Bachelor-master Programmes in the Netherlands and Germany

This article compares the results ofthe implementation of the new bachelor-mastersystem in the Netherlands and Germany. TheBologna Process presents the common Europeancontext for this reform process. However, therespective national contexts differ, and so dothe actual implementation processes and theemerging outcomes. For each of the twocountries, a limited number of aspects of thereforms that emerged as most relevant arehighlighted. In the final section, somecommonalities and differences are discussed.The former mainly concern the characteristicsof the binary system in both countries and theintroduction of accreditation in relation tothe bachelor-master system. With respect to thelatter, the implementation strategy and thefunding conditions are most strikinglydifferent, related to the fact that in Germanythe new system is implemented in parallel withthe existing system, whereas in theNetherlands the new system will replace theexisting one.