Universities and schools

There are four Schools of Journalism in the Netherlands: the oldest and largest (350 new students every year), in Utrecht, celebrated its 50th birthday in 2016; two schools with a Christian background (Zwolle, Ede); one with a Catholic background (Tilburg). These schools all have a four-year program in journalism.

Apart from these vocational training options, there are university programs in journalism, mostly at a master’s level. These can be found in Amsterdam (both at the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit), Rotterdam, Groningen and Nijmegen. Journalism, however, is a free trade, so there are many journalists with - usually - a university background and without formal training as a journalist. Regional publisher Wegener had their own training program in the past.