Top-level sports
Are you an elite athlete looking to pursue your academic goals at Maastricht University (UM)? You're in the right place! UM offers comprehensive support to seamlessly blend your athletic pursuits with your studies.
Tailored support during your studies
At UM, we are dedicated to helping you find the best possible way to thrive in both your studies and your top-level sport. Our support is tailored to fit your needs within the framework of your study programme. As part of the FLOT (Flexible Education and Top-Level Sport) initiative, in collaboration with NOC*NSF, we're committed to enhancing both your educational and athletic career prospects.
How to get support
- Step 1: Secure your top-level athlete status through Limburg Sport. Please register before 1 October of the academic year you require support. Non-Dutch speakers can download the English translation of the Limburg Sport application form. If you have questions, please contact the UM top sports coordinator at umtopsports@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
- Step 2: Already hold top-level sports status and enrolled in a study programme at UM? Register with the university as a top athlete using our online registration form.
- Step 3: Once you’re registered with us, we will discuss your eligibility and options regarding support in your studies, sports facility access and accommodation. The types of support you are eligible for depend on your top-level sports status.
Celebrate your achievements with us!
We take pride in the dual careers of our student athletes and want to showcase your accomplishments. Are you participating in an important competition? Have you achieved remarkable results? Share it with us via email at umtopsports@maastrichtuniversity.nl or on Instagram (@um.sports / #umtopsports).
Comprehensive support services
To help you succeed in both the arena and the classroom, UM provides the following resources:
- Academic flexibility: We understand the demands of balancing top-level sports and academics. Your faculty's study adviser is happy to help you explore the possibility of flexible study arrangements.
- Sports facility access: Depending on your top-level sports status, you may qualify for benefits like a free UM SPORT membership or discounted access to specific training facilities:
- Free All-in-one membership: AS, SelecS, IT, NT, Bel, BS
- Free Sports or Gym membership: RS1, Q1 (please indicate your choice with your application)
- Discount of 50% off Sports or Gym membership: RS2, Q2
- Extra access to training facilities at the University Sports Centre (on request): AS, SelecS, IT, NT, Bel, BS, RS1, Q1
- To request this service, contact the UM top sports coordinator at umtopsports@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
- Priority housing: Get priority status with Maastricht Housing to ensure you find a room that suits your needs as a top athlete. The top sports coordinator can help you with this once you are registered with Maastricht Housing.
- Dual career recognition: Eligible athletes can receive a certificate (status AS, SelecS, IT, NT, Bel, BS) or acknowledgement letter (status RS1, RS2, Q1, Q2) upon graduation, highlighting their dual career achievement. To be considered for this, contact the top sports coordinator at least one month before graduation.
- Financial support for a study delay: If you are an athlete with the status AS, SelecS, IT, NT, Bel, BS, RS1 or Q1, you may qualify for financial support from the Profileringsfonds if you experience a study delay. In the spring semester of the year you experience the study delay, you will receive an e-mail with more detailed information and a request to submit your application. Your application will then be assessed to determine if you are entitled to support (with retroactive effect).
Student athletes' stories
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Maastricht University alum and orthopaedic surgeon Yuhan Tan studied medicine while competing in badminton at the highest level. Juggling student life and competitive sport was challenging, but doable. He received support from the university in the form of acquired skills, accessible lecturers and...
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They go places, our UM top athletes. When I approached Hidde Mollee (19) at the beginning of this year for an interview, he very kindly asked if that was possible after February. He was in Namibia that whole month for an altitude internship. How do you do that alongside your bachelor's degree in...
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Shortly before our interview, Jordan Habets returned from Llorett de Mar in Spain. Not to party wildly there, as you would normally expect from a 21-year-old man, but to train heavily. Jordan has been a promising cyclist for years, working very hard alongside his education to pursue a career in...
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In our series on students who are top sport athletes, Judith Houtvast is next to speak. Judith (19) already swam several National Championships and is also studying in the second year of the bachelor's programme in Biomedical Sciences. Also? How does she do it and where does she put her priorities?
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They study at UM, do their utmost to get their degree, but also have another big ambition: they want to reach the top in their sport. Young people who set everything aside to train hard alongside their studies and participate in high-level competitions. Real go-getters, in other words. What does it...
