Radboud University, Nijmegen

Radboud University, Nijmegen

Age: 89

History: Established in 1923 in the oldest city of the Netherlands, Radboud University started as the Catholic University of Nijmegen. It started out with 27 professors and 189 students but the number of students rose steadily from 3,000 in 1960 to 15,000 in 1980 and to over 19,000 today. In 2004, the university officially changed its name to Radboud University Nijmegen, after Saint Radbound, a bishop who lived around 900.

Address: P.O. Box 9102 , 6500 HC Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Ambience: Radboud University Nijmegen is renowned for its green campus, regarded as the most attractive in the Netherlands, with all the university buildings, lecture rooms, facilities and the University Hospital concentrated together on the one square kilometre of the former Heyendael estate. The University has an international focus, attracting scientists and students from all over the world with more than 10 per cent of students coming from abroad. Several factors make it increasingly easy and attractive for foreign students to study and work in Nijmegen: the growing number of programmes taught in English, the English library, state-of-the art computer facilities and new, ultra-modern, up-to date infrastructure and facilities such as the Faculty of Science and the High Field Magnet Laboratory. The city of Nijmegen also welcomes students: a recent survey revealed that local people regard them as enriching their city and find them friendly and lively.

Vital statistics: The university educates over 19.000 students, of which 10 per cent are international students. Its seven faculties offers 40 Bachelor programmes and 64 Master programmes in a variety of fields, from which 31 Master programmes and 2 Bachelor tracks are fully taught in English. After graduation students can continue a career in research by following PhD programmes that take place in cooperation with the University’s 19 research institutes.

Added value: The University has fostered strong links between education and research, where students can become independent thinkers and were they are encouraged to carry out research themselves and, above all, to look further than the confines of their own discipline.

There is also close collaboration with the 19 research institutes in Nijmegen, allowing students access to modern , up-to-date research equipment and facilities.

Glittering alumni: Professor Konstantin Novoselov, who completed his PhD at Radboud University, won the Nobel Prize for Physics 2010, together with Professor Andre Geim. They have won the prize for their research into the properties of graphene, the thinnest material in the world.

Overall ranking: Increased from the 149th to 138th place in the QS 2011World Universities Ranking. In the Times Higher Education World University Ranking, we have climbed from position 204 to 159.

Transport links: From UK you can fly to The Netherlands to several airports, in order to get to Nijmegen. From Schiphol you can take a direct train from the airport to Nijmegen every half an hour. There are also two low-costs airports nearby the city of Nijmegen: Eindhoven Airport and Weeze Airport in Germany.

The University campus is reachable by several bus connections from the Nijmegen Central Station.

Who’s the boss? The Rector Magnificus of Radboud University Nijmegen is Professor Sebastian Kortmann (Law) and the President of the Executive Board of the University is Jonkheer Roelof de Wijkerslooth de Weerdesteyn.

Teaching: With a personal style of teaching and close-knit academic community, offering instructors and fellow students plenty of opportunity to work closely in interactive, small seminars, the university is not a mere 'degree factory'. Students receive individual guidance from top researchers and their studies are directly integrated with the work taking place in the University’s 19 research institutes.

Nightlife:

With more than 30,000 students studying in the city Nijmegen is a typical student city, with a lively nightlife. Its city centre with a lot of historic streets holds a variety of shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants. Nijmegen offers a lot of cultural activities, from numerous museums, galleries, theatre, a concert hall and cinemas to happenings such as the International Four Days Marches with the International Summer Festival, the Limburg Medieval Festival, the Samba and Salsa Festival, Rockin’ Park Festival.

Any accommodation?

Radboud University guarantees housing for students following a Master’s degree programme if you apply for admission before 1 May. You will live either in a student complex, which are large flats that have rooms exclusively for students or in a private house, in which the landlady or landlord rents out rooms.

Most rooms are located within a few kilometres from the university, and can easily be reached by bus or bicycle. The rooms are furnished, and you will share kitchen and bathroom facilities with up to 15 other students. The rent will cost you approximately up to €400 a month.

Prospective bachelor students have to look for accommodation themselves as Radboud University Nijmegen does not offer any assistance.

Cheap to live there? Expect to spend minimum €720 per month on living expenses. Expect to pay per month about €360-500 for furnished accommodation including gas, electricity and internet, € 350 for food, clothing, personal care and travelling, €80-90 for insurance (if needed), €20 for phone bill, books and photocopies €200-300 per semester.

Fees: €1771 per year; for the Joint European Master’s programmes please check the website.

Funding support: EU/EEA bachelor students who wish to take a degree programme in the Netherlands can sometimes be eligible for a Dutch student grant (in Dutch: studiefinanciering) or a tuition fee loan from the Dutch government. For more information please check the website of DUO/IB-Groep: http://www.ib-groep.nl/.

English-taught programmes:

• www.ru.nl/masters, for all our master’s programmes
• www.ru.nl/nsm/prospecnew/, for our bachelor’s programmes in Business and Economics