Studying abroad with a Dutch diploma

If you want to study abroad, there are many things to take care of:

• How do you find a study programme abroad? How will you fund your study programme? And how will you find a place to live? Go to WilWeg (in Dutch).
• Does the foreign educational institution want to know the level of your Dutch diploma? Go to Diploma description.
• If the foreign educational institution wants to know more about your work experience or knowledge of languages, you can use these Europass tools.

If you are going to study or work abroad, the educational institution or employer will often want to know which diploma in their country is comparable to your Dutch diploma. We can describe this in a diploma description.

A diploma description includes:

• your name;
• information about your study programme and diploma;
• information about the Dutch education system;
• which diploma in the country in question is closest to yours.

A diploma description is not:

• a description of your study programme’s courses. For this, ask your Dutch educational institution.
• a conversion of your marks to the marks of the country in question. For this, too, you should ask your Dutch educational institution.
• a translation of your diploma and/or of your list of marks. You can get this from a sworn translator, for example via the Register beëdigde tolken en vertalers (Rbtv, Register of sworn interpreters and translators).

Which diplomas do we describe?

You can request a diploma description from us for one of the following diplomas:

• VMBO-T diploma
• HAVO diploma
• VWO diploma
• a diploma from a legally recognised higher education study programme. This could be, for example, a first-year certificate, a Bachelor’s degree certificate or a Master’s degree certificate. You can find out if your study programme is recognised via the CROHO register (in Dutch only).

• If you have one of the above-mentioned diplomas, go to the Diploma description application form (in Dutch).
• Do you have a VMBO diploma that is different from the VMBO-T (theoretical programme) diploma? In that case, apply for a diploma description from SBB.
• If you have an MBO diploma, apply for a Europass Certificate supplement (CS) from SBB (in Dutch).

What does it cost?

A diploma description costs €96.80 (including VAT).

Please note that in some cases we are unable to write a diploma description, for example because your study programme is not recognised. In such cases we will charge an administration fee of €20 and cancel your application. We will return the rest of the amount to you.

How long does it take?

You will usually get the diploma description within 4 weeks. We will send it to you in the post.