Amsterdam University (UvA) has seen the number of new bachelor students for the new school year drop by 10%.

The number of applicants has fallen from 5,216 to 4,679, the university said on Monday.

The fall brings the number of bachelor students back to the level of the 2011 school year.

The university gives three reasons for the drop: the national trend towards technical subjects, the introduction of student fees and the student protests earlier this year.

‘It can certainly not be ruled out that some students have made a different choice of university because of the sit-in here,’ acting head Dymph van den Boom told the Parool.

In April, the University of Amsterdam was listed as the eighth best place in the world for communications and media studies by the QS organisation.