This decrease is mainly due to fewer enrolments to the propaedeutic year: 457 fewer than last year. Against expectations, the amount of new enrolments in transition programmes (pre-master) and masters has gone up slightly, with 97 students in the pre-master and 28 in the master.

The total amount of students at the RUG has remained stable, while in the rest of the country the number of enrolments has gone up slightly.

There are two effects that are working to the disadvantage of the RUG, according to a press release by the university. The number of young people in the North is stagnating, more than in the rest of the country. And with the introduction of the loans system, it’s become more convenient for students to continue living at home. ‘Because Groningen has a high percentage of room tenants, it affects this city more than others.’

More international students

The number of international RUG students, however, has increased once again, to 4,225. This means that a little more than 15 per cent of students in Groningen are from outside the country. Most of the international students come from Germany (1,785), China (251), and Great Britain (223).

This international growth can mainly be seen in the Faculties of Mathematics & Natural Sciences and the Arts. The amount of German students in the new influx has declined. According to the university, this means that the international influx is becoming more diverse, and that it is more spread out over the different faculties.

Winners and losers

The faculties Mathematics & Natural Sciences, Arts, and Law appear to be the most popular with the international and Dutch students who are enrolling. The most popular bachelor programmes are Law (+157) and European Languages and Cultures (+128). The master programme experiencing the greatest increase is Finance (+42).

The big losers are the Psychology programme (-120), Business Administration (-56), and Pedagogical Sciences (-49).