MAASTRICHT U FOR YOU

[EDIT/EDU: Maastricht, August 25]
Lucy Hodge, writing in the British quality daily, The Independent, on June 19, 2009 said “go Dutch and save money” and noted that British students could take degrees in English at the university of Maastricht and pay lower fees than at home. Maastricht is charging GBP 1,200 to 1,500 per year for tuition to students from the European Union under the age of 30. This compares with GBP 3,200 at British universities. Students, under 30, on Masters’ programs pay the same sum for the one-year Master’s degree – which is again a lot less than they would pay in the UK. On August 15, this year, Liz Lightfoot in The Observer said going Dutch meant lower fees and living costs. Jonty Bloom came up with a similar story on the BBC News site on August 18.

On August 19, Jo Ritzen, the Chairman of the Board of Maastricht University, said that he wanted to increase the diversity of foreign students at Maastricht University – there being, at present, 49 students from the UK and Ireland in residence.

Dr Ritzen would like to see the figure go up by more than a hundred to two hundred students, and wants the university to become a member of the British Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) to facilitate it.However, this organization is, apparently, playing hard to get.

Interestingly enough, figures published in Britain on August 23 revealed that, currently, more than a quarter of candidates for university admission in the UK were without places. So one may hope that Maastricht’s publicity machine is now working overtime.

The Observer added the following as reasons for “going Dutch in Maastricht:

It is said to be the oldest town in the Netherlands;

It is walking distance from Belgium;

Most people speak English;

Beautiful medieval architecture – a converted 800-year-old Dominican church was recently named the most beautiful bookshop in the world;

The university's 12,000 students make up nearly 10% of city residents;

The town hosts one of the world's largest art fairs (the TEFAF), as well as annual food, jazz and sacred music festivals;

And for the parents… foreigners are banned from the city's marijuana cafes – The New York Times also had something to say about this.

Check the Maastricht University Info-Uk on Face book at the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid