The Hague - Den Haag and Student life
The Hague is bursting with culture and creativity and offers students an all-round experience, from galleries packed with Dutch masters to idyllic beaches and parks and buzzing nightclubs. It’s a small-scale, hospitable city with an international attitude. In The Hague, students are in the hub of Dutch politics and international justice. The Binnenhof parliament building and many legal institutions are located in The Hague. Students graduating from The Hague have a head start in industry with an international outlook and names of renowned organisations on their CVs.
Cultural highlights
The Hague has many cultural highlights, including Mauritshuis, the home of Vermeer’s iconic Girl with a Pearl Earring painting, the Mondriaan collection at Municipal Museum and the Peace Palace. The city boasts excellent theatres and music venues and is reputed to be Holland’s top pop city. Parkpop, Europe’s largest free festival, takes place in June. Scheveningen’s sandy beaches, just outside the city centre are a popular place to relax.
City of peace and justice
The Hague has worked hard to earn its title - International City of Peace, Justice and Security. The city boasts around 131 international institutes and 80 justice organisations and follows only New York, Geneva and Vienna in importance as a United Nations city. Since 1913, the Peace Palace has been a centre of world justice, hosting the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice. The International Yugoslavia Tribunal, Europol and the International Criminal Court are located in The Hague, along with many other courts, tribunals and NGOs.
Internships
The Hague’s international attitude and location in the heart of Europe attracts big-name multinational companies and organisations, including Shell, Siemens and KPN. THU taps into the resources of the 300 international businesses in the city, which collaborate on our programmes. Unilever, DSM, Shell and the International Criminal Court are just some examples of the companies and organisations offering work placements and providing guest lecturers.
An international city
It’s little wonder that this cosmopolitan city with its global business and justice links attracts over 40,000 students, making it a truly international student city. As well as being the seat of Dutch government, all foreign embassies to the Netherlands are located in The Hague. English is the preferred language of communication – and there is always the chance to pick up a little Dutch. The city’s diverse student societies are an ideal place to mingle with people from different backgrounds.
THUAS Campus
Our campus offers secluded areas where you can reflect, work and study, by yourself or in a group. PCs, equipped with a broad range of software applications, are available throughout the campus. Most students, however, connect to our wireless network on their own laptops or tablets. Our wifi coverage is comprehensive, easy to use, fast, and secure,
wherever you are on the campus.
All students are free to use our libraries, both the physical and the digital varieties. Our digital library enables you to remotely access catalogues, databases and other electronic resources and is backed up by a 24/7 helpdesk. Our physical library has 400 study areas – many with internet-enabled PCs – for use by individuals and groups. A wide selection of books, magazines and dissertations, listed in electronic catalogues, may be consulted in the library.
We like our students to be fit and healthy, so we provide them with sports facilities. Our sports and fitness card entitles you to take your pick from a whole range of sports, including football, tennis, badminton, golf, hockey and even ice skating. It also gives access to our well-equipped gym and to subsidized fitness classes.
Whether you’re looking for a pick-me up like a chocolate bar or something more substantial in the form of a complete meal, you’ll find it in our main ground-floor restaurant, which also serves Halal food. Hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, snacks and biscuits can be bought at a number of cafés and vending machines throughout the building, so even if you’re in a rush there’s no reason to feel thirsty or peckish.
Building up a social life in a new city isn’t always easy. A good way to break the ice and share your views, interests and concerns with other international students is through Interaccess, an organisation founded by THU and open to all foreign students in the vicinity of The Hague. By organising activities, from bicycle tours to sport tournaments, Interaccess gets people from all countries and continents talking to each other. Before you know it, you’ll have a circle of likeminded friends that’ll make your life in The Hague a lot more fun.