Master's Artificial Intelligence - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Hybrid intelligence: where AI systems and humans meet

Understand the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and human behaviour

The Artificial Intelligence Master’s programme at VU Amsterdam equips you to analyse, develop, and apply cutting-edge AI techniques in ways that are meaningful and socially responsible. You will learn to build intelligent systems that interact with the world, support human decision-making, and adapt to complex environments.

The curriculum includes core courses that cover essential AI topics such as machine learning, knowledge representation, reasoning, and multi-agent systems. You will also explore how AI can model and interpret human behaviour using sensor data and computational models — with applications that enhance real-world human-AI collaboration.

To deepen your expertise, the programme offers a wide selection of advanced electives and two dedicated specialisation tracks. You can tailor your study path to align with your interests, whether that’s further exploring technical areas like reinforcement learning or explainable AI, or applying AI in specific domains.

Cognitive Science track
In this specialised track, developed in collaboration with the Department of Psychology, you’ll gain a deep understanding of the cognitive foundations of intelligence. The focus is on combining empirical research with computational modelling to study human perception, reasoning, and decision-making.

AI for Health track
Offered in partnership with Medical Informatics (Amsterdam UMC, UvA), this track focuses on AI applications in healthcare. You’ll learn the fundamentals of medical informatics, apply AI techniques such as medical imaging and clinical NLP, and explore the integration of machine learning and reasoning for health-related solutions. Two courses are held at Amsterdam UMC, location AMC.

VU Amsterdam’s AI programme is a pioneer in developing intelligent systems with real-world impact. As a student, you will also have the opportunity to collaborate with leading companies and research institutions on applied AI projects and internships.

The start date of this programme is September 1^st.

The content and exit qualifications of the programme are reviewed every year by our Professional Advisory Board.

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1st year
2nd year

First year

The first year of the program consists of compulsory courses and a few elective courses.

Compulsory courses

Evolutionary Computing
Knowledge Representation
Multi-Agent Systems
Deep Learning
AI and Society
Experimental Design and Data Analysis
Natural Language Processing

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the Study guide

Second year

Specialisation phase
Cognitive Science Track
AI for Health

Summary

In your second year, you can expect one or two compulsory courses plus more specialisation in your own area of interest.

Elective course topics could include:

Social Robotics
Health Sciences
Bioinformatics
Cognitive Science
Language Technology
Deepening AI

Alternatively, you may wish to take the specialised Cognitive Science track, which will give you an in-depth understanding of the cognitive aspects of AI, or the AI for Health track in collaboration with Medical Informatics (Amsterdam UMC, UvA).

As a Master's student, you also have the option to work on advanced information systems at a wide range of companies and institutions. Some recent examples include:

Semantic navigation on overheid.nl (the Dutch government website)
A personal “quit assistant” to help people give up smoking
Adaptive personal music choices during sports training, in collaboration with Philips
New forms of online publication for Elsevier
A knowledge system to predict problems with Amsterdam's trams and other public transport
An intelligent opponent that’s able to anticipate a player's actions in a real-time action game

See also the study guide for a complete overview of the study programme. Or download the year schedule directly.

Summary

Cognitive Science: immerse yourself in the multidisciplinary world of the cognitive mind

Deepen your research in the multidisciplinary study of mind and cognition. Researchers in cognitive science come from a wide range of backgrounds, including psychology, computer science, artificial intelligence, philosophy, mathematics and neuroscience. However, they all share a common goal: to gain a deeper understanding of the human mind, not just from an academic perspective but also from a practical one.

The track focuses on the processes that underlie human functioning from two different research perspectives: empirical work and computational modelling. For example, empirical work may suggest a functional layout for computational models. The reverse is also true: results of simulations with computational models can provide suggestions for setting up empirical experiments. The underlying philosophy of this track at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is to challenge students to build their knowledge in a wide variety of fields and techniques, all of which are related to cognitive psychology.

The Cognitive Science track is jointly organised by the Department of Cognitive Psychology of the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, and the Department of Artificial Intelligence of the Faculty of Sciences.

Compulsory courses

Seminar Cognitive Neurosciences
Neural Models of Cognitive Processes for AI
Brain Imaging

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the study guide.

Summary

AI for Health is a track in collaboration with Medical Informatics (Amsterdam UMC, UvA). In this track you will learn about medical informatics basics, Medical AI (with a focus on imaging techniques in medicine and natural language processing techniques in medicine), and how to combine machine learning and reasoning for health applications. Two courses will take place at Amsterdam UMC, location AMC.

Compulsory courses

Evolutionary Computing
Knowledge Representation
Multi-Agent Systems
Socially Intelligent Robotics
AI and Society
Experimental Design and Data Analysis
Natural Language Processing

You can find the complete course overview for this year in the study guide.

Specialisation phase
Summary
In your second year, you can expect one or two compulsory courses plus more specialisation in your own area of interest.
Elective course topics could include:
- Social Robotics
- Health Sciences
- Bioinformatics
- Cognitive Science
- Language Technology
- Deepening AI
Alternatively, you may wish to take the specialised Cognitive Science track, which will give you an in-depth understanding of the cognitive aspects of AI, or the AI for Health track in collaboration with Medical Informatics (Amsterdam UMC, UvA).
As a Master's student, you also have the option to work on advanced information systems at a wide range of companies and institutions. Some recent examples include:
- Semantic navigation on overheid.nl (the Dutch government website)
- A personal “quit assistant” to help people give up smoking
- Adaptive personal music choices during sports training, in collaboration with Philips
- New forms of online publication for Elsevier
- A knowledge system to predict problems with Amsterdam's trams and other public transport
- An intelligent opponent that’s able to anticipate a player's actions in a real-time action game
See also the study guide for a complete overview of the study programme. Or download the year schedule directly.
Cognitive Science Track
Summary

Cognitive Science: immerse yourself in the multidisciplinary world of the cognitive mind
Deepen your research in the multidisciplinary study of mind and cognition. Researchers in cognitive science come from a wide range of backgrounds, including psychology, computer science, artificial intelligence, philosophy, mathematics and neuroscience. However, they all share a common goal: to gain a deeper understanding of the human mind, not just from an academic perspective but also from a practical one.
The track focuses on the processes that underlie human functioning from two different research perspectives: empirical work and computational modelling. For example, empirical work may suggest a functional layout for computational models. The reverse is also true: results of simulations with computational models can provide suggestions for setting up empirical experiments. The underlying philosophy of this track at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is to challenge students to build their knowledge in a wide variety of fields and techniques, all of which are related to cognitive psychology.
The Cognitive Science track is jointly organised by the Department of Cognitive Psychology of the Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, and the Department of Artificial Intelligence of the Faculty of Sciences.
Compulsory courses
- Seminar Cognitive Neurosciences
- Neural Models of Cognitive Processes for AI
- Brain Imaging
You can find the complete course overview for this year in the study guide.
AI for Health
Summary

AI for Health is a track in collaboration with Medical Informatics (Amsterdam UMC, UvA). In this track you will learn about medical informatics basics, Medical AI (with a focus on imaging techniques in medicine and natural language processing techniques in medicine), and how to combine machine learning and reasoning for health applications. Two courses will take place at Amsterdam UMC, location AMC.
Compulsory courses
- Evolutionary Computing
- Knowledge Representation
- Multi-Agent Systems
- Socially Intelligent Robotics
- AI and Society
- Experimental Design and Data Analysis
- Natural Language Processing
You can find the complete course overview for this year in the study guide.

The AI Master’s programme culminates in an individual graduation project. An internship is a great potential alternative, so long as it’s approved in advance by a member of staff who is also involved in supervising the project.

Scholarships
There are several ways to obtain funding to study for your Master’s. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Dutch government and other organisations all offer scholarships, fellowships and grants.

VU staff members in the AI department are currently researching a number of pioneering topics:

Structuring information
How can you bring structure to the information on the internet? Is it possible to make the internet smarter and more personal?
Turning information into knowledge
What turns information into knowledge? How do you generate the right knowledge? And how do you make sure the computer knows what to do with the information presented?
Learning from data
There are millions of hard disks full of information reflecting our world. What can you learn about the real world from that mass of digital information?
Supporting humans in an intelligent way with awareness of the human’s state
How can you make intelligent support systems (or agents) that are aware of the current functioning of the human state? How can you provide dedicated support based on this state?

The majority of AI alumni find a job within three months of completing their Master’s. They are employed by all kinds of organisations, ranging from large corporations and consultancies to small start-ups.

Explore your future prospects

Academic advisor:
Academic advisor - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (vu.nl)

Artificial Intelligence

Specialisation phase

Cognitive Science Track

AI for Health

Internships and scholarships

The VU’s AI programme is a pioneer in the development of intelligent systems

Change your future with the Artificial Intelligence programme

Change your future with the Artificial Intelligence programme

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