For the first time in ten years, the number of students at the UvA is declining
This year, fewer first-year students enrolled at the UvA than in previous years. This means that the student population is declining for the first time in ten years. In particular, fewer Dutch students and students from outside Europe enrolled. The percentage of international students in the total student population has increased slightly.
For a moment, it seemed that the UvA would reach the milestone of 45,000 students this academic year. However, this year the university is taking a step back in terms of student numbers. The UvA now has 43,147 students, compared to 44,005 last year. This is evident from the provisional enrolment figures from mid-October, which the UvA announced today.
After ten consecutive years of growth, the student population at the UvA is declining for the first time. This comes as a relief to the university board, which three years ago sounded the alarm about reducing the number of students at the UvA. “We didn’t want to grow any further,” says Rector Magnificus Peter-Paul Verbeek.
But the university would have preferred to see the number of students remain the same. Verbeek: “It is important that changes in student numbers are gradual and not sudden, especially at a time when universities are under severe financial pressure due to government cutbacks. We need to retain the resources to provide high-quality education.” Sudden fluctuations in student numbers make it difficult to organise education and create uncertainty for staff.
This article refers to provisional enrolment and registration figures. These figures usually provide a good indication of the official figures, which are often announced in February.
Bachelors & Masters
The decline in the student population is due to a 6.5 per cent decrease in the intake of Bachelor’s students. Fewer international and Dutch first-year students started a Bachelor’s programme at the UvA, with the number of students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) falling by 8.1 per cent, the sharpest decline.
Enrolment in master’s programmes rose slightly. Students from the EEA in particular accounted for more than 15 per cent of this increase. Enrolment of international students from outside Europe, on the other hand, fell by just under 14 per cent. The number of Dutch students starting a master’s programme at the UvA rose slightly. Verbeek expects that the decline in bachelor’s programmes will also result in a decline in master’s programmes in a few years’ time.
Largest decline in Humanities and Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Humanities (FGw) has seen the sharpest decline in the number of Bachelor’s students, with a drop of more than 20 per cent. This decline can be partly explained by the nationwide decline in interest in language and culture.
The Faculty of Science, Mathematics and Informatics (FNWI) has also seen a significant decline in bachelor’s enrolment, with a drop of almost 14 per cent. The science faculty has been anticipating a decline in student numbers for some time, which is why the faculty had to take drastic measures this spring. The number of Master’s students at the two faculties, on the other hand, has increased by more than 7 per cent.
At the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, enrolment numbers remain virtually unchanged. There has been no decline in bachelor’s enrolment because the numerus fixus for communication science and political science has been abolished.
Internationalisation is declining
This year, the university seems to have become less attractive to Dutch students and students from outside Europe. Students from within the European Economic Area (EEA) continue to enrol in large numbers: this year, the number of international students at the UvA has increased again. Last year, 35 per cent of students at the UvA were international, compared to 36 per cent this year.
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According to the UvA spokesperson, the decline in student numbers is difficult to explain. “We think it is partly due to demographic developments in the Netherlands: the number of young people in the Netherlands with a pre-university diploma will decline in the coming years. The lack of student housing and high rents will also play a role, for Dutch students, but certainly also for international students.” Since the corona pandemic, it has also become more expensive to study in the Netherlands due to rising inflation. “This may explain the decline in the enormous growth in international students that began in 2022.”
According to the spokesperson, the reason why students from outside Europe in particular are staying away may have to do with the fact that in recent years, Chinese students have increasingly opted for universities in Asia rather than those in the US and Europe. At the University of Amsterdam, there has been a clear decline in both bachelor’s and master’s programmes.
The rhetoric in the House of Representatives in the Netherlands in recent years will also not have contributed to the attractiveness of the UvA for international students. The previous cabinet wanted to reduce the number of international students at universities with the Balanced Internationalisation Act, which included making Dutch the official language at universities again.
Students from the US
The intake figures show no increase in the number of students from the United States. Due to the political climate in the US, twenty percent more Americans registered at the UvA in the preliminary enrolments at the beginning of this year. However, the figures now show that they did not ultimately start studying at the UvA. The influx of Americans into bachelor’s programmes even fell sharply by 31 percent, while the influx into master’s programmes remained virtually unchanged.
