{"id":178318,"date":"2025-04-24T15:50:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=178318"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:47","slug":"psychology-students-upset-about-end-of-international-bachelor-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/04\/24\/psychology-students-upset-about-end-of-international-bachelor-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychology students upset about end of international bachelor program"},"content":{"rendered":"

All universities in the Randstad area are willing to sacrifice their international psychology classes in favour of protecting other English-taught programs. Ana, Theo, Elisa and Salman, all psychology bachelors, share their concerns for the future of Psychology in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

\"\"

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFemke Legu\u00e9<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Ana, Theo and Elisa all made a deliberate choice for the International Bachelor in Psychology over a psychology program somewhere else. \u201cI\u2019m from Romania which isn\u2019t a very international country, so when I went to university in the Netherlands, I wanted to find people from other cultures, engage and befriend them\u201d, said Theo. Why did she come to EUR? Because \u2018it really looked like the American dream\u2019. \u201cA college campus with people from all around the world, sitting by the grass and talking about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elisa, Mexican but arriving from Spain, felt welcome at EUR when she was looking for a study programme. \u201cThe university used to promote a lot for international students and was proud of how international it was.\u201d On the website for example, she liked the \u2018maps of where the alumni and students are from\u2019. \u201cYou can talk to student ambassadors from different programs, all from different countries.\u201d To her, \u2018it looked like the university wanted more internationals to come to the Netherlands.\u2019<\/p>\n

For Ana, also from Romania, the choice was based off academia: \u201cIn the Netherlands, there are the best programs for Psychology.\u201d Erasmus University offered Psychology in the English track, unlike other countries she looked at, such as Belgium, Denmark or Germany.<\/p>\n

Salman follows the Dutch track of Psychology, but he didn\u2019t consider the international bachelor programme. \u201cWhen I was looking into a study, I didn\u2019t know the English track was possible. So, I never really considered it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He chose Erasmus University for the atmosphere. \u201cThere was a more relaxed, enjoyable vibe in Rotterdam, the city was more approachable.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t

In anticipation of a review of all non-Dutch language programmes by the<\/span>
minister of Education Eppo Bruins to potentially abolish them, universities <\/span>
have made their own proposal to turn certain programmes to Dutch or <\/span>
reduce the number of students. The condition for this proposal is that the<\/span>
review is to be cancelled. The Executive Board expects that many more <\/span>
programmes would be eliminated if this review were to happen. The <\/span>
minister announced on Wednesday that he doesn’t intend to scrap the <\/span>
review.<\/span>
The international bachelor’s programme in Psychology is the only EUR <\/span>
programme that will completely discontinue in the proposal, starting in <\/span>
2027. There will still be a Dutch bachelor’s programme in Psychology, <\/span>
and the intake restriction (600 first-year students) is likely to remain the <\/span>
same as it is now for both English and Dutch combined. In that way, there<\/span>
will be more places available for Dutch students.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Diverse perspectives<\/h2>

Elisa emphasised the value of international perspectives in the classroom: \u201cYou hear a lot of different perspectives from different countries.\u201d She describes this as a \u2018dynamic process, making the topics in class more insightful\u2019, because \u2018there\u2019s no class where there\u2019s predominantly students from one country\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a domain where the Dutch track is lacking\u201d, said Salman. \u201cThe benefits of the international group are that they bring the intellectual history of these different countries\u201d, he developed. In comparison, Salman believes the Dutch track \u2018only have people who all studied the same intellectual history.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFemke Legu\u00e9<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Feeling of neglect<\/h2>

Theo is disappointed with the news that the international psychology programme will disappear: \u201cInternationals put in a lot of work to be here, to not disappoint themselves, to not disappoint their families or friends, and to make sure they have a future.\u201d Ana feels like she\u2019s \u2018being sacrificed\u2019: \u201cIt sucks, and it makes us not feel valued as a student at EUR and it feels like the university doesn\u2019t think that we\u2019re important to this university.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI empathise and sympathise with the International track students\u201d, said Salman, but he also sees a big impact in the future of psychology research: \u201cA huge chunk of psychology students are going to become researchers, and they\u2019re going to add innovation and unique perspectives.\u201d He feels that without internationals, there will be a loss in innovation within research: \u201cYou\u2019re losing a large group of people that undoubtedly play a major role in innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Language of science<\/h2>

What do they think are going to be the consequences with international psychology gone? Ana proposed two consequences for upcoming students: either they \u2018choose another university for different studies\u2019, or they continue with psychology, \u2018but not on the same level\u2019 as they would find at EUR.<\/p>\n

Theo sees the termination of international programmes as a loss for prospective international students: \u201cOnly having a few courses being international would affect a lot of people and they would be less likely to move here.\u201d Elisa shares a similar opinion: \u201cIf everyone was from the same place, grew up in the same country and has the same perspective, it would be less-eye opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salman sees a positive for the Dutch track: \u201cIt would become less massive and therefore individual students would get more attention from teachers.\u201d However, he believes that \u2018English is too important\u2019: \u201cThe majority of scientific research is written in English. It\u2019s the language of science, and the University is getting rid of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t