Higher professional education
Sittard-Geleen is home to two very highly ranked institutions of higher professional education, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Zuyd University of Applied Sciences is continually ranked among the very best universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands, and the Fontys teacher training programme based in Sittard-Geleen is also consistently highly ranked.
This year, the accountancy programme and higher law studies programme at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences were both voted best programmes of their type in the country, in the higher professional education programme guide Voltijd 2013. That makes three very highly ranked professional programmes based in Sittard-Geleen.
Studying at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
Finding the programme that is right for you is never an easy task. Zuyd University of Applied Sciences has nearly 40 Bachelor's programmes, each with its own features and its own character. All programmes offer quality, personal attention, and active interaction with the field.
The study programmes at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences
For your convenience, we have drafted this summary of the programmes that Zuyd University of Applied Sciences offers in Sittard-Geleen.
Accountancy
Are you looking for an exciting and varied career that lets you get involved in the financial, economic, and administrative affairs of a whole spectrum of different companies? When you're an accountant, you don't just work with numbers, but you're also the person that companies trust to give them confidential financial and tax-related advice. Designated as best programme in Keuzegids 2013!
More about the Accountancy programme
'Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Sittard-Geleen outperforms the others on information and programme contact with the students. This might also be the reason for the very low number of students who drop out in the first year,' according to Keuzegids. 'Additionally, the success figure and percentage is also better than average. Finally, the accountancy programme scores extremely highly on timely graduation.' Keuzegids 2013
Business Economics
Are you looking for a programme with a lot of variety? In business economics, you monitor cash flows, draft budgets, create financial analyses, and use all this information to provide vital input for management reporting.
More about the Business Economics programme
Commercial Management
Do you have original ideas? Do you like to take the lead in a group? Do you have experience with sales and dealing with customers, or are these things that appeal to you? Would you like to know more about how customers think and act, and how companies communicate with them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, commercial management might be for you.
More about the Commercial Management programme
People and Business Management
Do you have broad interests and do you like being involved with both people and policy? In People and Business Management, you learn about economics, management, personnel & organization, law, finance, business administration, and government management.
More about the People and Business Management programme
Higher Law Studies
Are you intrigued by law but like to keep your work practical? In this programme, we approach legal issues from a practical perspective. The material is much less theoretical than what you would encounter at university. Graduates of the programme go on to have careers as legal staff in local courts, local or national governance, law firms, consumer advocacy groups, pension funds, insurance companies, etc. The Higher Law Studies programme was rated #1 in the Keuzegids 2015.
More about the Higher Legal Studies programme
Social Work
Are you interested in learning professional coaching, guidance, aid work, research, and helping people learn to rely on their own strengths? Would you get satisfaction from helping people get their lives back on track? Do you think in terms of solutions rather than problems, and do you know how to roll with the punches? If so, social work is for you! Selected as #2 programme in Keuzegids 2015.
More about the Social Work programme
Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Fontys University of Applied Sciences is a provider of a wide range of higher professional education programmes in the Dutch provinces of Limburg and Noord-Brabant, with a focus on Bachelor's degree programmes and state-funded Master's programmes. Quality is always the primary consideration.
Fontys is about growth through attention and challenge. The Fontys motto is: Think Bigger. Fontys believes in unique talents and in students and employees with personal ambitions. Fontys is involved, committed, and works with passion to bring out the best in its students and staff. Fontys is about facilitating growth by fostering interpersonal attention, and by stimulating and challenging people to think bigger.
Fontys strives with its students to achieve excellence. Fontys delivers excellent and inspiring education recognized by employers and others in our local environment and is highly valued by students and staff. The Fontys organization is characterized by short lines of communication and people committed to involvement with others and personal responsibility. Fontys puts your education first.
The Fontys study programmes
Fontys Teacher Training, Fontys Pedagogics, and the new primary education teacher-training college (a collaboration between Fontys University of Applied Sciences and Zuyd University of Applied Sciences) have been located under one roof since 2012. The programmes' modern building on Monseigneur Claessensstraat is immediately adjacent to the city theatre and less than five minutes' walk from the station and the city centre. The Fontys institutes in Sittard are designed around a small-scale philosophy so students quickly get to know each other and feel at home in the programme. The students are trained to be secondary school teachers, primary school teachers, and educational theorists.
Teacher training
The Fontys teacher training programme prepares you to be a teacher in secondary education. You can train to be a teacher in the following subjects: Geography, History, Dutch, German, English, General Economics, Business Economics, Engineering, Physics, and Maths. The Fontys teacher training programme in Sittard is designed to produce the best possible instructors. On the one hand, this is of course because Fontys believes that every pupil has the right to a good teacher, but even more, because good teachers know they have the best job in the world. Who doesn't remember that special schoolteacher who taught with real passion for the subject and who knew just how to handle the pupils? This is the role model that Fontys wants to train you to be. Starting in August, the Sittard teacher training programme will be offering full-time master's programmes in Dutch, Maths, and English.
More about the teacher training programme
De Nieuwste Pabo teacher training college
De Nieuwste Pabo teacher training college is training the primary school teachers of tomorrow. With a diploma in primary education from De Nieuwste Pabo, you can teach in the Dutch primary school system for year groups 1-8. You can be teaching in your own classroom right after graduation. Fontys is a strong proponent of teaching you to discover the field of teaching on your own. That means not only giving you the theory, but also definitely immersing you in the practice as well. This programme does not teach you to be a jack-of-all-trades with merely a broad, general knowledge of the field. Teachers who have graduated from De Nieuwste Pabo are professionals with specialization in a specific age group, content, and working environment. Talent is something that needs to be utilized. That's why De Nieuwste Pabo teacher training college also offers excellence tracks, such as the academic track. Consult the website for more information!
More about De Nieuwste Pabo teacher training college
Pedagogics
Pedagogics is the study of the development of children and young people, and the role of parents and caregivers in that development. As a student of pedagogics, you will learn to work with parents, teachers and caregivers to foster and promote the development of children or young people. During your programme you will work on your professional products in a series of projects; you will also be trained in observing, reporting, conducting discussions, and working with stakeholders. You may also opt for the programme in teaching pedagogics. In this programme you learn how to transfer your field (pedagogics) to students in secondary professional education (ROCs).
More about Pedagogics