University of Groningen the best broad traditional university in the Netherlands

Ten University of Groningen Bachelor’ s degree programmes have been awarded the ‘Top Degree Programme’ quality label in this year’s Keuzegids Universiteiten (Guide to Dutch Universities). Just like last year, the University of Groningen appears in first place in the category ‘Broad-Based General University 2018’ in the list of Best Dutch Universities.

The assessment of the University of Groningen in the Keuzegids included the following statement: ‘In recent years the UG has been receiving better assessments on average than the universities in the Randstad region in the west of the country.’ And: ‘The trick with a broad university is to ensure that both the larger and the smaller degree programmes are high quality: short lines of communication wherever possible, sufficient structure where necessary. Groningen and Nijmegen seem to do this best.’

Exceptional scores for Philosophy

The Keuzegids Universiteiten 2018 awards the Top Degree Programme label to programmes that score at least 76 points. A national total of 65 degree programmes were awarded this label, including ten University of Groningen programmes. The best Bachelor’s programme at the UG is Philosophy, which scored 96 points. Lodi Nauta, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy: “We’ve been on top for many years, but this is a fantastic score. And more than a huge compliment for our wonderful teachers.”

The other nine UG Bachelor's degree programmes that are at the top of Dutch university education according to this standard are: Archaeology (86 points), Liberal Arts and Sciences (88), Minorities & Multilingualism (92), Religious Studies (76), Chemistry (78), Astronomy (80), English Language and Culture (78), Theology (90) and Philosophy of a Specific Scientific Discipline (76).

Thirteen UG programmes best in category

A degree programme can also be the best in its category without achieving the Top Degree Programme predicate. Thirteen UG programmes were declared the best in their respective categories. These are: Archaeology, Human Movement Sciences, English Language and Culture, Pharmacy, Philosophy, Human Geography & Urban and Regional Planning, Life Science and Technology, Media Studies, Minorities & Multilingualism, Pedagogical Sciences, Chemistry, Astronomy and Philosophy of a Specific Scientific Discipline.

English

For the first time, this year’s Keuzegids also assessed internationalization at Dutch universities. It showed that in general, students are far from satisfied with the standard of English of their lecturers. The University of Groningen (scoring 7.2) and Maastricht University (7.4) form a positive exception.

The Keuzegids Universiteiten is published annually by the Centre for Higher Education Information (CHOI; Centrum Hoger Onderwijs Informatie) and is intended for secondary school pupils and counsellors who want to find out more about university Bachelor’s degree programmes. The assessments in the Guide are based on student evaluations (National Student Survey), the national degree programme database Studiekeuze123 and NVAO visitation reports. There is a separate Guide for Master’s degree programmes.