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Dutch Student has to Write Thesis in English

Recently a student writing a thesis based on applied scientific research done in a hospital came across some difficulties. The hospital demanded a dissertation written in Dutch. On the other hand, the exam commission, judging her thesis at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, demanded a dissertation written in English.

The student could not fulfill this demand and decided to appeal the decision to be able to write her thesis in Dutch. Exceptions have been made in the past to the ‘English-only rule’, but this time has passed: English is the compulsory language.

The student’s mentor supported her appeal. People mention that it is good to encourage the use of English for the sake of international orientation of Dutch students, ‘but sabotaging someone’s studies to uphold a principle seems ludicrous.’ The University consequently put the blame on companies and institutions for not allowing students to do their thesis in English.

This case is a good example of how English is becoming more and more important in the Netherlands in relation to Dutch.

At Wittenborg Business University, all programmes are taught entirely in English, and it is the norm that the majority of students studying at Wittenborg write their dissertation in English as well. However, students can choose for themselves if they want to write their dissertation in English or in Dutch, especially in the case of a company (potential future employer) specifically requesting the paper to be written in Dutch.