In the Netherlands, three types of higher education are available: research-oriented education, higher professional education and international education. A new degree structure for higher education was officially introduced in 2002 (Declaration of Bologna). Under the new system, universities award bachelor’s degrees after three years of study and master’s degrees after one or two additional years of study. A major final requirement for the master’s degree is a thesis based on the student’s own research. Though universities will, as before, primarily offer research-oriented programmes and universities of professional education will continue to focus on higher professional education, both types of institution are now authorised to offer both types of higher education. International Education has remained a separate type of higher education, and is provided by institutes of International Education. 

Dutch universities that offer international courses and programmes.
There are 14 universities in the Netherlands (“universiteiten”). They offer research-oriented programmes and award degrees at the masters’s level, as well as the country highest academic degree, the “doctoraat”, comparable to a PhD. The universities do not all have programmes of education and research in the same disciplines. Some of  the universities offer education in a broad range of fields: natural science, health, economics, law, behaviour and society, and language and culture. These are the universities of Leiden, Groningen, Utrecht, Maastricht, Nijmegen, Tilburg, Rotterdam and both universities of Amsterdam. The universities of Delft, Twente and Eindhoven specialize mainly in engineering and Wageningen University specializes in agriculture.   

A more detailed and up-to-date overview of international courses is also available at the web-site  http://www.studyin.nl/ or  www.studychoice.nl

For a listing of universities:
 Association of Universities in the Netherlands 
 Universities Portal

Alongside the traditional institutions there is the  Open University, which offers higher education distance learning to people who wish to obtain a degree or diploma but are unable or do not want to attend full-time, regular courses. There are no educational prerequisites for the Open University; all applicants over the age of 18 are admitted. The Open University offers some of its study programmes in English. 

Other Dutch higher education institutions that offer international courses and programmes.
There are 56 universities of professional education in the Netherlands, known as “hogescholen”.  They offer career-oriented programmes and award degrees at bachelor’s and master’s levels, which concentrate on applied science, arts and technology. Students are prepared for professions that require scientific knowledge as well as skills for applying that knowledge. The universities of professional education offer a variety of full-time and part-time programmes in any of these seven sectors: agriculture and the natural environment, behaviour and society, health care, engineering and technology, fine and performing arts, economics and management, and education. Initial degree programmes require four years to complete, at the end of which a bachelor’s degree is awarded. An essential component of all programmes of higher professional education is the internship, or work placement, through which students acquire practical experience in real work situations.  
The Netherlands has 15 higher education institutions devoted specially to International Education. The IE institutes feature development-oriented education in a wide range of fields and on different levels. The possibilities vary from short courses to a “doctoraat” or PhD. Courses and programmes designed primarily for professionals who have already embarked on their careers. Most programmes and courses are at postgraduate level and relatively short. A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent is a prerequisite for most of theses programmes and courses, plus at least some years of professional experience. Above all, the education is practical. The programmes and courses introduce participants to new methods and techniques. They can be adapted to suit individual needs and wishes. But more than this, they make sure that the participants will know how to apply their new knowledge when they get back home. 
There are 25 more higher educational institutions that are officially recognized by the  Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands but operate independently, without a basic subsidy. They also offer full-time degree programmes.

More information on these education institutions is available at  www.studyin.nl  or  www.studychoice.nl.

Cooperation in the sphere of education
Within the spheres supervised by the Ministry of Education and Science Latvia has not concluded cooperation agreements with the Netherlands neither on the state, nor ministerial level. In this sphere Latvia's cooperation with the Netherlands ranges over both multilateral and international projects, and sharing experience among research institutions.

Cooperation of both countries takes place both within general (school cooperation projects for Academic Program Agency), professional (Vocational Education centre of Latvia's MES cooperates with the Netherlands Innovation Centre), and Higher education. Government of the Netherlands is offering opportunities for Latvia's students to receive grants for magisterial and doctoral studies in the Netherlands on yearly basis. A large part of Latvia's State-owned, as well as private higher educational establishments have concluded cooperation agreements with the Netherlands' higher education institutions foreseeing exchange of students, lecturers and scientists. Latvia's University is cooperating with Twente University, Groningen University, Nijmegen University, as well as Amsterdam University. In 2004 University of Latvia joined one of the largest university networks of Europe - the Utrecht Network, administered by Utrecht University. Riga Technical University has been successfully cooperating with Delft University of Technology, and Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music - with enschede Konservatorium and Utrecht School of the Arts. Latvian Academy of Arts, Maritime Academy of Latvia, Riga International School of economics and Business Administration, Rezekne Higher Education Institution, Ventspils University College etc. also have have got cooperation partners in the Netherlands.

Educational organisations
 Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
 VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands)
 FION (Federation of Institutes for International Education in the Netherlands)
 NUFFIC (the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education)

NUFFIC was founded in 1952. It is a professional organization that realizes its motto “Linking knowledge worldwide” by providing professional services in four areas: development cooperation, internationalization, credential evaluation, and the international marketing of higher education. NUFFIC helps to strengthen teaching and research infrastructure in the South by facilitating international cooperation between higher education institutions. It supports national strategies for human capacity-building by administrating fellowship programmes for study in the North. NUFFIC fosters the internationalization of higher education, with special emphasis on programmes for international student and staff mobility for professional and academic careers. NUFFIC also facilitates access to national and international education and labour markets by helping to eliminate problems related to the international evaluation and recognition of diplomas and degrees. It also provides accurate, up-to-date information about Dutch higher education, which it disseminates abroad. It promotes foreign participation in Dutch higher education and helps Dutch higher education institutions to complete on the world education market.