A third of international graduates working in the Netherlands

Over the past 15 years, more and more international students came to the Netherlands to study. As a result, the number of international graduates in the Netherlands and available for the Dutch labour market also increased.
In the 2006/'07 academic year, almost 3 thousand international students left university education (WO) with a Master's or Post-Master’s degree. They represented 11 percent of all graduates in that academic year. In the 2019/'20 academic year, over 12 thousand international WO students obtained a university Master's degree in the Netherlands. This was almost one-third of all graduates.

More international graduates continue working in the Netherlands

International students more often graduate in technical fields

Approximately one-third of international WO Master graduates in 2018/'19 obtained a degree within the study programme Law, Administration, Trade and Business Services (this includes, for example, the studies Business Administration and International Business). This made it the field in which most obtained their Master's degree, followed by Journalism, Behavioural and Social sciences (such as Psychology), Technology and Engineering (including Architecture). The share of international students with a degree in a technical field was significantly higher than among Dutch (non-international) students (16 versus 9 percent). The share of international students graduating in Healthcare and Welfare, on the other hand, was smaller.

Graduates in service studies most often have a job here

The share of international students working in the Netherlands one year after graduation varies by field of study. Graduates in the Services programme (e.g. Supply Chain Management) are relatively often employed a year later, as are graduates in Computer Science, Education and Technology, and Technology and Engineering. Of this group, 4 out of 10 are working in the Netherlands a year later. The share of international students who graduated in other fields of study and who are working in the Netherlands a year later ranges between 24 and 31 percent.

Large differences between study programmes in share of employed people

With regard to study programmes, we can take a closer look at education groups.
The share of employed people was particularly large among a number of technical study programmes. For example, more than 60 percent of international graduates with degrees in the Chemical Engineering and Process Technology group, such as Chemical Engineering, are working in the Netherlands one year later. The same is true for courses in the Electronics and Industrial Automation group. International graduates in the Construction and Civil Engineering, Transport and Logistics and Software Development and Systems Analysis groups are also more likely to be working in the Netherlands, at over 50 percent, than graduates from other groups.

Management, Business and Human Resources Sciences and Psychology are popular study groups among international students. However, one year after graduating in these fields, less than one-third are still working in the Netherlands.