Student organisations

Student associations
A student association is a club that fulfils a social function during the study programme. Besides having fun together, many student associations also engage in activities that extend beyond the scope of regular academic programmes, such as addressing societal challenges and contributing to community initiatives.

Associations for international students
International associations build bridges between Dutch and foreign students and often have the objective of facilitating student exchanges between different universities in different countries.

Student sports associations
A student sports association is a student club in which the members practice the same sports. These include team sports and individual sports.

Study associations
A study association is a club for students who follow the same study programme or specialisation or who, in some cases, study at the same faculty. A study association provides services related to the study or specialisation, and an orientation towards the job market.

Student party
A student party is a student council or other representative organ for students, mostly recognised as a student fraction. A student council consults with the university council.

Independent fraternities and sororities
Small student clubs with an emphasis on socialising. Sometimes a fraternity or sorority can be part of a student club, but this is not always the case since they can be independent groups as well. These groups are often differentiated by gender: fraternities are a group of male friends, sororities are a group of female friends. 

Cultural student organisations
There are various cultural student organisations. These are involved with music, dance or theatre. Some examples are a student choir, drama group or dance group.

Other student organisations
There are several student clubs who cannot be placed under the labels above. These are students who create a student club based on a common interest, lifestyle, ethnicity or social purpose.

During the introduction period, aspiring members have the chance to find out more about the student organisations in Maastricht. During this period you will meet older students and get to know other aspiring members.

To ensure that the introduction period goes by without any hiccups and to prevent problems, a code of conduct has been drawn up by the 'Commissie Kennismakingstijden Maastricht'. It contains a number of rules and agreements certain organisations and the sororities/fraternities must adhere to during the entire introduction period.

See the codes of conduct

Code of conduct introduction period general student associations 2024
Code of conduct introduction period independent student associations 2024

Every student who has been a board member at a general (non-faculty) student organisation and who receives six or more months from the 'UM Profileringsfonds' is eligible for a certificate. The certificates are signed by the President of the Executive Board.
 

Procedure

In May, the Student Services Centre (SSC) Secretariat sends an overview of which board members are eligible for a certificate to the student organisations. After checking if the overview is correct, the student organisations fill in a form with all the necessary details of their board members and return it to the SSC Secretariat. The certificates can be obtained at the SSC Secretariat or sent to you by email.

Please contact the SSC Secretariat for more information:
+31 43 388 5212
monique.kussendrager@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Get acknowledged for your commitment to the Maastricht community
 

At UM, we place great importance on the role of civic engagement in contributing to our society and environment. Whether you are supporting others, promoting sustainability or raising awareness of important issues, your commitment is valued. To acknowledge your efforts, we offer the digital edubadge Global Citizenship, which you can add to your LinkedIn profile and CV.

Certain student organisations have activities or committees that meet the CEA requirements. If you participate in these, you may be eligible for this recognition.

To request the edubadge, your student organisation must be registered. The board can apply for approval of your organisation’s civic engagement activities by completing this form and sending it to volunteer@maastrichtuniversity.nl. When your organisation is registered, you will receive the reflection form that your volunteers need to fill out in order to receive the edubadge Global Citizenship.

Organisations up to five members

We understand that recognising contributions can be more challenging in smaller groups. Therefore, the project team, together with the Director of the Student Services Centre, will review and approve participation for organisations with five or fewer members. Additional questions may be asked to assess the activities of small organisations.

For questions, please reach out to volunteer@maastrichtuniversity.nl