Dutch education minister Eppo Bruins intends to cut the number of English-language bachelor’s courses offered in the Netherlands, in part to reduce the number of international students in the country’s universities. In 2023/24, about 20% of students in Dutch university bachelor’s courses were from abroad.
As in many other destinations, a housing shortage is pressuring Dutch policymakers to reduce inbound flows of students. Last year, the previous government opened to the door for universities to self-regulate in terms of bringing their international student numbers down, but that government fell and the new coalition government is taking a more active stance on this issue.
Few exceptions
In a letter sent to the House of Representatives on 15 October 2024, Mr Bruins said the intention is to make English-only courses the exception, rather than the rule. His department is preparing a new version of the Internationalisation in Balance bill (WIB) that will dictate that at least two-thirds of the curriculum in Dutch bachelor programmes must be in Dutch, with up to a third remaining for English or another language.
There will be exceptions, but they will be made only after review by a special committee. Reasons the committee might approve an English-only curriculum include a regional or labour market need or the determination that the course has “an inextricably international character” (Mr Bruin said the latter exemption would be rare).
Currently, one-third of bachelor courses are delivered in other language and half of them are a mix of Dutch and English.
Master’s and doctoral programmes will not be subject to the imminent language ruling, but there is speculation that the master’s level at least may be affected in the near future.
Still open for business
Mr Bruins emphasised that he wants the Netherlands to remain a country that can attract top international talent, and that he wants more, rather than fewer, foreign students to transition to the labour force after completing their studies:
“The Netherlands is proud to be an internationally oriented, knowledge-based society. And we want it to stay like that, for a prosperous future. But over the past several years international student numbers have grown sharply, resulting in major student housing shortages, crowded lecture halls and diminishing use of Dutch as the language of instruction. Measures are needed to reverse these trends. I want to restore Dutch as the norm. This will improve students’ proficiency in Dutch and help retain international students after they graduate, for the benefit of the Dutch economy and society in general.”
New immigration policies this year in Australia, Canada, and the UK are aimed at welcoming a narrower band of students than in the past. This appears to be the theme in the Netherlands as well. Mr Bruins said, “We want to attract the right international students here and with more Dutch language skills, increase the chance of international students staying so that they can work here after their studies.”
The Minister is actively looking into the possibility of raising international student tuition fees as well as limiting public financing for EU students studying in the Netherlands.
Pressure on universities to reduce number of spaces for international students
Mr Bruin is inviting Dutch universities to reduce flows of foreign students, saying:
“Ultimately, the total inflow must be reduced, also because the government wants to spend less money on international students from 2026. This requires commitment from the educational institutions, which also retain self-management in this regard.”
If universities don’t manage their enrolment intakes enough “universities will be given less funding per student.”
University response
Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) association chairman Caspar van den Berg said of the proposal: “The cabinet is using a blunt axe to hack at universities and colleges.” He continued:
“This approach will impoverish education, we will lose important scientific talent and we will also scare away international students, who we really need in our country. This is a cost-cutting operation that damages the international character of higher education. It will probably be accompanied by the forced closure of courses, and with major consequences for the quality of Dutch scientific research. In addition, it is still questionable whether this restriction of the international inflow is legally feasible, given the European treaties on the free movement of persons.”
At Leiden University, which is ranked 73rd globally on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2025) and 24th for its Arts and Humanities department, President Annetje Ottow, on behalf of the Executive Board, issued this statement:
“The Executive Board is concerned about the effects of the strict language criteria outlined in the Balanced Internationalisation Bill on Leiden University’s degree programmes. ‘Minister Bruin’s parliamentary letter is even stricter than we had feared. This can have major implications for our English-taught bachelor’s programmes … Bleak and uncertain times lie ahead and we must face them together.”
Rector Hester Bijl elaborated on what could be lost:
“Many of the language and culture programmes are extremely important for our knowledge of regions that are currently going through such difficult times: the Middle East, for example, with the escalating conflict there. In the Middle Eastern Studies programmes, important specialisations such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Islamic Studies, Hebrew and Modern Middle Eastern Studies would be significantly reduced. It is very painful to think this is necessary. The Faculty of Humanities definitely wishes to maintain this expertise. Where else will politicians, negotiators, aid workers and other specialists who want to help resolve the crisis obtain their knowledge?
We will continue to fight, and together with the faculty will do all we can to limit the damaging effects for our students and staff and thus for society as a whole.”
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