Press release

Wageningen University the best for full-time Master’s programmes

article_published_on_label
March 26, 2015

By scoring 67.5 points, Wageningen University again has the highest ranking for Master’s programmes among the 13 ‘regular’ universities in the Netherlands. The 2015 edition of the Dutch Master’s programme information guide Keuzegids Masters, published today, awarded 15 of the 27 evaluated Wageningen Master’s programmes top programme status. Students and experts in the whole of the Netherlands assessed some 600 Master’s programmes. “Wageningen stands out as the best regular university – the same as last year.”

Keuzegids Masters 2015 

The new Keuzegids Masters provides a list of the Master’s programmes offered by Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. Small-scale Master’s programmes – usually with only 50 registered students – generally rank the most highly. These programmes are well organised, the lecturers know their students and the students know each other. The Wageningen Plant Sciences programme is also in the national top 20. With its 219 students, it is obviously an exception to the rule, having a similar score to courses with not more than 50 students. The Keuzegids states: “This programme (Plant Sciences) proves that larger numbers of students do not necessarily form a barrier to quality”.

The Keuzegids drew up the rankings partly on the basis of satisfaction scores that emerged from the National Student Survey (NSE) that the Studiekeuze123 organisation carried out among students. These scores accounted for 70%, with the other 30% being determined by the NVAO (the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders) assessment.

Top programmes

Apart from Plant Sciences there are two more Wageningen Master’s programmes in the national top 20: Geo-information Science and the Master’s in International Land and Water Management. To be named a top programme by the Keuzegids, it is necessary to score at least 76 points, the maximum being 100 points. The guide concludes: “Wageningen is at the absolute top of the full-time Master’s programmes. Intensive education at high level with due consideration given to applications. Perfect for everyone with a ‘green’ heart.” And the guide advises: “If you want to follow a university Master’s in nutrition, agriculture or fishery, there’s only one place to do that in the Netherlands: Wageningen. Many of these programmes are unique at an international level too and have an excellent reputation.”

The 15 Wageningen top programmes (with points) are:

  1. Geo-information Science (88)
  2. International Land- and Water Management (88)
  3. Plant Sciences (84)
  4. Leisure, Tourism and Environment (82)
  5. Development and Rural Innovation (80)
  6. Biotechnology (80)
  7. Food Safety (80)
  8. Animal Sciences (80)
  9. Forest and Nature Conservation (78)
  10. Plant Biotechnology (78)
  11. Food Quality Management (78)
  12. Food Technology (78)
  13. Biosystems Engineering (78)
  14. Organic Agriculture (76)
  15. Nutrition and Health (76)

 

More information is available on the website www.keuzegids.org (in Dutch only). The Keuzegids Masters 2015 was published by the Dutch Higher Education Information Centre (CHOI).

 

#Keuzegids