Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities. The university is internationally renowned for its innovative educational methods, dynamic research portfolio, and diverse, international population. It occupies landmark buildings spread throughout the city centre, and its medical and psychology faculties and teaching hospital are state-of-the-art facilities.
Maastricht University is the most international and fully bilingual (English and Dutch) university in the Netherlands, with most programmes taught entirely in English. It has over 18,000 students and 2,100 academic staff. Around 50% of students and 40% of academic staff come from abroad, together representing about 120 different countries. When studying in Maastricht, you encounter different languages and cultures every day, inside and outside the classroom.
UM multidisciplinary collaborations contribute to solving major societal issues within our primary research themes. We develop new methods to make plastics from organic materials, but we also conduct research into migration, and look into methods to get more people interested taking the necessary financial preparations for their retirement. Whenever possible, UM research is translated into economic, financial, or social value. UM participates in centres of excellence, both technological and social, to allow scientific discoveries to be swiftly converted into practical applications. What is more, research is integrated into education at every level.
Research by the UM Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) shows that some 96% of graduates are working in a paid job within a few years of graduating (Maastricht University graduate surveys 2017).
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2025 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 145 | 138 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| - | 201 | 201 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2025 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 278 | 256 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Besides faculties and service centres, there are several offices that facilitate all sorts of activities within the university, ranging from sports and sustainable development abroad, to language education and summer school. For example:
If you start your studies at UM in September, you will be invited to participate in the student orientation programme in August. The programme consists of a general orientation week (INKOM) followed by an introduction to the faculty.
Maastricht Housing helps students and employees of Maastricht University, Hogeschool Zuyd, Jan van Eyck Academie and other universities and academies to look for suitable accommodation.
In contrast to many other college towns, Maastricht does not have long waiting lists for living space. However, it is still important to look for a room early on. Please note that waiting times are longer at the start of the academic year.
The University Library supports students and researchers in achieving their academic goals. We offer a modern study and research environment that is available online, 24/7, either on campus or worldwide accessible with your UM account and password.
The University Library owns heritage collections; special collections from the past, with important value for today’s society, education and research.
UM offers a range of ICT facilities to students, staff and guests. Examples are wireless internet, advanced possibilities to print, UM accounts and an own desktop environment.
ICTS offers users one location for all relevant manuals. Please note that you need to be on MAASnet (via cable, WiFi or VPN) to access them.
It is important that you have sufficient health care, liability and travel insurance for the duration of your stay. Most students are covered through their home university. Please refer to the CES website for more information.
Campus Brussels - The campus is situated in the heart of Europe in a historical building near several European institutions. UM Campus Brussels offers a wide range of possibilities for professionals as well as students to enhance their professional careers through courses, trainings and as a meeting place.
Campus Venlo - Food, nutrition and logistics are the three main focuspoints at Campus Venlo. Research and educational topics range from food innovation and the psychology of eating to logistics optimisation. Research at Campus Venlo is done in an interdisciplinary fashion within three research lines.
Sports enthusiasts find what they are looking for in Maastricht. First of all there is, of course, UM SPORTS that offers more than 50 different sports to students and employees: from Zumba and ClubPower to Ultimate Frisbee and Fencing, and from Muay Thai to Pilates and Yoga. For those who want to plan their own time, the gym is the place to be and for those who want to play in a team, the student sports associations are welcoming new members. Moreover, they organise trainings and activities for beginners and experienced runners and cyclists.
UCM hosts the diverse and engaging UCM study association, Universalis. This multicultural and multi-disciplinary student organization, run by UCM students, aims to offer its members academic and social development opportunities as a supplement to the regular UCM curriculum. Its name and logo are derived from different interpretations of the concept of the homo universalis, a person who has developed all of his or her skills and abilities to the fullest extent. An example of such a person might be someone with not only a sharp mind, but also athletic qualities and artistic talent.
This organisation is part of Maastricht University and doesn't have its own reviews.
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