22 Best universities for Optical Engineering in the Netherlands

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in the Netherlands ranked based on their research performance in Optical Engineering. A graph of 6.71M citations received by 170K academic papers made by 22 universities in the Netherlands was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Delft University of Technology

Netherlands | Delft

For Optical Engineering

#11 in Europe

#59 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 24,703
Founded: 1842

2. University of Amsterdam

Netherlands | Amsterdam

For Optical Engineering

#25 in Europe

#126 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Enrollment: 41,000
Founded: 1632

3. Utrecht University

Netherlands | Utrecht

For Optical Engineering

#33 in Europe

#142 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Enrollment: 40,000
Founded: 1636

4. Eindhoven University of Technology

Netherlands | Eindhoven

For Optical Engineering

#35 in Europe

#144 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 13,069
Founded: 1956

5. University of Groningen

Netherlands | Groningen

For Optical Engineering

#51 in Europe

#178 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 34,000
Founded: 1614

6. University of Twente

Netherlands | Enschede

For Optical Engineering

#52 in Europe

#180 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Founded: 1961

7. Radboud University

Netherlands | Nijmegen

For Optical Engineering

#55 in Europe

#187 in the World

Founded: 1923

8. Leiden University

Netherlands | Leiden

For Optical Engineering

#56 in Europe

#189 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Enrollment: 33,474
Founded: 1575

9. Free University Amsterdam

Netherlands | Amsterdam

For Optical Engineering

#120 in Europe

#330 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Founded: 1880

10. Erasmus University Rotterdam

Netherlands | Rotterdam

For Optical Engineering

#166 in Europe

#427 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Founded: 1913

11. Wageningen University

Netherlands | Wageningen

For Optical Engineering

#194 in Europe

#507 in the World

Enrollment: 12,819
Founded: 1918

12. Maastricht University

Netherlands | Maastricht

For Optical Engineering

#226 in Europe

#605 in the World

Enrollment: 18,000
Founded: 1976

13. Tilburg University

Netherlands | Tilburg

For Optical Engineering

#407 in Europe

#1204 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 57%
Enrollment: 19,178
Founded: 1927

14. Rotterdam University

Netherlands | Rotterdam

For Optical Engineering

#481 in Europe

#1517 in the World

Enrollment: 36,000
Founded: 1988

15. Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Professional Education

Netherlands | Amsterdam

For Optical Engineering

#831 in Europe

#3166 in the World

Founded: 1619

16. HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

Netherlands | Utrecht

For Optical Engineering

#994 in Europe

#4039 in the World

Founded: 1993

17. Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen

Netherlands | Groningen

For Optical Engineering

#1022 in Europe

#4190 in the World

Founded: 1986

18. Zuyd University

Netherlands | Heerlen

For Optical Engineering

#1086 in Europe

#4483 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 49%
Founded: 2001

19. HAN University of Applied Sciences

Netherlands | Arnhem

For Optical Engineering

#1134 in Europe

#4701 in the World

Founded: 1996

20. Fontys University of Applied Sciences

Netherlands | Venlo

For Optical Engineering

#1135 in Europe

#4702 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1996

21. Hague University of Applied Sciences

Netherlands | The Hague

For Optical Engineering

#1169 in Europe

#4887 in the World

Enrollment: 2,331
Founded: 1987

22. Saxion University

Netherlands | Enschede

For Optical Engineering

#1200 in Europe

#5046 in the World

Enrollment: 27,000
Founded: 1989

The best cities to study Optical Engineering in the Netherlands based on the number of universities and their ranks are Delft, Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Eindhoven.