Waiting times

All study programmes must be designed so that you can achieve 60 EC credits per academic year. You have enforced waiting time if you cannot achieve 60 EC credits in an academic year and cannot do compensatory activities. This is officially called ‘an insufficiently feasible programme’. This page tells you what you can do in such a situation.

What are the options in my situation?

If you can foresee that you will be faced with waiting time, for example for internships or residents (the latter only for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine), contact your student advisor.

With your study advisor, you will discuss how to minimise the delay. Some possible solutions are:

  • Adjusting your study planning, for example by doing electives first;
  • Temporarily ending your study programme, you have to submit a Request for termination of enrolment in Studielink.
  • Are you unable to graduate within ten years due to a waiting period? You may qualify for an extension of the diploma period. Please contact a student counsellor via Student Services.
Study advisor

What should I pay attention to when I request for termination of enrolment ?

If you terminate your enrollment, you are eligible for a refund of your tuition fees and your entitlement to study funding and your student travel product will lapse. However, this does suspend your student finance entitlements, which you can use again later.

Termination of enrolment may affect other agreements you have entered into as a student, such as student insurance, student bank account, student residence permit and student housing.

Other consequences

Special circumstances

What should I pay attention to if I stay enrolled?

If you are enrolled as a full-time student, you can continue to receive student finance and your student travel product. You will then also continue to owe tuition fees regardless of whether you use education services.

You may be eligible for financial provisions from Utrecht University in the form of financial support on grounds of circumstances beyond one’s control (FinSCO). To be eligible, you must meet the conditions below:

  • There is an actual study delay. You have been unable to obtain 60 EC credits in a cursory year;
  • You cannot undertake any compensatory study activities;
  • There is a compulsory waiting period and no voluntary waiting period.
Financial support