Amsterdam University College (AUC) offers a liberal arts and sciences programme, leading to a joint Bachelor (Honours) degree from the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam.
A liberal education teaches you to read intelligently, think critically and write effectively. AUC students acquire not only depth of knowledge, but also important and transferable academic and research skills. You can major in the sciences, social sciences or humanities. All AUC students undertake community service or an internship, and AUC offers a wide range of study abroad opportunities.
At AUC you will be trained to analyse complex issues from different perspectives and academic fields of knowledge. Discussions start from the ‘big questions' in science and society and lead to in-depth study in a wide range of disciplines. Six interdisciplinary themes provide an orientation to your studies and choice of course options:
• Energy, Climate and Sustainability
• Life, Evolution, Universe
• Health and Well-being
• Information, Communication, Cognition
• Social Systems
• Cities and Cultures
You will engage on a daily basis in intensive and small-scale seminars with high calibre international staff. An AUC tutor (academic adviser) supports you in the process of planning your study programme, to help you ensure it is solid and coherent and will meet your academic and/or career goals. Substantial emphasis is placed on scientific reasoning within an interdisciplinary approach.
AUC and the sciences
At AUC we firmly believe that the biggest, most exciting and most urgent questions of our time require a science education that connects and transcends the disciplines. AUC enrols up to 50% science majors, offering a thorough in-depth training in disciplinary sciences such as physics, biology, informatics, earth and environmental sciences and (bio)medicine, but also requiring you to immerse yourself in other fields of study. The resulting cross-training, typical for a liberal arts and sciences curriculum, equips you with a solid foundation for your future career, with transferable skills that will be valuable for any profession, including those not yet invented!
Admission to AUC
As a residential and selective honours college, AUC attracts students from all over the world. Applicants are assessed on the basis of their academic performance, interests and motivation, and the selectivity rate is around 20%. The AUC Scholarship Fund promotes diversity in the student body with generous support from the international business community.
The AUC campus
Your time at AUC will become a true intercultural and social learning experience. AUC students live and study together on our modern international campus, located in the Science Park Amsterdam. The Science Park's concentration of education, research exploration and enterprise is the perfect academic environment for AUC, as well as being the location of the University of Amsterdam's sports centre and other sport and social facilities.
Some key data
• AUC’s student population: 50% international from some 50 different countries. More than 30% of students study abroad for one semester. Around 10–15% of AUC students receive a full or partial scholarship from the AUC Scholarship Fund. AUC’s faculty: approximately two-thirds has an international background.
• Focus on science: AUC enrols up to 50% science majors and is located at Science Park Amsterdam.
• Study success: 90% of students who start at AUC complete their degree, and 80% of these graduate within 3 years. Each year more than 90% of AUC students complete their full study load (60 ECTS credits), and 80% of these with grades at Honours level or above.
The joint Bachelor degree programme offered by AUC is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) and has been awarded the "Distinctive feature of small-scale and intensive education".
After AUC
AUC graduates are well prepared to continue their studies at Master or PhD level at major research universities in the Netherlands and abroad, or to pursue a career in international corporate or public organisations. They join the community of AUC alumni who have already been accepted on to Master/PhD programmes at not only the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam but also prestigious institutions in the USA and across Europe.
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