Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen, also known as Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG), is one of the oldest research universities in Europe. Located in the heart of the northern student city of Groningen, some 28,000 students are currently enrolled in around 54 Bachelor's and 116 Master's degree programmes. Of these programmes, 9 Bachelor’s and 83 Master’s are taught in English.
Check out the list of the Bachelor’s degrees that are taught in English at RUG.
You can also find the list of the Master’s degrees that are taught in English at RUG.
You apply for a degree programme at the University of Groningen using the Dutch national university online application system Studielink.
First you go to the Studielink website and register for your own personal account. You receive the log in details in your email inbox. Then you log in to Studielink in order to enter your personal information, and select the university of your choice (in this case Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), course category and programme. Then you can send the enrolment application.
A very useful, step by step pdf guide to applying to Groningen through Studielink can be found here: A detailed step-by-step manual for the use of Studielink.
If you have a Dutch diploma that gives entry to the degree programme of your choice, then you are automatically admitted and you apply just through Studielink.
If you have a non-Dutch diploma, then in addition to applying through Studielink you also have to go through an admission procedure where the Admissions Board decides, based on the information you have provided, whether you meet the requirements of the programme you are applying to. After registering with Studielink, you then receive details through email for what is known as OAS or the ‘Online Admissions System’. You use this to finish filling out any details left over about your education, as well as to upload any remaining documents. Luckily, RUG has created a very useful step-by-step OAS manual (8.3MB PDF) that will guide you through this process. You can come back to OAS and Studielink in your own time to fill in the application as you wish, as the application is not submitted until the final 12th step in OAS, when you clearly press ‘Submit’.
After you have submitted your application through OAS, the six step admission procedure begins:
1. Receipt: You will receive an email confirming that the university has received your application. Your application is then checked to see all of the details are supplied, and you will receive another email to let you know whether you need to do anything else before the process continues.
2. Assessment: After this, the Faculty Admissions Board will review your application and assess your academic background to see whether you fit the requirements of your degree programme.
3. Decision: There are three ways in which your application can be processed:
4. Offer: If you are admitted, a letter will be sent to you from the Admissions Board offering your place on your chosen degree programme. If this offer is conditional, this letter will specify the requirements you have to meet.
5. Response: If you have received an offer, you should respond with your acceptance or non-acceptance.
6. Decree of Admission: Upon meeting the requirements and accepting the offer, you will receive an official legal statement in the form of a Decree of Admission, which allows you to be registered as a student at the University of Groningen.
After the admissions and acceptance procedure is over, there is still more to be done! Now you will have to register as a student at the University of Groningen.
After receiving your Decree of Admission, you will be able to register for your degree programme from the 1st June for a programme starting in September. This begins with the University emailing you asking for your payment information in Studielink so that you can pay your tuition fee.
You will next receive a photo registration form. You will need to send some passport photographs with this form as soon as possible so that the University can create your student ID.
Once you have paid your tuition and supplied the required photograph, you will be given your student ID and statement of registration.
If you receive any messages after 1 June from Studielink saying that you have not completed steps in your registration procedure, ignore these and just follow the explicit instructions as provided by the University.
You will need to provide a number of documents in support of your application. Which documents you will need to provide however depends on the programme you are applying to. You need to make sure to check the faculty information on admission requirements to find out which documents are required for your programme. You can also find contact details and further instructions through these handy guides in the link. However, there are documents that will be required as part of your general application:
A document is officially certified when it is confirmed as a proper copy of the original either by the Admissions Office of the University of Groningen (bring the original documents as well as the copies); your home university/school; an official authority responsible for certifications (e.g. the Dutch Embassy or Consulate in your country of domicile) or a public notary office (bring the original documents).
If you need, you can begin your application by sending uncertified copies of your diploma and transcripts, which will grant you a ‘conditional admissions decision’. In order to be officially and unconditionally admitted, you will have to provide either original or certified copies of these documents.
If you are from the EU/EEA, then you are lucky enough to be entitled to pay the same tuition fees as Dutch citizens:
For the year 2012-2013, the fee for all regular Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes is €1771
If you are NOT from the EU/EEA, then your fees are unfortunately going to be higher:
For the year 2012-2013, the fee for all international Bachelor’s degree programmes (except Medicine) is €7500.
The fee for Medicine is €32,000.
For the 2012-2013 Master’s programmes, the fees vary depending on the programme.
However, this is still a chance for some non-EU students to pay the same tuition as EU/EEA students. If you are a relative of an EU citizen living in the Netherlands, if you already have the right kind of Dutch residence permit, or you are Surinamese, you may be eligible for much cheaper fees.You can find more information about this in the following pdf: read more.
Please note that although Studielink is open to receive applications all year long, all degree programmes have set deadlines for processing your application. These deadlines are set to allow us time to review your application, and to arrange for your visa and housing.
After this deadline, you will still be able to apply for the programme in Studielink, but the application will not be processed for admission to the upcoming academic year of the programme. You will be notified that since you have applied after the deadline, your application will be deferred to the next academic year.
Deadlines vary per programme. There may also be specific deadlines for scholarship candidates. Please check the website of the programme of your choice for the exact application deadline. To give you an indication, usually the application deadlines for programmes starting in September range from:
Pleae note: you can apply for the academic year 2012-2013 as of 1 October 2011.
These guides are never finished.
Want to help?
