Press release

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

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March 2, 2016

Wageningen University again has the highest ranking for Master’s programmes among the 13 ‘regular’ universities in the Netherlands. The difference with the other Dutch universities is ‘considerable’, stated the Dutch Master’s programme information guide Keuzegids Masters. The 2016 edition, published today, awarded 16 of the 27 Wageningen Master’s programmes top programme status.

The new Keuzegids Masters provides a list of the Master’s programmes offered by Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. By scoring 68,5 point, Wageningen has the highest ranking and is the absolute top of the full time Master’s programme’s.

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.

Small-scale Master’s programmes – usually with up to 25 registered students – generally rank the most highly. The lecturers know their students and the students know each other, which is motivating. Wageningen University shows that a bit larger numbers of students do not necessary form a barrier to quality, the Keuzegids says.

Top programmes

To be named a top programme by the Keuzegids, it is necessary to score at least 76 points, the maximum being 100 points. Across the board Wageningen University scores top. Compared to the 2015 edition, two programmes are newcomers in the list of top programmes in Wageningen: Climate Studies and International Development Studies.The 16 Wageningen top programmes (with points) are:

  • Geo-information Science (88)
  • Food Safety (86)
  • Biosystems Engineering (82)
  • Development and Rural Innovation (82)
  • International Land- and Water Management (82)
  • Leisure, Tourism and Environment (82)
  • Plant Sciences (82)
  • Animal Sciences (80)
  • Food Technology (80)
  • Forest and Nature Conservation (80)
  • Biotechnology (78)
  • Climate Studies (78)
  • International Development Studies (78)
  • Plant Biotechnology (78)
  • Food Quality Management (76)
  • Nutrition and Health (76)

More information is available on the website www.keuzegids.org (in Dutch only). The Keuzegids Masters 2016 was published by the Dutch Higher Education Information Centre (CHOI).