University of Amsterdam - UvA
speciality: Sociology

At the University of Amsterdam, the lecturers really stand out for how supportive they are. They don’t just stop at the classroom — they’re willing to help anytime and give guidance whenever it’s needed. You can see how much they care about students’ success, and their dedication makes it easier to stay on track and do well.

I have graduated from the Liberal Arts and Sciences programme, which is a joint degree at the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. It is an honours programme with a strong international focus, which allows you to choose your own subjects between three disciplines (social sciences, sciences, and humanities). I really enjoyed the flexibility that this course gave me and the ability to broaden my knowledge in various disciplines. The international environment in the classroom was also very beneficial and made me feel very comfortable. However, the biggest disadvantage for me was the bureaucratic chaos (which partially is due to the fact that 2 institutions are involved in governing the programme). Sometimes it resulted in issues with the curriculum organization, problems with signing up for modules, or schedule clashes.

We live in a time and world where critical thinking and interdisciplinarity are key to tackling wicked problems. The Liberal Arts and Science program at Amsterdam University College (AUC) truly focuses on exactly these aspects and encourages students to think outside the box. I loved how I was able to build my own curriculum, combining Environmental Sciences and Journalism, and how teaching was done in small classes rather than in massive lecture halls. The way courses at AUC are structured gives space for class discussions, personal feedback on written assignments, and presentations. Grades are not solely based on final exams but also on research papers, presentations, etc. In comparison to fellow students at larger universities, I left university feeling really prepared for scientific research and writing – because I had done it so much and received such extensive feedback! So overall my experience at AUC was excellent.

One thing to keep in mind is that the freedom to (more or less) build your own curriculum also gives you the responsibility to make smart choices about the courses you take. While every student has a tutor to support them in their choices, some students still seem to get lost in between the tracks and end up with no real major, which might make it difficult to get into a Master’s degree later on. Speaking of: if you know exactly that you want to pursue a Master’s in psychology or medicine or law, you will have to complete a pre-master semester after your Bachelor’s degree at AUC, because the interdisciplinary nature of the program does not allow you to get sufficient credits in a specific subject or to dive deep enough into your topic of interest. So that is something to be mindful of.

In terms of student life, AUC asks all its students to live in the dorms on campus. This is good to encourage a tight-knit student body and there are loads of events going on (shared dinners, music nights, etc.), but it can be pretty intense. Students refer to our campus as “the bubble”, because well, it is a bubble and it’s quite hard to escape it at times. There is a lot more freedom in finding your own shared apartment and having a life outside of campus. Then again, finding student housing in Amsterdam is terribly difficult, so in retrospect, it was quite helpful to live in the dorms.

AUC attracts a very international and liberal student body. About 50 per cent of all students are from all over the world which I loved! However, while AUC’s slogan is “Excellence and Diversity in a Global City”, there is not enough financial support for true diversity, so classrooms are still predominantly filled with white, privileged people to be honest.

Overall, I am so glad I went to university at AUC! Yes, the program has its downsides with a few organizational issues regarding your course curriculum, but mostly it gives you a lot of opportunities to explore different subjects and also take courses at other universities! It is really up to you what you make of it – I ended up focusing on marine biology by taking a lot of courses at the other universities in Amsterdam and during a semester abroad in Australia.

I’m in the first year of this three-year bachelor and so far it has been manageable. The workload can sometimes be intense with weekly readings, reading questions and other assignments. The course is organised into tutorials and lectures. In tutorials, discussions related to the readings and/or the lecture content are encouraged and tutorial teachers emphasise the importance of active learning (application and discussion-based) over passive learning (memory-based). So far, all of my tutorial teachers have been experienced, knowledgeable, kind and understanding.

The University of Amsterdam has a fairly international environment. The Bachelor of Sociology can be done in both English and Dutch so there are both international students and local students.

My favourite thing about this university is the fact that it is a city campus…therefore you get to explore the city while going to classes.

Facilities: The UvA has four open campuses across the city, access is not restricted although the majority of classes will be at the campus of your faculty. These vary massively to one another, the Roeterseiland Campus where I study as a social science student is a massive site with numerous buildings, several study areas and a canteen whereas the Oudemanhuispoort site is a beautiful old building right in the centre but is only a single building with a few lecture halls and limited study spaces.

Accommodation: Epitomised in a word (nightmare) Due to the housing crisis in Amsterdam you are only able to apply for student housing in 1st year and even then it is not guaranteed. The quality of this housing is relatively low but the cheaper prices of 350 – 500 Euros per month instead of a room or studio for around 800 plus, anywhere near the centre. If you’re tight on money look to the outskirts or north for cheaper options.

Teaching: The lecturers are of a high standard and produce courses that stay up to date with new developments. The tutorial teachers are much more hit and miss, some being very inexperienced or unable to encourage open discussion. The small range of courses offered allows for a wider variety of modules within them and there is a good range of academic material integrated into them.

Diversity: The UvA has an incredibly international mix of students as is the case with Amsterdam as a whole. Although the composition of students varies significantly across courses.

Value: If you are able to pay EU fees it’s absolutely worth it given the quality of education and the opportunities available in Amsterdam, there are also a wide range of grants and loans available to these students. For students coming from outside the EU this is more debatable, financial aid is limited and the high costs of living make the value more debatable.

Student Life: Amsterdam is an incredibly vibrant and innovative city, you will make some great friends and contacts. There are a number of student-friendly places located near the campuses that offer more affordable options. The relatively small size of the city and location of the campuses create a buzz when out and about and make it easy to meet new people. Central areas of the city are more tailored to tourists.

Future prospects: UvA offers a wide range of internships and exchange programmes to boost your employability and experience towards the end of your studies. Some of these are highly competitive though and space is limited.