University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

Beginning life in 1995 after the merger of several smaller colleges, the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht offers vocational training to its student population of 38,000. The university also has premises in Amersfoort, 25km to the west of Utrecht.

The university’s campus is notable for its modern architecture and colourful design. Students here take advantage of the institution’s links with professional industries, working on real-life projects with outside companies and businesses.

Undergraduate courses at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht usually last four years, as is common in the Netherlands. Students will be expected to undertake one 10 week internship in their first year and a 20 week one in their fourth. One of these two work placements must be located outside of the Netherlands.

The majority of courses are in Dutch but there are three bachelor’s programmes that are taught in English. The English programmes share some classes with the Dutch ones, meaning nobody is siloed off from the rest of the university.

Utrecht is the historical religious centre of the Netherlands and has largely retained its medieval structure. Worth checking out are the Letters of Utrecht, a poem continually being written in the city’s cobblestones. A new letter is added every Saturday.

The University of Applied Sciences’ main campus is based in the De Uithof part of the city, also home to the University of Utrecht, which itself has 30,000 students enrolled. This means that students dominate the city, giving it a very young population despite its historical foundations.