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Hbo Bachelor's programmes take four years (240 ECTS). Wo Bachelor's programmes take three years (180 ECTS). The minimum admissions requirement for an hbo Bachelor's programme is a diploma at Dutch mbo level 4 (senior secondary vocational education) or Dutch havo (higher general secondary education).
Research university (WO): The emphasis is on learning to look analytically and critically at the way a certain field can be approached. Higher professional education (HBO): Higher professional education trains for a specific profession. You apply your knowledge and work in a solution-oriented way.
There are 2 types of higher education in the Netherlands: higher professional education (hoger beroepsonderwijs, HBO); and; research-oriented higher education (wetenschappelijk onderwijs, WO). There are separate types of higher education institutions for HBO and WO.
Higher vocational education (HBO) The 43 HBO institutions in the Netherlands together offer 200 programmes in a wide range of disciplines. They provide theoretical and practical training for occupations for which a higher vocational qualification is either required or useful.
HBO or Hogeschool institutes are focused on applied higher education and usually offer 4-year Bachelor programs geared more towards the practical labor market. The academic universities (WO) are the highest possible level of education in the Netherlands.
It generally requires three (WO) or four (HBO) years of education to obtain a bachelor's degree; graduates may then apply for a master's program at a university, which generally require one to two years to complete.
In higher professional education (hbo), a bachelor’s degree lasts four years, in research university education (wo) three years. The master’s phase comes after the bachelor ‘s phase and lasts at least one year in both HBO and WO.
