Rankings & accreditations

Quick links to:

 Student satisfaction 
 National rankings
 International rankings

National Student Survey

Together with all other Dutch educational institutions, Maastricht University yearly participates in the National Student Survey. Students are asked to give their opinions about their bachelor's or master's programme. They indicate to what extent they are satisfied with, among other things:

• the programme's content
• the student guidance
• the work load
• their teachers

• the exams.

   

The National Student Survey's results are published yearly by Studiekeuze123 (in Dutch). The results serve as study choice information for prospective students, and UM uses them for internal quality assurance analyses.

• Keuzegids Universiteiten
  
  The Keuzegids compares bachelor's and master's programmes in online guides for prospective students. To rank the bachelor's and master's programmes, Keuzegids predominantly uses the results of the National Student Survey. In addition, other sources are considered, such as DUO's 1cHO data base, ROA's data on the labour market (only for masters) and Nuffic's figures on internationalisation.
  
  In the Keuzegids Universiteiten, bachelor's programmes in academic higher education are compared on themes such as content, teaching staff, assessment, preparation for a career, the atmosphere within the programme, progression to the second year, and graduation within four years. Programmes that score well above the national average in all areas are awarded the designation ‘Top-rated Programme’.

• Keuzegids Masters 

  
  
  The Keuzegids Masters provides an annual overview of all master's programmes in the Netherlands and compares student satisfaction within specific fields of study in terms of content, teaching staff, assessment, career preparation, and the overall atmosphere of the programme. This information is based on the National Student Survey.
  
  In addition, the Keuzegids Masters presents data on student intake, the percentage of international students, mode of study (full-time/part-time), language of instruction, and offers insights into the labour market prospects for each field of study.
  
  Unlike the Keuzegids Universities, the master's programmes are not ranked and therefore are not given any evaluative label such as ‘Top Programme’. However, Keuzegids does indicate that programmes are considered excellent if they receive a ‘++’ rating across all underlying criteria.

•  EW Magazine: ‘De Beste Studies’
  
  Since 1994, EW Magazine, supported by researchers from ResearchNed, has been collecting and analysing study-related data for prospective students. 'De Beste Studies' provides information on student numbers, success rates, and links to the programme's websites. A key element is the analysis of results from the National Student Survey. EW awards gold, silver, or bronze medals to programmes with the most satisfied students. The most recent edition of EW De Beste Studies was published in 2023.

Position UM in international rankings and UM’s position regarding international rankings

UM is featured in various international rankings, including the Times Higher Education (THE), QS World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU/Shanghai Ranking). These league tables, which often focus on metrics such as research output, academic reputation, and staff-to-student ratio, are used globally by students, academics, and policymakers.

However, these rankings have their limitations: they oversimplify complex education systems by reducing a university’s performance in research, teaching, and societal impact to a one-dimensional overall score, and they do not reflect the broader impact of a university.

Furthermore, rankings are often at odds with strategic priorities and core values such as Recognition and Rewards. The methodologies used in international rankings lack transparency, which makes interpretation, reliability, and validity problematic. UM supports the position paper by Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) “Ranking the university” and urges users to approach such rankings with caution.

Although UM achieves high positions in international rankings and is considered one of the best young universities in the world, we emphasise that the quality and unique characteristics of UM are not fully captured in these rankings. We advocate for a much broader understanding of what constitutes success, and for this reason we support the international initiative More Than Our Rank.