Hanze University of Applied Sciences

Hanze University of Applied Sciences is the largest university of applied sciences in northern Netherlands, based in Groningen with ~26,000 students.

Hanze University of Applied Sciences is a public university of applied sciences located in Groningen, the Netherlands. Its roots trace to Academie Minerva, founded in 1798 as one of the first multi-sectoral practical higher-education institutes in the Netherlands; the modern institution took its current form in 1986 when 16 vocational schools merged. It is the largest university of applied sciences in northern Netherlands, with approximately 26,000 students drawn from over 80 nationalities.

Hanze offers 54 bachelor's programmes and 19 master's programmes across disciplines including engineering, business, health, communication, creative arts, and music. Around 15 bachelor's and 12 master's programmes are taught entirely in English, covering fields such as international business, communication, sensor technology, physiotherapy, and creative media and game technologies. The university's approach centres on project-based, practice-oriented learning, with compulsory internships and real-client projects integrated into degree programmes.

The main campus sits on the Zernike Campus in Groningen's northwest district, a shared science and education park that hosts roughly 60,000 students across several institutions. Groningen is a compact, student-dominated city in the north of the Netherlands, consistently rated among the most liveable cities in the country. Hanze holds an Erasmus Charter and participates in European exchange networks, giving students access to placements across the continent.