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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).
What I'm curious about is, how different are both types of students? Do WO students sometimes look down on HBOs for example? Because of the difference in level and reputation, I feel like there may be more competitiveness in WO universities, too, is that correct in your experience?
Ultimately WO trains you to be able to do independent research to advance the field, while HBO is more about applying already established knowledge to concrete examples. In practice there is always some overlap though and some people go to and from HBO<->WO because "it suits them better".
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.
The overview below sets out the most important differences between studying at a research university and at a university of applied sciences. Research University (WO) University of Applied Sciences (HBO) ‘Why’. Abstract, analytical skills, theoretical, asking questions.
HBO bachelor is typically a 4 year degree. WO bachelor is typically a 3 year degree. If you want to do a WO master after a HBO bachelor, you typically can, provided that it's in the same field and you take an additional 'transfer' year to get you up to the same level as WO students.
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.
