Rankings: The 13 best universities in the Netherlands for 2025/2026
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The Netherlands (Holland) is one of Europe’s leading countries for international education. Holland offers a good mix of traditional and modern institutions, and many universities in the Netherlands enjoy an immaculate reputation around the world, such as Wageningen, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), UvA University of Amsterdam or TU Delft. Thanks to the remarkable quality of research and higher education in the Netherlands, the country has repeatedly scored high in the Study.EU Country Ranking.
The impressive standing of the Netherlands in global university rankings is one effect of how the Dutch internationalised their university system. After the Bologna Process was initiated, during which Bachelors and Masters programmes became the norm throughout Europe, Holland was one of the first countries to make serious efforts at offering study programmes in English. Although much smaller than its neighbours Germany or France, the Netherlands offers many more English-language Bachelors and Masters degree programmes.
| University | QS Ranking 2026 | THE Ranking 2026 | ARWU Ranking 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delft University of Technology | 47 | 57 | 151 |
| UvA University of Amsterdam | 53 | 62 | 101 |
| Utrecht University | 103 | – | 56 |
| Leiden University | 119 | 70 | 101 |
| Eindhoven University of Technology | 140 | 192 | 301 |
| Erasmus University Rotterdam | 140 | 107 | 101 |
| University of Groningen | 147 | 82 | 73 |
| Wageningen University & Research | 153 | 66 | 151 |
| VU Amsterdam | 194 | 176 | 151 |
| University of Twente | 203 | 190 | 501 |
| Maastricht University | 239 | 131 | 301 |
| Radboud University | 279 | 154 | 101 |
| Tilburg University | 347 | 301 | 701 |
The QS World University Rankings are among the most important, most-referenced rankings. The QS ranking relies heavily on its academic survey, asking thousands of academics worldwide about the reputation of universities.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or the THE Rankings for short) compile a wide range of statistics. Equal weight is put on teaching quality, research excellence, and research impact through citations (meaning how often a university’s research is referenced elsewhere).
The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (often just Shanghai Ranking, or ARWU) focuses on research output and quality, for example measured by the number of published and cited scientific papers and the number of staff or alumni winning the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal.
The Netherlands, also known as Holland, has long been a popular country for students seeking top-quality education. Universities in Holland offer more Bachelors and Masters in English than those in any other continental European country - so whatever subject you want to study, you will find it in the Netherlands! Tuition fees are modest for students from the EU/EEA, and on par with the UK for students from outside Europe.
Read more about studying in the Netherlands
