The Faculty of Science offers the possibility for people to follow courses without enrolling as student. Contract teaching means that you can take certain courses without being enrolled as a student. Would like to learn more about topics covered at the Faculty of Science, but you do not have time to complete a study programme? Or you only want to follow one course? Then contract education might be something of interest to you.
If you are enrolled at another institution, please consult the page for secondary students.
Admittance
You can apply by filling in the webform for contract students. We advise you to complete your registration at least 6 weeks before the start of the course in order to be assured of timely access to the digital learning environment.
Before you apply, pay close attention to the following:
1. Check the study guide to see if the subject of your interest is available for contract teaching. Example: In the study guide, you will see contract education listed on the left side of the course under the heading "Target Groups". This means that this course can be taken via contract teaching. If “contract teaching” under the heading "Target Groups" is not mentioned or if the heading "Target Groups" is missing, the course is not available for contract teaching.
2. For courses for which a maximum number of participants has been determined, regular students are given priority. The same applies to courses with a practical part where a limited number of students can participate.
3. The faculty maintains the right to declare applicants for contract education inadmissible based on a failure to pay for previously requested contract education which was either not completed or cancelled after the deadline.
Costs and payment
The costs of contract education are € 185 per study point. This means that a course of 6 ECTS comes out to a total of € 1.110 and a minor of 30 ECTS to a total of € 5.500. You will receive an invoice which will have to be paid within 30 days. In case no payment has been received after 30 days you will be deregistered. However, you will still be held to the obligation of payment.
It is not possible to pay in terms. An invoice will be sent automatically for all the courses you have been admitted to. If you follow courses in different periods and want to spread payment, you can choose to fill in a separate application for each period.
Included in the costs are: participation in classes, support by the lecturer, use of the computer facilities, partaking in the (mid-term) exams and resit(s) resulting in one final result.
You will not receive a student card and proof of enrolment as a contract student.
The contract applies to the academic year in which the course is offered. Should the contractor wish to resit the course in a new academic year, a new contract will have to be created with related costs.
Cancellation is possible until at the latest 10 working days before the course starts. After this restitution of the course costs is no longer possible. In case of timely cancellation administration costs of € 50 will be charged.
Course catalogue and schedule
Information on all courses offered by the Faculty of Science as well as individual courses’ prerequisites for admittance can be found in the university study guide.
On the VU schedule site you can consult an overview of specific class and exam dates, times and locations. In the schedule you can search by course name.
Transcript
After taking the exam, the result will generally appear on VU.nl within 15 working days. From that moment on you can request a transcript via the Student Desk.
Contract Education for PhD students
PhD students from inside and outside the Vrije Universiteit regularly take part in courses given in undergraduate and graduate programmes of the Faculty of Science. Below you will find more information on the arrangements made by the Faculty of Science regarding the reimbursement of tuition fees.
Regulation VU PhD students
VU PhD students can take education without paying ECTS fees to the education provider. These PhD students are registered as 0-contractor in the student information system, as long as they do not take more than 30 EC of regular education.
Regulation for PhD students outside the Faculty of Science and VU
The following regulations apply to PhD students from outside the Faculty of Science and outside the VU:
- If there is a partnership (structural or consortium/subsidy) with another educational institution, there is no cost settlement. To demonstrate such a partnership, a written confirmation from the lecturer or project leader of the partnership with the VU is required. This confirmation will be submitted upon registration for the course.
- If no partnership exists, a cost-recovery fee must be paid for tuition taken for contract tuition. Reimbursement of tuition fees is based on the ECTS of the course taken. Even if only part of the course is followed, a fee must be paid for the entire course. The ECTS fee for postgraduate education of the Faculty of Science is set annually and calculated based on the average institutional fee of our faculty divided by the number of ECTS per academic year.
For the procedure around enrolling as a contract student and registering for education as a contract student, please consult the faculty's information. It is important to register well in advance.
For questions
Education Office Faculty of Science (onderwijsbureau.beta@vu.nl)