Amsterdam University College
Published 29 April 2008

What can I study at AUC?

Matthias Härter
Berlin, Germany
Class of 2012

"After I finished high school I could not decide on one field of study or education I wanted to specialise in. I felt that my interests were too broad for any programme. I decided to work and travel for a while and came into contact with the liberal arts system. Being able to study many different fields in a small-scale intensive programme was exactly what I'd been looking for!"

AUC offers a liberal arts and sciences programme, with courses in and across the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. Discussions start from ‘Big Questions in Science and Society’ and lead to in-depth study in a wide range of disciplines.

Liberal education traditionally gives you substantial freedom to design your own study programme in accordance with your own personal interests and ambitions, and this is exactly what we can offer you at AUC.

Your tutor will advise you, and help you to ensure that your programme matches your future ambitions and will meet the requirements for graduation. Within these guidelines, you will have the freedom to select the courses you want to follow on the subjects that interest you most.

AUC's curriculum circle

The 'curriculum circle' (see diagram, right) illustrates the content of the AUC programme: you start outside the circle and move inwards towards the centre during your three years of study.

Your programme therefore begins with Academic Core courses that introduce you to 'big questions' in science and society, as well as developing your skills in writing, presentation and scientific reasoning, and improving your intercultural competences.

AUC curriculum circle, copyright AUC
AUC's curriculum circle, click on magnifying glass to enlarge

At the end of your first semester, you select one of the six AUC themes as a background for your studies. These themes examine complex and far-reaching questions in science and society that require the integration of insights from different fields of knowledge.

You choose your major at the end of your first year (humanities, social sciences, or sciences), and you take courses in your major in your second and third years.

At the same time, part of your programme is reserved for freely chosen elective courses, where you have room to explore other interests and broaden your education.

You therefore follow your own individual path through the subject areas towards the centre of the circle, guided by your theme and major, and continuing to take Academic Core courses to polish your academic skills. In your third and final year you then return to your theme for an advanced course.

Finally, you round off your Bachelor programme with the capstone experience.

You are therefore free to design your own programme in accordance with your personal interests, but your individual path through to the centre of the curriculum circle will be influenced by a number of factors including:

  • your choice of theme and major (and the requirements of your chosen major) 
  • Academic Core requirements: all AUC students have to take a set of Academic Core courses
  • general requirements for graduation: for example, all AUC students have to take at least one course in the natural sciences, the humanities and the social sciences
  • your future ambitions: if you plan to go on to a particular Master programme, you may need to include certain courses in your AUC programme
Source: AUC