The Undergraduate Certificate Programme in Humanities and Social Sciences is an interdisciplinary non-degree programme for both exchange students and independent students with at least two years of academic background in relevant fields. The programme is aimed at undergraduate students who wish to have the option of orienting themselves across the boundaries between disciplines and specialities in order to develop a broad understanding of the world and its variance in cultural, political, and intellectual traditions. Students also have the option of choosing a more narrow focus in their classes in order to develop their knowledge of a specific area. Moreover, the programme provides students with a solid basis for well-considered choices of specialised studies at a later stage in their career and life.

Students can choose to register for courses of one of the thematic clusters or choose courses from several thematic clusters to their liking. Students are expected to have an academic background in the field from which they choose their courses, except for the introductory courses that are indicated as such. The thematic clusters are:

1. Culture and Modernity
2. Dutch Society and Culture
3. Ethnicity, Migration and Nationalism
4. European Society and Culture
5. Gender and Sexuality
6. Globalisation and International Relations
7. Law, Culture and Society
8. Media and Communication
9. Planning and Development
10. Politics, Governance and Democracy

Student Profile

In order to be admitted, applicants must be undergraduate students who have completed at least two years of academic education in relevant fields. Students are expected to take a minimum of 30 EC and a maximum of 40 EC per semester. Graduate students in the certificate programme who wish to take courses at Master's level will need special permission per course by the Admissions Committee of the Master's programme the course is part of. It is important for students to inform their home university of their study plans in order to ensure that the courses they take at the ISHSS will be credited towards their home degree.

Certificate Requirements

All students receive a transcript upon request stating the courses they have registered for and the credits and grades obtained for these courses. Fee-paying undergraduate students who have completed a full academic year (ten months/60 EC) can receive an official Universiteit van Amsterdam certificate upon request.

More Information

For more information on the Undergraduate Certificate Programme in Humanities and Social Sciences, courses, lecturers and registration please check our website: http://www.ishss.uva.nl or contact one of the Programme Managers, Heleen Straesser: h.m.straesser@uva.nl or Jiri Hemming: j.hemming@uva.nl.