Study progress requirements
If you are an international student with a residence permit (for the purpose of study), you are required by law to meet a degree progress requirement. This means that you are required to obtain (at least) 50% of the maximum amount of credits per year to keep your residence permit. You need to meet this requirement for each year that you study here. This rule does not apply if you participate in an exchange programme.
- For all programmes, the number of credits (ECTS) per year is set at 60. If you are enrolled in a programme as a full time student, you must obtain at least 30 ECTS to fulfil the lawful requirement. Some degree programmes have a Binding Study Advice for first year students - please contact your study adviser if you have doubts about the study progress requirements for your programme
- If you are enrolled in a programme for only part of the year, you will need to obtain 50% of the total amount of credits for that semester. For instance, if you start your programme on 1 February, you can obtain a maximum of 30 credits between 1 February and 31 August. To meet the study progress requirement, you would need to obtain 50% of those 30 credits (15 credits).
- If you are enrolled in a preparatory programme (such as the pre-medical year or foundation year), you must pass this programme. If you fail, your residence permit will be revoked and you will not be able to apply for a residence permit extension for study at Maastricht University. A preparatory programme is restricted by law to a maximum duration of 12 months.
The vast majority of students will not have any difficulty obtaining at least 50% of the offered credits. However, there can be extenuating circumstances in your personal life, which can influence your academic performance (e.g. death of a parent or a serious illness). If you find yourself in such a situation, please contact the study adviser of your programme as soon as possible. The study adviser will advise you on the available procedures and how to best move forward. Please note that a study adviser is required to keep your conversation confidential.
Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)
The university is obligated by law to notify the IND if you fail to meet the study progress requirement. During the application process, you will be asked to declare that you are aware of the study progress requirement and the consequences if you fail to meet this requirement.