I’m doing Media and Information and I believed that it will be a very modern and interesting programme, but instead, we got to analyze old concepts from old scholars. While some of these concepts are still applicable today, there is a need for more contemporary content, so what we are doing makes sense.

Coming to study in Amsterdam was one of the best decisions I took as an 18-year-old. I wasn’t quite sure about what I wanted to study but I surely knew Amsterdam was the place. What I loved about the student life at UvA is that you feel really integrated in the city – to me the prospect of being able to study at different campuses was exciting since I enjoy changing scenery and environment. Furthermore, I was surprised by how international my program is – my year had 15 different nationalities and I got in touch with such diverse stories and cultures which came about not only in a study environment but also outside of the university.
I must say I have mixed feelings about the study program. I was definitely intrigued by the combination of philosophy courses and the practical courses, however, I wished there was more of these and less of research and analysis. The study is quite academically-oriented and if you enjoy research and writing, this is definitely great practice. I wouldn’t say it’s too challenging but you definitely gain valuable insights on how we live with and understand modern media. The knowledge you gain doesn’t ensure a career straight after graduation, it poses even more questions about what you can do. What I took from it is critical and philosophical perspectives on how I tackle communication and media use. And I am currently carefully choosing my next professional opportunity.
During the 3 years of studying I made use of loads of free time, of amazing facilities, of great social and cultural events and of the responsibility of my freedom. At UvA I learned more than Media and Information – I learned about how to observe myself and my surroundings in order to be happy and productive in a modern society that needs aware young people.

The style of teaching at the UvA was one of the most remarkable in my opinion. The structure of the courses in lectures and seminars give students more freedom to conduct their studies independently, while also having some space during the week for classroom interactions. I believe that such a factor is of great importance for the development of good professionals at the university.

I do media and information at the UvA in the Netherlands. During the first year of my study, the course was just general media (it was a combination of two courses actually – media and information and media and culture). Having our courses combined and doing ‘general’ media meant that some of the classes we had were more on the information part of media and others were more on the culture. Going into media, I applied and got accepted into media and information, so officially that was what I was enrolled in; however, because our courses were combined, towards the end of the first year we could either stick with the course we were enrolled into or switch over to the other one.
Anyways, with that background information established, I personally *loved* all of the culture classes, passing them seemed effortless for me because I really enjoyed learning the things being taught and doing the work. The media and information classes, on the other hand, were a lot more effort for me because I didn’t always fully grasp the things being taught and it was never just too interesting.
At the end of the first school year, I missed the deadline to switch courses, and have been doing media and information since. These past 2 years have been so much stress and hard work from my end, and the results I’m getting don’t satisfy me as much as I would have ever liked. So all in all, it was my mistake that I missed the switch deadline, and I guess I lived the consequences of my actions by completing a course I didn’t fully 100% enjoy.
On a side note, UvA did a fine job teaching the course, I don’t have anything against the university, the faculty, or any of it really. 🙂

I am studying Media&Information which is a very broad program in terms of content and topics that it covers. In UvA it is a very international community and the university gives a lot of opportunities for socialising and meeting new people: like the introduction week in the beginning and even all of the group projects throughout the years. It is a very good program for people who would like to have extra time to decide in which direction to continue with their professional lives as it has 42 free credits meaning that one can choose electives or do a minor which could be from a different faculty as well to get those free credits.

However, you should be aware that the program is part of the Humanities Faculty and it is considered a Bachelor of Arts. This could be challenging if you later decide that you want to follow a Masters of Science program like Business, Marketing or other. If that’s the case then you would have to put an extra effort to cover the entry requirements like choosing the appropriate electives or just do a Pre-masters program.

Overall, it is a good program. It covers interesting and up to date topics. It gives you enough freedom to choose your own focus of the program and the workload is not too time-consuming. I recommend this program and this university.