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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).
9 kwi 2024 · There are three main types of education in the Netherlands after high school: MBO (focused on vocational training), HBO (focused on higher professional education), and WO (focused on research and academia).
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.
Tertiary (higher) education in the Netherlands is made up of hoger beroepsonderwijs – HBO (higher vocational education) and wetenschappelijk onderwijs – WO (scientific/academic education).
HBO prepares students for certain professions (hoger Beroeps onderwijs), WO prepares students for an academic/scientific future where they do research ( Wetenschappelijk onderwijs).
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. In principle with a HAVO, VWO or MBO level 4 diploma, you can enrol in a higher professional education programme.
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.
