses, so it is definitely worth checking your prospective university’s website.
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