Programme structure
How is the study programme structured?
AUC's study programme is structured around three years of study, covering six semesters. All students develop their individual study plan by taking courses from the Academic Core, their major (sciences, social sciences or humanities) and a variety of elective courses. Once at AUC, an academic tutor assists in selecting courses to create a coherent curriculum that matches the goals and interests of the student.
Which courses can you take? How is the programme structured? What makes a major? Download the curriculum overview and explanation to learn the study possibilities in the Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities at AUC.
Curriculum structure
AUC's study programme includes six semesters (totaling 180 European credit points) over the course of three years. Each semester is 20 weeks long, divided into a 16-week period and a 4-week period. You will take five courses per semester of 6 credit points each (four courses in parallel during the 16-week period, and one course during the 4-week period). This will amount to a total study workload of around 42 hours per week (16 hours of class plus 26 hours of self-study).
The sample curriculum structure (available via the link below) shows the overview of the programme in more detail, divided per semester and per year. Starting at the bottom of the diagram, each row represents a semester while each block represents a single course of 6 credit points. You design your own study programme with advice from your tutor and gradually fill in this structure with your chosen courses. The exact details of your programme will differ from this diagram, but it is meant to represent a more general overview of what the AUC programme includes.
Curriculum components
The AUC curriculum is composed of four components:
- Academic Core courses
- Major courses
- Elective courses
- Capstone project
In total, students will take a minimum of 28 classes in addition to completing their Capstone project (Bachelor's thesis) to achieve the 180 ecp needed to satisfy the programme requirements to graduate.
Cross-listed courses
Some courses are listed under more than one of these components. For example, a course can be listed as an Academic Core course and as a major course, or the same course can be listed under multiple majors. These types of courses are referred to as “cross-listed” courses. A student can decide for themselves for which requirement they choose to count the cross-listed course. However, the same cross-listed course cannot count towards multiple requirements (i.e. you cannot apply the same course to fulfill a major course requirement and an Academic Core requirement; it will count toward fulfilling one or the other).
1. Academic Core courses
Academic Core courses (48 ecp) are classes that all AUC students must take. The Academic Core provides a foundation for the rest of the programme and includes foreign language courses, Big Questions courses, logic, academic writing courses and Global Identity Experience.
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Academic Core courses required for all students
- Academic Writing Skills
- Logic, Information, Argumentation
- The Global Identity Experience
- Advanced Research Writing
- One Big Questions course
- Two consecutive levels of a single language
- Community Project or Internship
2. Major courses
At AUC, students choose one of the three majors: sciences, social sciences or humanities. Based on this selection, students then begin taking courses to fulfil their major requirements (96 ecp). The level (100, 200 or 300) corresponds to how advanced the course is considered to be, with 100-level indicating an entry-level course and 300-level indicating specialised and advanced courses.
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Sciences major course requirements
- Ten disciplinary courses in the Sciences
- At least three of which are at the 300-level
- At least one lab course
- A 100-level (introductory) theme course in the Sciences
- A 300-level (advanced) theme course in the Sciences
- The following methodology courses:
- First year: Calculus
- First year: Linear Algebra or Statistics for Sciences
- Capstone (Bachelor's thesis)
- Ten disciplinary courses in the Sciences
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Social Sciences major course requirements
- Ten disciplinary courses in the Social Sciences
- At least three of which are at the 300-level
- A 100-level (introductory) theme course in the Social Sciences
- A 300-level (advanced) theme course in the Social Sciences
- A choice of the following methodology courses:
- First year (choose one): Research Methods and Statistics I or Statistics for Sciences
- Second year (choose one): Basic Research Methods and Statistics II or Qualitative Research Methods or Calculus for Economics
- Capstone (Bachelor's thesis)
- Ten disciplinary courses in the Social Sciences
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Humanities major course requirements
- Ten disciplinary courses in the Humanities
- At least three of which are at the 300-level
- A 100-level (introductory) theme course in the Humanities
- A 300-level (advanced) theme course in the Humanities
- The following methodology courses:
- First year: Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory
- Second year: Introduction to Visual Methodologies
- Capstone (Bachelor's thesis)
- Ten disciplinary courses in the Humanities
3. Elective courses
In addition to Academic Core and major courses, students will also take electives of their choice (36 ecp). For electives, students are free to select courses from any of the three majors and can take the opportunity to explore fields or disciplines that may not be related to their major. Alternatively, students can use their elective courses to delve further into a specific area or specialisation within their major. Elective courses encourage students to create personal curriculums that extend beyond traditional disciplines or conventional study programmes.
4. Capstone
At the culmination of the programme, all students will write a Bachelor's thesis referred to as their Capstone project. Worth 12 ecp, the Capstone project sees students developing, researching and analysing an original topic of their choice. The Capstone experience allows students to bring various components of their individual study plan together to showcase the unique knowledge and applied skills they've learned throughout the programme.
Other programme components
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Community Project or Internship
Students at AUC are required to complete at least one Community Project or Internship as part of the curriculum. This is typically done in their second or third year. Students enrol for a Community Project or Internship as a separate course, which must meet the minimum hour requirements for a course of 6 ecp. This translates to 168 hours in total. This can be done either in January or June by working fulltime (40 hours per week over four weeks) or during the 16-week period by working about 10 hours per week. Community Projects and Internships can also be completed over the summer.
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At least one course in each of the majors
All students are required to complete at least one course listed as Humanities, one course listed as Social Sciences and one course listed as Sciences. In order to stimulate interdisciplinary thinking, all students must take at least one course in each major regardless of their own.
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Study abroad and off-campus courses
While completely optional and not a required part of the programme, AUC students are allowed to take up to 42 credits of the 180 credits required to graduate as off-campus courses. Off-campus courses can be taken in the second or third year of their studies as part of an exchange programme abroad, at VU Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) or any other university. To take an off-campus course, AUC students must first submit a request to AUC's Board of Examiners or AUC's International Office (if studying abroad) to have the course approved before enrolling.
Study abroad
Students may choose to take a semester abroad at one of AUC's partner institutes or at one of UvA/VU's exchange partners. Students will typically study abroad during the second semester of their second year or the first semester of their third year. Depending on their choice of destination, students may take courses that count toward their major requirements or as electives.
Taking off-campus courses at VU or the UvA
Both VU Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam offer many courses that can be interesting for students to complement their studies at AUC. Depending on the courses they've already completed at AUC, their timetable and available seats in the desired off-campus course, AUC students can enrol in hundreds of courses that are taught in the other Bachelor programmes of the VU and the UvA. For example, students can follow specialised courses that allow them to learn more about specific subjects or better prepare them for specific graduate programmes. For all off-campus courses, students must first submit a request to AUC's Board of Examiners to have the courses approved before enrolling.
Questions? Talk to a current AUC student
If you're a bit confused about the programme structure at AUC or what a real study plan looks like, please feel free to get in touch with a current AUC student who can assist you in better understanding the various components and how these elements fit together in their actual study plans.