UvA budget for 2026: small loss of nearly 3 million
The draft budget for 2026 was published this week. The coming years will be financially challenging for the UvA due to a decline in student numbers and substantial government cutbacks. “The amount for the UvA could rise to 50 million in the coming years.”
Deans and department heads have been working hard over the past few months to present a somewhat acceptable budget for next year, and they have succeeded, as evidenced by the draft budget for 2026, which was presented this week. During the preliminary calculations for the budget, known as the Framework Letter, four faculties still appeared to be heading for a loss, but this has been partially resolved in the draft budget, which is now open for consultation.
Humanities (FGw) and Law (FdR) have eliminated their losses, while the Faculty of Science (FNWI) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (FMG) are still in the red, with losses of 4.2 million and 1.0 million respectively. The total result for the UvA as a whole, including services, is budgeted at a small deficit of 2.8 million for 2026. According to the UvA, this amount is “acceptable” given the “healthy” financial position of the UvA.
Internationals
The UvA considers the coming financial year to be an “interim year” on the way to the much more difficult years from 2027 to 2029. Various government cutbacks will then take effect and the number of (international) students will also decline. If policy remains unchanged, the Faculty of Humanities, for example, will face a deficit of 4.4 million in 2029, despite the fact that by that time, 5.8 million less will be spent on “contracted staff” than is currently the case. The FGw’s income will gradually decline from 153.4 million next year to 139.8 million in 2029.
The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), which has many international students and is still budgeting for a surplus of 1.8 million next year, will also see its results plummet in the coming years to a loss of 4 million in 2029, mainly due to a decline in income: from 116.3 million in 2026 to 108.6 million in 2029. It is obvious that the decline in income at both the FGw and the FEB is (partly) caused by the decline in international students.
Salaries
Nowhere in the budget does it state that the UvA will be making redundancies in the coming years, but the fact is that a significant decline in salary costs is budgeted for the five major faculties between 2026 and 2029. FGw, FdR, FNWI, FMG and FEB are budgeting for a total decline in personnel costs of more than 30 million euros during these years: from 535.3 million in 2026 back to 504.9 million in 2029. These are estimates, but they are on paper and therefore not just rough estimates. The UvA’s accountants themselves write that the total savings the UvA will have to make in the coming years “could amount to 50 million”. If 30 million of this is to be found in the reduction in staff costs at five faculties, the remaining 20 million will have to be found elsewhere.
Strategy
How this will all work out depends in part on the UvA’s new strategic objectives, as formulated in its five-year Institutional Plan. The current Institutional Plan, Inspiring Generations, is coming to an end, and a successor is being worked on and will be ready in the course of the coming calendar year. The UvA notes that not only is the government making “substantial cuts” to higher education, but also that the authority of independent science and universities “can no longer be taken for granted”. This will have “a major impact” on the university’s profile, which will be reflected in the new Institutional Plan.
Catering
Because the UvA is a campus university and wants to remain so, a new Housing Plan will also be adopted in the coming year. This will also include the formulation of a “new vision” on food and beverage. This is convenient, because the current catering contract with Cirfood expires on 1 January 2027 at the latest. A European tender will therefore be held in the coming year.
Before that, the draft budget must be reviewed by the Central Works Council and the Central Student Council. Their recommendations will be taken into account (or not) in the final version, which will be submitted to the Supervisory Board for approval in mid-December. After that, the new financial year can begin.
See here if you would like to view the entire UvA draft budget for 2026 and/or respond to the draft budget.
