Step 1. Orientation - for the minor in 2026-2027

What is the Study Abroad minor?

The Study Abroad minor offers you the opportunity to study abroad for one semester. During this period, you will be considered an 'exchange student' and take courses at one of HZ's partner institutions, without paying extra tuition fees. You can choose your own destination and put together a course list of 30 EC that suits your interests. Thus, the study abroad minor is not a set number of courses as it would be if you were taking a minor in the Netherlands. If you consider doing your minor abroad in the third year of your studies, you have to start your orientation in the second year.

Visit the Go Abroad Fair: 10 and 11 November 2025

One of the options to orient yourself is to visit the Go Abroad Fair. You will receive an announcement about the fair via email from your study coach/program. The staff of the International Office will be at the fair to answer your questions. HZ students who studied abroad are also present. They can give you detailed information on the place where they studied, and other useful tips and tricks.

Where can you study?

Important to know is that you can only do your Study Abroad minor at one of the partner institutions with which HZ has an exchange agreement.
Would you like to know at which institutions you can study with your program? Then take a look at the website with the destinations for the Study Abroad minor to see which institutions these are. For each partner institution you will find information on matters such as available courses and semester dates.

Which courses can you take

As you can read above, you are an "exchange student" if you participate in the Study Abroad minor. To find out which courses you can take as an exchange student at the partner institution, go to the website with all the destinations where you can study. Choose the partner institution where you want to study and look under the subject 'Course offer'. There you will find the link to or a document with the courses for exchange students. What you should not do: is search for 'minor' on the website of the partner institution. Then you won't find the right information. The system of minors as we know it in the Netherlands is unique/can't be compared to minor-systems in other countries.

Which semester?

You can choose to either study abroad in the fall (1st semester) or the spring (2nd semester) of your 3rd year. There are a few things you have to take into account when making your decision:

• Do you have/will you get the permission of the examination board?
• Did you pass sufficient ECs of the main phase in the semester you would like to study abroad? Your study coach will be able to advise you on that. Additionally, you can look up the information in the Regulations of your study programme.
• The semester dates of the foreign partner institutions can differ from ours. For instance, the Canadian and some Scandinavian partner institutions, start the 2nd semester at the beginning of January! If you plan on doing your internship in the 1st semester, you have to start it before September. Have a look on our website with the destinations for the Study Abroad minor for an indication on the semester dates.
• Does the partner institution offer the courses you'd like to follow in the semester you plan on going there?

Important: during the 2nd application round you an only apply for the 2nd semester (spring 2027).

How does it work with tuition fees?

During your period abroad, you remain enrolled at and pay tuition fees to HZ. You never pay tuition fees to the partner institution.

Do you have a residence permit for study?

If you have a Dutch residence permit, you must have your main residency in the Netherlands. You may stay outside the Netherlands for a maximum of 1 continuous year. This is allowed if you are temporarily going abroad for education (minor or internship abroad) to complete your studies in the Netherlands. Your residence permit must be valid during the entire period abroad. Are you going to study temporarily in a different EU country? And has HZ notified the IND of this (as part of the Intra EU mobility regulation)?
In that case you will be allowed to study in the other country for a maximum of 360 days in total. The IND adds up any separate periods. Always check the website of the Dutch government regarding the rules for moving to another country as these may be subject to change. If you do a minor abroad, the Student Office (L108) will inform the IND as the minor is registered through Osiris.
After the outbound mobility notification has been approved by the IND, the IND will send HZ (= Student Office, csa@hz.nl) a supplementary document to be issued to the student before they leave for abroad. This additional document is in the form of a letter. The Student Office will then e-mail this to the student. This supplementary document is then part of the (already earlier issued) residence document.

Higher grants for students from 'underrepresented groups'

Are you a student:

• With limited financial recourses;
  
• With a disability (physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment);
• With health problems (serious illnesses, chronic conditions or other physical or mental health problems)

If so, you may be eligible for a higher grant. Check the information on grants and scholarships to see if you qualify. You can also ask your counselor to inform the HZ International Office of your situation.

Student experiences

On our Instagram page you find stories of HZ students who studied or did an internship abroad. Do you want to read more experiences?

On the website with the destinations for the Study Abroad minor you will find evaluation forms of HZ students. You find them at the bottom of each page with information on the partner institution.

Impression of the Go Aboad Fair