In this year's Keuzegids hbo 2025, the HZ ranks fourth among 'best medium-sized colleges.' As a broad university of applied sciences, the HZ has a nice institutional score of 71 points. In addition, 13 of the 33 HZ programs were rated as 'top programs'.

The best programs in the Netherlands

The HZ once again scores well in rankings based on student opinions from the National Student Survey (NSE), labor market figures and study success figures, such as dropout and success rate. Six HZ programs may call themselves the best in the Netherlands:

  • Of the Bachelor's degree programs, these include Pedagogy, Social Work and International Business.
  • Among the Associate degree programs (two-year hbo education) it concerns Built Environment, Engineering and Management. These last three courses are provided at the Associate degree Academy in Roosendaal. This is a collaboration of the HZ and Avans University of Applied Sciences.

Quality seal for top programs

In addition to this, 13 HZ programs are top programs in their category this year, i.e. of all colleges in the Netherlands. Top programs have more than 75 points and may use a quality seal:

  • In the social domain, these are the bachelor's programs Teacher Basic Education, Pedagogy, Social Work, Nursing.
  • In the economic domain to the bachelor's programs Communication and Human Resource Management.
  • In the technical domain, the bachelor's programs are Civil Engineering, Global Project & Change Management, Maritime Officer and Technical Business Administration.
  • Of the Associate degrees (a separate category) to the HZ licenses Built Environment, Engineering and Management from the Associate degrees Academy in Roosendaal.

It takes some getting used to

Barbara Oomen, president of the Executive Board, responds to the publication of the guide, “We are pleased with this result. As a broad-based college, we have a nice institutional score of 71 points. Also, as in previous years, we again have a large number of top programs. After 14 years of being in the top 3 of the Hbo Keuzegids rankings, we now fall just outside. That takes some getting used to, but we are also realistic. Hold on to that position for 15 years. As a personal university of applied sciences we will continue to work on the quality of our education and research and the best possible experience for our students. As in previous years, we involve students in the plans for continuous improvement of our education. Because if students are satisfied, so are we as a personal college.”