But if you are super curious and interested in what I am doing and can't wait to know a bit more about my study choices you are in the right place.
Here in the Netherlands there are just primary/elementary school and then three main different types of high school as secondary education. Basically they don't have middle school as in Italy. So at 12 yo young Dutch boys and girls have to decide which educational path they are going to follow. A bit early in my opinion, and maybe that is why so many of them drop out of heir studies or change their mind at some point.
There are three main different types of high school based on a student’s academic level and interests:
- VMBO: vocational education until the age of 16, which leads to vocational training (MBO).
- HAVO: general secondary education until the age of 17, prepares students to study at universities of applied sciences (hogescholen), where they can follow a bachelor's degree of applied sciences.
- VWO: university preparatory education until the age of 18, focuses on theoretical knowledge in order to prepare students to follow a bachelor's degree at a research university
Higher education is divided in research-oriented and profession-oriented, so Dutch people can either choose to attend a research university (like the University van Amsterdam) or a university of applied sciences (like the Hogeschol van Amsterdam).
Now that you have a bigger picture of how education works here in the Netherlands, let's talk about my university!
I am studying at the Hogeschol van Amsterdam (HvA, Dutch pronunciation "ha-fe-a"), the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, which means less theory, more group projects and practice. My course is International Business, a four-year full-time bachelor’s program taught entirely in English (bachelor in Business Administration) It combines economics, marketing, math, statistics and management with other subjects such as languages, entrepreneurship, cross-cultural awareness and all other sorts of international stuff.
The school year is divided in two semesters and each semesters consists into two blocks, each block has four different modules, for a total of 60 ECTS credits per year.
The first year is focused on the basic modules, during the second year there is the possibility to choose an additional language (and I still don't know what I am going to take, either Spanish or French I think) and other three/four electives. In the third year I'll choose my Specialization Track, probably go on an exchange and choose a minor. The great thing is that you can go on exchange basically wherever you want (as long as you keep your grades up) because the university as partners in so many countries.
Finally the last year is all about Internship and Thesis, which can be completed abroad as well.
I chose this program because I think it has a lot to offer and right now I am quite happy with my choice, I love studying in English and I am also into exploring and getting to know new subjects such as Accounting and Marketing.
So far so good, and then of course there's Amsterdam itself which plays its part well, but that's material for another post!
If you have any questions you know what to do! 💙
Finally the last year is all about Internship and Thesis, which can be completed abroad as well.
I chose this program because I think it has a lot to offer and right now I am quite happy with my choice, I love studying in English and I am also into exploring and getting to know new subjects such as Accounting and Marketing.
So far so good, and then of course there's Amsterdam itself which plays its part well, but that's material for another post!
If you have any questions you know what to do! 💙
Quote of the post:
"Put your hair up in a bun, drink some coffee and handle it"
-literally me almost every day-
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