University College Fryslân

Find a sustainable path in small-scale Leeuwarden

University College Fryslân is just getting started. The program joins University College Groningen as the University of Groningen’s liberal arts and sciences program. This one emphasizes U.N. development goals, emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach to problems from climate to responsibility and psychology. For students interested in improving their world beyond graduation, University College Fryslân might strike the perfect note.

Basics

Associated with: University of Groningen

Degrees: BA, BSc

Concentrations: Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL) program with three majors: Responsible Planet, Responsible Humanity, Responsible Governance

Location: Leeuwarden, Friesland

English: Yes, the entire program

Cost for out-of-European Economic Area (EEA): €11,766

On-campus housing cost: €475/mo.

FAFSA funds?: No

Abroad from abroad: Yes, third-year opportunities through the University of Groningen all over the world.

Student body: In 2020, 77 new students were admitted to a program that’s about 55% Dutch and 45% international.

Five adjectives: bikeable, quaint, chill, Frisian, civic-minded

Is University College Fryslan Good?

University College Fryslân has been educating students for too few years to have made a global reputation for itself. What it does have is the University of Groningen’s formidable academic reputation behind it. Ranking #86 globally, Groningen brings innovation and research prowess to its newest university college.

The University of Groningen also scores high rankings for issues like social justice, environmental sustainability, and responsible consumption. That international reputation is sure to intrigue the typical applicant to UC Fryslân.

The College Town of Leeuwarden

A 35-minute train ride from Groningen, ringed by a large canal, is a charming northern outpost that feels a million miles away.

Although just 100,000 people, Leeuwarden boasts multiple applied science schools like Van Hall Institut, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, and Wetsus, which offers a water technology Ph.D. program. Wageningen University even has a “dairy campus” here, the pinnacle of the milk industry’s research arm in the Netherlands.

In total, there are about 100,000 people in Leeuwarden, and 20% are students from the various programs.

Despite that, it’s a sleepy, slow-paced town.

“The first thing I saw was that Friesland was all countryside. A lot of farms, a lot of coast. Crazy grass. When you get into Leeuwarden, it suddenly changes and you’re in the city. And it’s a city with a lot of character. It’s really cute. You could take a lot of good pictures there if you wanted to.”

From the tallest buildings (no skyscrapers here in Leeuwarden), you may be able to see the Wadden Sea about ten miles north.

Weekend Hangouts for Students

Take some time for a long, leisurely bike ride to the northern Dutch coast to hike through the intertidal mud to some of the Frisian islands, or brush up on your ice skating in preparation for the annual speed skating race through the canals in the winter.

On a nice day, you can catch a picnic in Prinsentuin Park along the canal and just lay back in the grass and watch the ducks.

Or rent a stand-up paddleboard and get to know this ancient city built on artificial mounds surrounded by wetlands. You’ll know you’re home when you catch sight of the lovable leaning tower of De Oldehove, angled even more than its famous cousin in Pisa.

“Of course there are parties and a lot of things to do, but if you want a lot of parties and a typical student life, you shouldn’t go to Leeuwarden. You should go to Groningen, which is a student city. Some people in Leeuwarden actually go to Groningen to party and then go back to Leeuwarden.”

Life is relaxed in the province of Friesland.

There’s another language to learn — Frisian, but don’t worry, almost everyone will still speak English with you, just like elsewhere in the Netherlands.

There are tons of Leeuwarden institutions catering to students, like party cafés, small dance bars that serve both food and music. The downtown core boasts multiple historical sights, charming Dutch brick buildings, and wide bike paths. 

“It’s really pretty: a lot of beautiful stores. The big chain stores like H&M, De Bijenkorf, Etos, and HEMA are all there, but they also have a lot of the cute, tiny stores.”

Campus + Housing

It’s hard to talk about the typical student life at UCF since the program was barely launched when Covid-19 put the lid on student life in Leeuwarden.

Fryslân is a new university college program in the Netherlands, welcoming its inaugural class in 2018 with just 27 students.

Last year, there were 77 in the small program where classroom discussion and human-scale education are foregrounded (in the near future, the college is planning to expand to roughly 600 total bachelor’s students).

However, Stenden hosts some 10,000 students, so Leeuwarden had a student presence far before UCF students arrived on the scene. Many local haunts cater to students, giving UCF students the chance to get out of the bubble and meet people from other programs.

The UCF campus is also home to a master’s degree.

Both are housed in Beurs, a former city library alongside the canal renovated when the campus moved to town a couple years ago. Beurs keeps its classical façade on the outside with a new, eclectic make-over on the inside to make room for bright, open seating, a restaurant, study spaces, couches, glass-walled classrooms, and even a couple of oil paintings in the Dutch masters’ style.

Student services are onsite to help students meet with their advisors and plan their studies.

Student Accommodation at University College Fryslân

Finding a room for classes may be well-organized, but housing is a typical Dutch hustle, with Facebook groups and early-scouting key to avoiding a stressful experience.

You won’t have to worry about it until your second year, though. First-year students must live in one of two residences: Kanaalstraat is a red brick building with private rooms with kitchen and bath (some with lofts) and Markt058 is a mod building across town with storage container hang-out spaces in the lobby.

Student Life at Fryslân

The student organization helps students feel at home as well. Called Nobis Cura Futuri , the group arranges social events like games, speakers, and trips.

You can even join the beer brewing committee.

There’s a “Support for International Students” committee here, too, which helps non-Dutch newcomers navigate the bureaucracies they may not have anticipated in a language they don’t speak.

Still struggling to fit into Frisian culture?

The university offers free classes in Dutch for those looking to hone their skills, and you won’t be lonely for long. There are impromptu dorm activities to compensate for the lack of university resources on this small campus. Sure, you won’t be able to join the sports clubs of the larger University of Groningen. However, you will find you’ll never be a number in the compact community.

Studying U.N. Sustainability Goals

University College Fryslân, a nascent program, burst onto the scene with an unfortunate international launch just before Covid swept onto the world stage. While still small, Fryslân’s program is the only undergraduate faculty on the Leeuwarden campus.

The program was built in the image of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, stressing governance in its multidisciplinary program.

First-year students take courses in diverse focus areas without any electives in their major. There’s a mix of political, health, behavior, and environment coursework, in addition to skills labs like academic communication and statistics.

“I looked at every course of study, going through the sites of every university in the Netherlands and came across Global Responsibility & Leadership. I liked the concept…I realized you had a lot of options to choose [besides just environmentalism] and could focus on the people/humanities side.”

By year two, students declare a major and find they have some wiggle room to choose courses. Mostly, they’ll take major classes, including a couple of requirements, and then spend time on a minor while doing an exchange in their third year.

Students can also do a “pre-master” in anticipation of a future master’s degree or an internship. 

“This year we had our first graduation for third-years. That was really special to be in this really new program and create traditions for the next generation.”

The Track System and Majors

The small size of University College Fryslân has drawbacks. For example, there are a limited number of elective courses available and the faculty pre-sets tracks for students to follow.

Within the majors, there are “tracks” that highlight different coursework, and students must complete two of them (in Responsible Humanity, for example, there are only two offered) but cobbling together a liberal arts focus all your own is impossible at UCF, where the tracks have been developed in order that all the students can make their way through the graduation requirements in their majors.

The course catalog lists just six or seven courses for each major and a handful of optional electives. For example, in the “Responsible Humanity” track, students might choose a psychology track, and they’ll take three psychology courses along the way like “Applied Social Psychology,” and “Consumer Psychology.” However, there’s no psychology department catalog from which to expand their elective focus.

Like many of the UCs, the cadence of classes and activities leads students through a year of general education, a year of focus on the major, and a year to explore a minor/exchange and then complete an undergraduate project.

Applying

UCF requires an IB diploma with Mathematics Applications and Interpretation SL or HL (with a passing grade), or Mathematics: Analysis & Approached SL or HL with a passing grade.

Alternatively, students can submit an AP calculus AB or BC or statistics test with a score of 3 or higher. They do accept a mathematics placement test score (the OMPT-A) with a minimum average score of 60% with a minimum score of 55% on each subsection – other than differentiation (“differentiation” is the only calculus-specific subsection on the OMPT-A).

There is an alternative to submit mathematics course descriptions, skills, learning outcomes, books used, etc. in order for the faculty to assess whether students have the background necessary to succeed in the program.

A CV, letter of motivation, and letter of recommendation are all required. Like all the UCs, there’s a selective admissions process at UCF, and after reviewing documents, some students will be invited to an interview. Applications are due May 1, but students who apply earlier will be accepted earlier and can plan ahead.

For students who are committed to the mission of the Global Responsibility & Leadership program, but come from outside the EU, there is a €4000 housing rand €6,500 half-tuition scholarship to help finance the cost of the first year at UCF.

Explore Other Options

University colleges are all different. Get a sense of how to choose. Then check out other options like Amsterdam University College or Leiden University College.