This interdisciplinary track offers advanced moral and political philosophy courses that bring philosophical analysis into dialogue with economics and public policy. You’ll gain analytical and normative tools that are highly valued by employers across government, think tanks, NGOs, and consultancy—especially in fields like climate policy, technology regulation, health, and economic policy.
EEP can be followed in two ways: as a stand-alone Master’s in Philosophy, or in combination with a second Master’s programme, such as Economics or Political Science. Students in the combined route integrate EEP with their other disciplinary specialisation, while the stand-alone programme offers a self-contained curriculum combining philosophy, EEP courses, and relevant interdisciplinary electives.
The first year includes foundational philosophy courses—such as History of Philosophy and Normative Ethics—alongside the course Policy Ethics, which launches the EEP cohort and connects students through shared case studies and discussion. Students following the stand-alone programme complement these courses with EEP-related electives, while students combining EEP with a second Master’s take courses from that programme (e.g. Economics or Political Science).
The second year builds on these foundations with advanced EEP courses including Freedom, Equality, and Justice, Cooperation and Rationality, Philosophy of Responsibility and Ethics of Public Health. These explore key normative issues in institutional design, collective action, economic fairness, and policy legitimacy. In the winter term, students take Current EEP Topics, a practicum-style course that applies philosophical methods to live policy problems with topics that vary from year to year.
EEP students write their MA thesis as part of a thesis group working on related topics, under close supervision of the Ethics Group. The programme fosters cohort cohesion and interdisciplinary dialogue, drawing on expertise from across VU Amsterdam, including the School of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Whether followed as a stand-alone Master’s or in combination with a second Master’s, EEP equips graduates with the ethical, analytical, and policy skills to address complex societal challenges.
The schedules below show an example two-year study plan for each route. Individual trajectories may vary depending on students’ choice of electives and, for the combined route, the structure of their second Master’s programme.
Stand-alone EEP: View the two-year schedule
EEP combined with a second Master’s: View the two-year schedule
