Exchange Report

Start looking for housing as early as possible, the market is super competitive. Getting to Maastricht shouldn't worry you, as there are countless ways (via Brussels by plane & bus/train, via Cologne by plane & bus, via Amsterdam by plane/night train, ...). There are no direct flights tough. Buy a ticket for ESN Arrival Week, as it is the easiest way to get to know people early on; don't rely on the university events.

I started looking for housing in late August (for a contract starting in late January) and it was already difficult to find something affordable and nice. I then found a small studio on MaastrichtHousing, which was very nice and well located, but also quite pricy. The MaastrichtHousing service I can fully recommend, as it is provided by the university and therefore a reliable and trusted site. It was located right at the market in the city center and was about 5min per bike from every university location that mattered for me (Inner City Library, SBE Ts & Tap). The entire city is very safe, neither I nor anyone I met every experienced anything serious issues.

The campus isn't really a campus, more like different locations all over the city. However, as the city is quite small, you only ever need like 5 min per bike or foot to get from one location to the other. The academic culture is as you would expect. It is somewhat international, however there is a large German-speaking community. The tutors strictly enforce the use of English at all times (even during breaks) for the sake of inclusivity. Overall, the workload is very high and you will read a bunch of chapters and papers in preparation for each tutorial. However, compared to WU the exams are easier and don't require as much preparation. The grading is somewhat odd, but very fair.

Rent a bike from Swapfiets, it is super reliable, cheap and it will be replaced in case it gets stolen. Apart from it, you won't ever need to use public transport. Again, the city is perfectly safe, no matter day or night. There is like an infinite amount of cafes and bars and a couple of clubs. Most events (from bars, clubs and student organisations) are for some reason on Thursday, so don't pick courses with class on Friday if you can. There are a couple of gyms (one in a church) and UM offers a number of sports courses.

Maastricht turned out to be the perfect exchange city. It sits right on the Maas, it's small and packed with students, so you're always running into familiar faces, and there's no shortage of lovely cafés and bars to hang out in. What surprised me most was the PBL system, which even tough it required a lot of preparation made classes very fun. Overall, I feel like it was the most formative experience of my life and shaped me more than anything else in my studies.