Associations
Groningen is one of the biggest student cities in the Netherlands and offers a wide variety of associations, varying from study, students, sports and cultural associations. Joining an association means that you often make friends for life, and next to that it will offer you plenty of opportunities to develop your social and organisational skills.
Of course you are completely free to choose whether you want to join an association. As most of the citizens in Groningen are students, you will probably gain lots of new social contacts after the first night out! However, if you would like to join one of the many associations in Groningen, you have a very wide choice.
First of all, it is good to explain the difference between student and study associations. Study associations are specifically for your studies, so if you are studying for example International Business, only students from IB can become a member of this association. Study associations are very accessible, there are not a lot of obligations and it’s a very nice way to get to know your fellow students. They organize study-related activities next to social activities. Student associations, such as Vindicat (the most famous one in Groningen), are associations which are open to all students. You don’t have to follow specific studies to become a member of a student association. These types of associations are very nice if you want to get to know many students, not necessarily only from your own studies.
No matter what your primary field of interest is, there will most likely be an association that fits your interest. In order to know more about the different associations, you can click below for a more detailed description.