Brexit: half as many EU students to UK

Brexit: half as many EU students to UK

Since the Brexit, three years ago this week, the number of new students from European countries in the United Kingdom (UK) has halved, including from the Netherlands. In September 2017, the number of Dutch students was 1,900. That number crashed to 1,000 in academic year 21/22. In that year, studies in the UK became more expensive for European students. They can no longer study at the same tuition fees as the British themselves. Fees rise to almost 43 thousand euros a year.

Some of the students who stayed away may have chosen alternatives like the Netherlands. The impact of the Brexit – in January 2020, the UK stepped out of the European Union – is difficult to measure, but Dutch universities saw the number of international students in bachelor’s programmes increase from over 15 thousand in 2020 to over 18 thousand in 2021. In previous years, there was also growth, but the leaps were slightly smaller. Since 2018, fewer British students have also chosen the Netherlands, the Dutch university association UNL reports. What the situation is in Delft is unclear. TU Delft’s employee-accessible statistics do not show incoming master’s students from the UK over several years, because they are fewer than 10 people per year. 

By the way, UK universities attract many more students from non-European countries. For instance, around a hundred thousand Chinese students have been starting courses for several years. The influx from India has shot up from 53 to 87 thousand first-year students. Despite this, British universities are worried about European students staying away, as they are losing out on talent. (HOP, BB)