Dutch Higher Education Guide (Keuzegids) 2020: Humanities are coming in strong at the UG

Seven University of Groningen (UG) Bachelor’s degree programmes have been awarded the ‘Top Degree Programme’ quality label by the Dutch Higher Education Guide for Universities (Keuzegids) 2020, placing them among the top in Dutch academic education. Two degree programmes are even in the top five of the best-assessed university Bachelor’s degree programmes: Archaeology and Minorities & Multilingualism. Usually, the UG and Radboud University alternate each year between first and second place in the category ‘Broad-based General University’. This year, we are at fourth place.

The Dutch Higher Education Guide for Universities 2020 has awarded the ‘Top Degree Programme’ label to Bachelor’s degree programmes that earned a total score of at least 76 points. Of 64 degree programmes around the country that were awarded this label, 7 belong to the University of Groningen. Last year, and in 2018, this number was 10.

The best UG Bachelor’s programme is Archaeology, with a total score of 90 points. The six other top UG Bachelor’s degree programmes according to this threshold are: Minorities & Multilingualism (88), English Language and Culture (84), Global Responsibility and Leadership (84), Theology (78), Religious studies (78) and Liberal Arts and Sciences (76). It is notable that almost all of them belong to the Humanities.

A degree programme can also be the best in its category without achieving the ‘Top Degree Programme’ label. Another five UG Bachelor’s degree programmes were recognized as the best in their category. These are: Artificial Intelligence, Applied Mathematics, Pharmacy, Human Movement Sciences and Information Science. In total, 50 UG Bachelor’s degree programmes were assessed, giving the UG the second highest number of Bachelor’s degree programmes across all 14 Dutch universities.

About the Dutch Higher Education Guide

The Dutch Higher Education Guide for Universities 2020 was published on Wednesday 27 November. The guide shows off new statistics regarding study success, new expert and student assessments of all university Bachelor’s degree programmes and information about the feasibility of a degree programme and its language of instruction. The Dutch Higher Education Guide for Universities is published annually by the Centre for Higher Education Information (CHOI; Centrum Hoger Onderwijs Informatie) and is intended for school pupils and deans who want to inform themselves about university Bachelor’s degree programmes. The assessments provided in the guide are based on student evaluations (National Student Survey 2019), data from the national degree programme database Studiekeuze123 and visitation reports by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). There is a separate guide for Master’s degree programmes.