Upon arrival in Maastricht, you can expect to be encouraged by the Dutch student ambassadors to participate in their weekly pub crawls, but once you’re situated in the Guesthouse—where the majority of international students live—expect to eat, drink, travel, and celebrate life with students from just about every country in the world.

Set between Germany and Belgium, from Maastricht you can literally ride your bike to both borders, and the city’s Central Station offers trains with high-speed connections to almost anywhere in Western Europe. The city itself is one of the smallest in the Netherlands, featuring cobblestone, pedestrian-only streets, picturesque bridges, a truly impressive number of pubs, “coffeeshops” on almost every block, and the Vrijthof—a wonderful, centrally-located square dominated by the remarkable Romanesque church of Saint Servatius.

Fun aside, Maastricht University has been rated as one of the top three Dutch universities, and is the only university in the world to utilize Problem Based Learning (PBL) in all of its programs.  Approximately half of its courses are taught in Dutch and half in English.  It’s most recognized for its Arts & Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Law, and Psychology programs. Additionally, Maastricht University offers University College Maastricht—a unique, intimate, internationally-oriented, multidisciplinary program that’s definitely worth checking out.