Design Academy Eindhoven Students Win Their Case

A court has decided that the Eindhoven Design Academy wrongly advertised an academic MA degree for which it is not accredited to award. International students must spend two more years studying elsewhere to obtain the academic title they assumed they were going to get in Eindhoven.

By Gabrielle Kennedy / 18-06-2009

Twelve former students have won their case against the Design Academy Eindhoven. They claimed they enrolled in a post-graduate academic Master of Arts degree, which the academy advertised, but were only awarded a Masters of Design diploma, which is not recognized internationally. Without a legitimate Master of Arts degree it is harder to earn teaching placements at universities.

“The judgment said that the Design Academy was wrong for pretending it could award an academic title,” Erik van Emden, a lawyer representing the students, says. “Next we will establish in court what damages must be awarded.”

The judgment was actually handed down in April. The students and their lawyers kept it private and opted to extend a settlement opportunity to the Design Academy. “But they rejected it and instead are appealing the decision,” says Van Emden. “That is why we have decided to make it public this week.”

Pending that appeal, it is now up to the district court to decide what damages to award the claimants. “A previous case concerning a school in Utrecht awarded a student with 50 000 euros,” says Van Emden. “We think that considering these students will need to spend a further two years getting a legitimate degree, it is a fair amount.”

It took the Schrofer Academy four years to acquire accreditation for its Master of Applied Arts programme. The problem is that in the Netherlands art and design academies are not pegged at the same level as universities and can not, therefore, award Master of Arts or PhDs. The system here differentiates between scientific education (universities) and so-called “higher vocational education” (hoger beroepsonderwijs, or hbo), which would be akin to a college in the Anglo-Saxon system. Art academies are in the latter category.

“The students are very disappointed,” says Van Emden. “They worked hard to earn a degree that they thought they were eligible for, but never were. They were genuinely shocked by it.”

The story ran in Holland’s national newspapers this Monday with reactions from the students. “Holland has a good reputation in design so I came to Eindhoven to get a Master of Arts degree in design,” Canadian Arno Verhoeven told de Volkskrant. “I only realized something was amiss at graduation in 2006. We received a diploma that didn’t say Master of Arts, but Master of Design.”

De Volkskrant also reported that another student from China asked the Design Academy for an explanation and was simply told that the diploma was not an internationally recognised title.

“The Academy didn't take us seriously,” Verhoeven continued. “We studied for an academic degree, but were given a college degree instead. How could this happen? The money I spent on it was wasted.”

The Design Academy Eindhoven is no longer advertising its Master of Arts programme.

Photography: Norbert van Onna