History

For 40 years, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences has been training students for management positions in the fields of Digital Entertainment, Hospitality & Facility, Leisure & Tourism, and Urban Development, Logistics & Mobility. NHTV is a modern and dynamic higher education institute with 6,500 students from over 50 countries. It is situated in the south of the Netherlands, in the historical city of Breda, only 100 km from both Amsterdam and Brussels.

Unique approach

NHTV was founded as an institute offering management programmes in tourism and leisure and in this field, it is the largest and leading education institute in the world. Our multimedia library has one of the most specialised collections in the world and our Electronic Learning System has made studying irrelevant of place and time. In addition to the four-year Bachelor programmes in Tourism and Leisure Management, new Bachelor programmes have been developed, closely related to these disciplines, such as International Hotel Management, International Media and Entertainment Management, and International Game Architecture and Design. Furthermore, NHTV offers several Master programmes: European Tourism Management, Imagineering and Tourism Destination Management.

As a didactic concept, NHTV applies ‘action learning’. Rather than ‘receiving’ education in the traditional manner, the students design and direct their own plan of study. Our lecturers are professional experts acting as role models for our students, rather than being tutors who tell them what to do. The knowledge and principles from the range of disciplines covered in the Bachelor and Master programmes is applied to problems taken straight from the professional field. In this way, we are committed to constantly gearing our curriculum to recent trends and developments in the world of employment.

International scope

NHTV is an education institute with a strongly international character, constantly seeking to enhance this international dimension. NHTV is a member of various international professional organisations, including the WTO Education Council. NHTV was the first University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands to receive the TedQual Certificate from the World Tourism Organisation for its Bachelor programme in Tourism Management. This acknowledgement shows that WTO endorses the quality of the tourism education at NHTV.

We work together with many leading education institutions, for example in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Spain and Sweden. As a result, there are many opportunities for intensive student and lecturer exchanges. Due in part to the joint research programmes, student conferences and summer courses, the international character of the programmes is enhanced. Most of our programmes are offered in English, and Dutch and foreign students join eachother in mixed classes. Some parts of the programmes may take place abroad as well, as is the case for our Master programmes. In this way, you are thoroughly prepared for your future career in an international setting.

All programmes lead to an internationally recognised Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, which means your NHTV diploma will be accepted anywhere in the world.

Centre of excellence

One of our main objectives is to make a substantial contribution to the development of knowledge in the sphere of the disciplines mentioned previously. Our lecturers’ expertise is frequently drawn upon to assist in both national and international consultancy projects. NHTV boasts several Associate Professorships: Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Visitor Management, Business Travel, Passenger Transport Management and Imagineering. Imagineering is a new field of knowledge, aimed at the creation of memorable experiences in tourism, leisure, hospitality, media and entertainment. As such, it serves as a bridge between our various departments.

Dutch higher education system

Higher education in the Netherlands enjoys a worldwide reputation for its high quality. This is achieved through a national system of regulation and quality assurance. The Netherlands has also received international acclaim for its education system, which trains students to analyze and solve practical problems independently through emphasis on self-study. The Dutch higher education system is based on a three-cycle degree system, consisting of a Bachelor, Master and PhD degree. The threecycle system was officially introduced in the Netherlands in 2002. At the same time, the ECTS credit system was adopted as a way of quantifying periods of study. According to Dutch law, one credit represents 28 hours of work and 60 credits represent one year of fulltime study.

The Netherlands has a binary system of higher education. Universities train students for the independence practice of research-based work in an academic setting. Universities of Applied Sciences (‘hogescholen’, like NHTV), are more practically oriented and prepare students for specific careers.

A Master programme at a University of Applied Sciences requires the completion of 60 to 120 credits (1-1,5 year). Graduates obtain a degree indicating their field of study (e.g. Master in Tourism Management).