Student Life
The meeting of nationalities, cultures, backgrounds and abilities within the school enriches the work of the entire DAE community and helps student designers understand their projects within a global context. This is an institute where debate and difference are always welcome.
Many students make life-long friends during their time at the Academy and find that the network of fellow students they form while studying becomes an invaluable part of their professional life after graduation.
Students can access many benefits, including the ZBar, an in-house cafeteria that serves affordable and healthy meals during school hours with a constantly changing menu. The ZBar is often staffed by current students. Keep an eye on the jobs page for the latest vacancies.
A variety of systems and initiatives are in place to encourage a wide range of applicants and help current students if their circumstances change. The school offers counselling services to support current students through challenges that arise during their studies.
DAE also encourages exchanges, offering international students the chance to experience the school’s approach to design for one semester.
International students from outside the EU may need visa and residence permits to study in The Netherlands. You can check if you will need a visa or residence permit using our Pathfinder tool.
Students at DAE are expected to provide their accommodation while studying in Eindhoven. When the Academy was founded, affordable housing was easy to find in Eindhoven. Today, the city has transformed and is becoming increasingly gentrified, making housing a significant issue for many students. We advise incoming students to begin their search early and spread their net widely. More information on this can be found here.
Housing Guide
Starting a new chapter in life is always exciting and having chosen Eindhoven as your study destination you can look forward to settling in the Netherlands. The next major step, will be to find yourself somewhere to live.
Laid out in a step-by-step manner, the DAE Housing Guide builds upon the experience and feedback of staff, students, and alumni of Design Academy Eindhoven with the aim of streamlining the process of house hunting. Finding a home can be a challenging and lengthy experience, and in response this guide aims to explain the key considerations, terminology, and structures that impact students when they begin renting in Eindhoven.
The Graduation Fund is the financial contribution from the students of Design Academy Eindhoven towards the staging of the school’s annual Graduation Show during Dutch Design Week and the production of the Graduation Catalogue.
Tuition fees for studying at Design Academy Eindhoven are set annually. The statutory tuition fee is set by the Dutch government, while the institutional tuition fee is set by the DAE board, based on the statutory rate of the Dutch government.
The Design Academy Eindhoven student body has an international orientation. Approximately 70 percent of Bachelor students and 90 percent of Master students are from outside The Netherlands.
You may need a visa and/or residence permit to study in The Netherlands, depending on your nationality and the duration of your stay.
The Student Council (STUC) is the representative body run for and by students. Through acting as the voice of the student body, initiating and collaborating on various community building events, the STUC’s mission is to ensure the student experience at DAE is exciting, meaningful and accessible.
The Student Charter entails general DAE regulations and includes the B-OER (Bachelor Education and Examination Regulations) and the M-OER (Master Education and Examination Regulations), the respective credit tables and the Master Study Programme’s Valuation and Admission System.
Students sometimes need additional support or facilities during their studies for a wide variety of reasons: for instance, due to special circumstances such as disabilities, chronic illness, neurodivergence, mental health, or personal issues. This does not need to be an obstacle to studying at DAE. Student counsellors Olga Pullens (BA/MA) and Mona Smits (BA), can support students and advise on the arrangement of additional facilities. DAE prefers to think in terms of opportunities, provided that the level of education is not affected.
Deadline to RE-ENROLL for MA and BA is 1 May 2024. RE-ENROLL is mandatory for current students who wish to continue their studies in September 2024. For BA students, you will NOT be able to select your studio/focus if you are not enrolled before 1 May. BA students that haven’t re-enrolled and/or haven’t filled in the choice form before the deadline will be placed in a studio/focus based on availability.
For the 2024-2025 academic year, Design Academy Eindhoven is offering two opportunities for exchanges with students from schools outside of The Netherlands – one in the Fall semester and one in the Spring semester.
Design Academy Eindhoven participates in the NL Scholarship, supported by The Netherlands’ Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and DAE. The NL Scholarship provides a partial scholarship for the first year of your studies at Design Academy Eindhoven. The scholarship includes a stipend of € 5,000 and is awarded once for the first year of study. Please note that this scholarship covers living expenses and is not intended to cover tuition fees.
Design Academy Eindhoven participates in the Erasmus+ programme, offered by the European Union. It is created to promote student mobility in Europe. It provides grants for a wide range of actions and activities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport.
Studying at Design Academy Eindhoven puts you in the heart of one of the Netherland’s most dynamic cities with a vibrant student population and a budgeoning tech industry. For many students, living in Eindhoven also marks their first experience of living away from home.
Starting a new chapter in life is always exciting and having chosen Eindhoven as your study destination you can look forward to settling in the Netherlands. The next major step, will be to find yourself somewhere to live.