Study material and study costs

The amount of money you will have to spend on books and other study material not only depends on your degree programme but also on where you buy them. Books are often cheaper if you buy them in the country where they were published. You can sometimes also buy study material through your own degree programme or the study association of your degree programme. Please contact your degree programme’s secretariat for more information.

Bachelor

Below is an overview of the study costs per degree programme and programme phase. Only compulsory literature has been included. The actual study costs may turn out a bit higher or lower because the prices of some publications (for example readers) will not be announced until after the publication of this website. Prices are in Dutch format.

* Note: The costs stated below do not include the costs for the planned/compulsory excursions/fieldwork. Costs vary per study programme. Your secretariat can give an indication of these costs.

Minors

The course unit descriptions in Ocasys list the price of required literature where possible.

Master

It is difficult to give a precise estimate of the study costs for an MA degree. This is because most of the programmes only have a limited amount of compulsory literature. Because you will often be consulting specialist literature, it makes more sense to borrow it from the library rather than purchasing it yourself. In this phase of your degree you are thus the one who determines how high your costs will be.The course unit descriptions in Ocasys list the price of required literature where possible. No rights can be derived from this information (Ocasys). Some Master tracks have compulsory excursions in the programme (MA Arts, Culture and Media). Your secretariat can give an indication of the excursion costs.

Cost Policy

The University of Groningen has a policy on study costs. The policy aims to control costs so that the ‘study cost’ component does not exceed grant/loan budgets. The amount that students are required to spend on study materials therefore does not exceed the government grant. The standard sum for 2023-2024 is € 904. Sometimes it is not possible to avoid going beyond the ceiling amount. In such cases it it possible to apply tot the Faculty Board (t.e.oosterman@rug.nl) for reimbursement of half the extra expenditure on the basis of receipts submitted as proof. Sometimes another arrangement may be possible. You can obtain information on the cost policy at the Frequently Asked Questions on My University. You can also visit Information Services or your study adviser. Take a look at our central pages for a global overview of living expenses during your study period in the Netherlands.