The newspaper Trouw reports that it is becoming increasingly difficult for applied sciences students to attend a research university. The numbers of graduates joining a master programme has decreased by a third in ten years.
According to the Inspectorate, there is no clear explanation for the decrease. However, several measures have made the transition from a university of applied sciences to a research university less attractive, for example stricter selection. Nowadays, applied sciences students have to follow a pre-master in preparation for the actual master, because research universities want fewer drop-outs.
The pre-master is no longer funded by the government which means students have to pay for it themselves. Every point they earn needs to be paid for. A 60 ECTS programme will cost nearly 3,000 euros this year.
Since the Inspectorate reached the conclusion last year that stacking programmes has become increasingly difficult, education minister Jet Bussemaker has focused as much as possible on the collaboration between universities of applied sciences and research universities.