Differences between WO and HBO
| Research university (WO) | Higher professional education (HBO) |
|---|---|
| 'Why' | 'How' |
| Abstract, analytical skills, theoretical, asking questions. |
Concrete, practical |
| The emphasis is on learning to look analytically and critically at the way a certain field can be approached | Higher professional education trains for a specific profession. You apply your knowledge and work in a solution-oriented way |
| You learn to present convincing oral and written arguments and to draw conclusions from them | The training is directed towards the acquisition of competences. |
| Research-oriented | Teaching-oriented |
| A university has a research duty alongside its teaching duties. | The most important duty of a university of applied science is to provide teaching. |
| Because lectures often also have research tasks, new knowledge and the process of academic research are dealt with in the lecture | In addition, a great deal of attention is also paid to advisory work for business and institutions |
| Less supervision | More supervision |
| Own initiative, self-discipline, independence. | The contacts with students are often more intensive. There are usually more contact hours, including compulsory ones, such as lectures and work groups |
| Universities not only have small-scale tutorials and project,s but also lectures for large groups of students. | |
| Relatively high teaching speed | Relatively relaxed teaching speed |
| You will be expected to be able to quickly process and understand the large amount of teaching material, often in English | More time is spent on each topic |
| Placement or research | Placement |
| You will round off your degree programme with a placement or a research project. | You can go on a placement during the entire degree programme. |
| Professions less clear in advance | Professions usually clear in advance |
| After finishing your degree programme you can usually choose from various possible professions in the fields of research, management, administration and policy | After you finish, you will usually end up in a white-collar job. |
| Personnel ads often ask for an 'academic level of thinking' rather than for specific knowledge. |