At the same time, universities acknowledge challenges around internationalisation, such as pressure on facilities, crowded lecture halls and concerns about accessibility for Dutch students.

For years we have therefore been advocating in The Hague for instruments (such as enrolment caps) that would allow us to strike a good balance between Dutch and international students. For this reason, the universities have jointly reached agreements to bring about a balanced intake of students. These are now being formalised in administrative agreements with the ministerExternal link.

Administrative agreements with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

In the administrative agreements, the UvA – together with the other universities – has committed to limiting the intake of international Bachelor’s students to a jointly agreed-upon level. For the UvA, this involves a 20% reduction in international enrolment compared to the peak year 2022–2023. This is a university-wide reduction that will primarily be achieved within the social sciences and humanities.

For some universities, the forecasts on admissions show a rather substantive decline in the influx of international students. This is not the case for a number of UvA faculties. Initial results of the self-regulation measures to rebalance the inflow of international students are underway. In recent years, enrolments in our English-taught Bachelor’s programmes showed a steady decrease.

Numerus fixus on English-language programmes and tracks as an instrument

An important starting point for the UvA is that we prefer to manage student numbers ourselves, targeting specific study programmes or tracks, than have new national legislation. For Psychology and Political Science, proposals for a numerus fixus (enrolment cap) on the English-language Bachelor’s track were already in place before national agreements on self-regulation were reached.

For the 2027–2028 academic year, in line with the national agreements, new and adjusted numerus fixus arrangements will be implemented for the non-Dutch-language tracks of the degree programmes in Political Science, Business Administration and Psychology. These steps are in line with the course of action that universities previously proposed within the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) context: balancing international enrolment through targeted measures and self-regulation, instead of generic and far-reaching measures such as the previously proposed ‘Toets Anderstalig Onderwijs’ (TAO, a test for teaching in a language other than Dutch).

Limited scale, visible effects

The measures will affect programmes, staff and students in several faculties. We realise that this will require flexibility from our lecturers. At the same time, we want to avoid having nationwide, one-size-fits-all measures imposed on our university. By anchoring the self-regulation measures, the universities will remain in the driver's seat and in doing so, preserve the sustainability of their teaching portfolios.

Next steps

In the period ahead, faculties and programmes will work out exactly what these agreements mean for their programmes and for day-to-day teaching practices.

More opportunities for international students and staff to learn Dutch

In addition to managing international student numbers, the UvA is investing more in the language skills of international students, as proposed by the Central Student Council. This will enable students to prepare for a future in the Netherlands where they can apply their academic knowledge to finding solutions to societal challenges.

Taking Dutch language classes helps international students connect more easily with Dutch-speaking fellow students, and increases their chances of staying in the Netherlands after graduation and finding a job here.