In 1960 he obtained a degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, which was followed by a doctorate from the same university in 1964.
The next year he became professor of political science at Radboud University Nijmegen.
[2] In 1977 he gave his inaugural speech as professor of public administration theory at the University of Twente.
Swieringa called Hoogerwerf one of the most important Dutch scholars of public administration theory of the previous 25 years.
[4] Hoogerwerf was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991.