Lower tuition fees for Ukrainian students after all

Ukrainian students who were already studying at EUR last year will get a discount on their tuition fees this year too. New students and refugees from other countries have to pay the higher institutional fee.

EUR students with Ukrainian nationality will still get thousands of euros discount on their tuition fees this year. The ministry no longer funds the discount like last year, but the university now pays it from its own resources. The discount only applies to students who were already studying at EUR last year.

Thousands of euros

Ukraine is outside the European Economic Area (EEA), and normally such students pay the higher institutional fee instead of the tuition fee applicable to Dutch students. That is a difference of many thousands of euros: most study programmes charge an institution fee of around 10,000 euros, while this year’s regular tuition fee is 2,314 euros.

Because of the war and its impact (also financially) on Ukrainian students, the Ministry of Education lowered tuition fees for Ukrainian students to the regular tuition fees last academic year, but this year that will no longer happen.

Not for new students

Erasmus University has therefore decided to use its own funds to reduce tuition fees for this group after all. The reduction only applies to students from Ukraine who were also studying at EUR last year, new students will pay full price. Students who have fled from other countries will not be helped with the reduction.

Minister Dijkgraaf said earlier this year that he did not want to reduce tuition fees for refugee students because it could have a ‘pull effect’ on people seeking asylum. Dijksgraaf’s own party D66 and GroenLinks disagreed with the minister, saying refugee students, unlike international students, cannot choose where to study. However, the Lower House voted by a narrow majority in favour of Dijkgraaf’s proposal.