Fancy a Master’s? Give Holland a Holler

Got a degree? Don’t want to become a real person? Perhaps you can’t even figure out how to become a real person? I have the solution. Study for a master’s. Even better than that, study for a master’s in the Netherlands. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last twelve months and it hasn’t killed me yet. Read on and I’ll tell you how to do it in four simple steps.

First of all, the sell (skip if you’re already sold)

Why a master’s? Well, I just googled “master’s degree employability”, and according to the first link I clicked on:

The pursuit of any form of study to enhance future career prospects is a gamble, but by engaging with the available opportunities, it can also be a worthy investment.

So there you go, Lauren from The Independent says that if you get a master’s degree you’re more likely to get a job. Done. Next…

OK, but why the Netherlands? Below you can see I have gathered a few facts for your consumption.

1. Money. Most master’s degrees over here cost just €1,984 for EU students (that includes Brits, for the time being).
2. Rankings. The Netherlands is ranked as having the 7th strongest higher education system in the world. This means cool stuff like the humanities faculty at Leiden University being the highest ranked in continental Europe.
3. Language. Everyone speaks English. Like, everyone. And they speak it bloody well too. In fact, the Netherlands has the second highest English-proficiency in the world. I’ve encountered precisely two people who couldn’t speak English, and they were both real old. Not only does this mean there’s no need to practice your charades skills before you come over here, it also means there is an abundance of English-taught programmes, and by abundance I mean 2,100 (the greatest range in continental Europe). Try shaking your stick at that. Go on.
4. Quality of life. The Netherlands has one of the highest levels of overall life satisfaction in the EU. The EU average is 7.1/10, and the Dutch are sitting pretty at 7.8/10, which is just below the highest score of 8/10 (oi, Scandinavia, quit being so smug).
5. Entry requirements. Psst, master’s are far less competitive than bachelor’s degrees. I hadn’t realised this when I first started investigating. I’m not sure whether it’s even easier in the Netherlands than the UK, but generally, as long as you have a 2:1 from a country with a decent education system, you’re tight. Take me as an example. I got pretty average A levels, went to an English uni without a great deal of prestige (Winchester), to study a made up subject (Modern Liberal Arts — the greatest degree you’ve never heard of), where I got a high-ish 2:1 with a shoddy dissertation. I applied to study Philosophy at Amsterdam, Leiden, and Radboud. Amsterdam and Radboud were research degrees, which meant they had slightly higher entry requirements. But even then, only Radboud rejected me, and they said it was because they didn’t think I’d fit within the department (but perhaps they were just being polite). I have to admit, it could well be a completely different matter for STEM subjects, you’ll have to do your own research.

Are you convinced? Then read on.

Four steps and you’re done!

1. Find your course. Probs the easiest way of doing this is through a website like Studyfinder. It’s the only database in the Netherlands that offers a complete and up-to-date overview of all programmes taught in English and other foreign languages in the Netherlands.
2. Choose your university. Don’t worry about rankings, the Dutch have a very egalitarian approach to higher ed. At least, more egalitarian than what I’m used to in the UK. Most universities are perceived as being roughly the same, so students make their choices based upon factors such as location, or student culture. You can view the complete list of universities here. I only really know about Leiden (old and posh, King went there); Tilburg (in a province called Brabant where people sing and drink a lot, also has a beautiful campus for the concrete-lovers out there); Erasmus Rotterdam (business and economics, least ‘Dutch’ city but perhaps my personal fav); and Amsterdam (it’s in Amsterdam).
3. Find some money. This is prolly the most awkward bit. If you’re an EU resident you’re automatically eligible for a loan from the Dutch government. However, this will only cover your tuition fees, meaning your living costs will not be covered. It’s still a great offer though, so head over to DUO to read more (DUO is the organisation responsible for student finance, they don’t make it easy though, read this if you’re getting bogged down). Regarding those pesky living costs, often the largest part of this is taken up by rent. To alleviate the situation the Dutch have an incredibly generous housing benefit called huurtoeslag. This is slightly complicated to apply for, but if you’re eligible (and quite a few international students are) and you’re at its upper limit (again, quite a few international students are), it could literally save you hundreds of euros per month. And when I say literally, I’m being literal. To learn more just google it, speak to an adviser at your university, or use Google Translate on the Dutch government website (don’t use the English section, the crafty fiends have removed the huurtoeslag stuff from there). You can even tweet the Dutch tax office — they’re very nice and will reply in English. Other than that, you’re probably going to have to use savings and/or apply for grants. Jobs are a possibility, I fluked my way into one, but you can’t bank on it.
4. Get on yer bike! Figuratively and literally. Each university has their own application process, but they all have plenty of information on their websites and I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out. Once you’ve got your offer (and you definitely will, believe in yourself) all that’s left to do is find somewhere to live (don’t relax about this like I did, I spent my first two months semi-homeless), and look forward to spending a whole year getting around on one of the most efficient means of human transport available!