VU Amsterdam

VU

The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) opened its doors in 1880 and has expanded to a university comprising thirteen faculties, 3.600 academic and non-academic staff and teaching facilities for 15.000 students. The Vrije Universiteit is not a state university but a private institution. The university's unique background has led to an organisational culture with a special approach towards social-professional interaction and university management. This approach is founded on a caring attitude, attention to student's needs, and responsibility towards the world. Because of this attitude, a considerable amount of time is given to the quality of education.
The Faculty of Social Sciences, with about 3.000 students and 200 members of staff, is one of the VUA's larger faculties. It also has an unusually wide range of courses. Some, such as Political Science & Public Administration and Cultural Anthropology, already have a long tradition. Others, such as Culture, Organisation and Management (COM); Policy, Communication and Organisation (BCO) and Public Administration are more recent. The student population of the faculty is correspondingly heterogeneous. Many are higher vocational training graduates following abridged degree courses. All graduate courses are offered in full-time or part-time versions, which means that a relatively large proportion of the faculty's students combine study with paid work.
 
Eight departments have been set up to arrange the organisation, co-ordination and integration of the education and research activities:

• Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, 
• Department of Culture, Organisation and Management,
• Department of Political Science, 
• Department of Public Administration & Organisation,
• Department of Communication Science, 
• Department of Sociology, 
• Department of Social Research Methodology
• Department of Philantropic Studies 

The faculty offers several courses of these undergraduate programs in English. From September 2004 three English Master programs will start in Political Science, Social and Cultural Anthropology and Social Gerontology.

Contact at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Name: Saskia Bleijendaal
Function: International Relations Officer of the Faculty of Social Sciences 

E-mail Saskia Bleijendaal