EUC takes off

The Dutch University Colleges are growing like a weed. And that goes no less for the one in Rotterdam. Twenty per cent more students will take their places in the heart of the city center.

The Erasmus University College (EUC) offers a broad bachelor’s program, in which disciplines such as those from humanities, social sciences, and science. The EUC doesn’t just allow anybody in, but selects the most promising students. Since the founding of the first UC in Utrecht in 1997, the number of UC’s grew steadily. Among them, Amsterdam, Middelburg and Tilburg were founded. Last year the Rotterdam-based University College started as well, in a beautiful building at the Nieuwemarkt, in the middle of the city.

Growth of 20 per cent

In spite of the fact that students pay twice the normal tuition fee, this year there were no less than 360 applications in Rotterdam. Of these, more than a hundred were accepted. A growth of some 20 per cent compared to last year, both in terms of applications and final admissions. There will be a second entry point in February. With these numbers, so says the EUC’s executive manager Job van Maurik, the growth lies ‘nicely on schedule.’ In two to three years, the EUC hopes to end up with 225 freshmen, with which the capacity of the exclusive education will have been reached. DR