Courses for Semester in Amsterdam students

Minor programmes are a set combination of advanced bachelor-level courses in a specific field. Minor programmes usually consist of 5 - 6 courses worth a total of 30 ECTS and are only offered during the fall semester. 

If you wish to return home before Christmas, then you are free to skip the last course(s) in period 3. However, please note that there are a few minor programmes in which one course spans several periods, including period 3 (Periods 1+2+3 or 2+3). In this case, you cannot skip the course in period 3. This means you can only take these minors if you plan to stay in Amsterdam until the end of January. Please see the academic calendar for the start and end dates of each period.

All other courses in the minor are required. Sometimes courses offered as part of a minor are also available to be taken as individual courses. If this is the case, the course will also be listed in the online Exchange Study Guide as an individual course.

There are certain advantages to choosing a minor:

• Students gain specialized knowledge in a chosen field of study
• Students can immediately finalize their study plan because courses within a minor do not overlap
• Minors demonstrate a study specialization which can be listed on a CV
• Students will follow all courses with the same group of students 

You can find course descriptions (and course codes) for each of the individual courses in the minor programmes in the Exchange Study Guide. 

Are you a student of another Dutch university wishing to take a minor programme? In this case, please follow the steps listed for non-VU students. Current students of other Dutch universities follow different application procedures and are not Semester in Amsterdam students.

• Anabaptist Theology and History
• Anthropology
• Buddhism and Mindfulness in Context
• Business Administration
• Communication Science
• Data Science
• Decision Making in Business and Society
• Development and Global Challenges
• Digital Humanities and Social Analytics
• E-business and Online Commerce
• Economics
• English
• Entrepreneurship
• Foreign Language Learning
• Gender and Diversity
• Global Health
• History
• Law and Global Justice
• Managing Digital Innovation
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Psychology and the Brain
• Religious Dimensions of Global Challenges
• Risk Management for Financial Institutions
• Spirituality, Yoga and Sustainability
• Sustainability: Global Challenges, Interdisciplinary Solutions
• Sustainability: Management and Innovation
• Technology, Law & Ethics
• Visual Evidence

Please make sure to consult the tab "Admissions" on the minor page to see whether you meet the entry requirements.

• Applied Econometrics: A Big Data Experience for All
• Brain and Mind
• Earth Science
• European Urban and Cultural History
• Evolutionary Biology and Ecology
• Genes, Cognition and Behaviour
• Neurosciences
• Pharmaceutical Sciences

Minors Faculty of Medicine VU
Semester in Amsterdam students who wish to apply need to have completed at least 90 ECTS in a relevant programme. For example, medicine, biomedicine, psychobiology, technical medicine, medical biology, liberal arts & sciences, or biopharmaceutical sciences. Please note that these minors have an earlier registration period, and some tracks are only open to medical students. Acceptance also depends on the availability of sufficient spots. 

• Amsterdam Global Health
• Cancer-Immune Diseases-Personalized Therapies 
• Clinical & Scientific Internal Medicine
• CVR challenges: Pathological interactions between the cardiovascular and other organ systems
• Move your Body
• Hot Topics in Neurology and Psychiatry

If you prefer not to take a minor programme or will study abroad during the Spring semester (minors are only offered in the Fall), you must choose courses from the Exchange Study Guide. We offer 1100+ courses in English. You can find a complete list of available courses below:

• 2026-2027 Exchange Study Guide
• 2025-2026 Exchange Study Guide 

Please take note of the following information:

• Carefully review the section "Selecting Individual Courses" on this page before choosing courses and make sure to only choose courses from the Exchange Study Guide. Other courses offered through degree programmes are not available to Semester in Amsterdam students. 
• Do not use the search bar. When you search for courses in the Exchange Study Guide, you should click the faculty and then search for the course you want in the list. If you use the search bar, you will get results which include courses not open to Exchange and Semester in Amsterdam students.
• The Exchange Study Guide is subject to change. Until you are registered for courses, courses may still be added or removed.
• The Exchange Study Guide for the following academic year will be published in April/May.

Note: Semester in Amsterdam students are not the same as Exchange students, but you choose from the same course lists. 

Basic Dutch on Campus

Semester in Amsterdam offers a special Dutch language course called Basic Dutch on Campus for students who wish to acquire basic Dutch language skills (A1 level). This is a special course organized by the VU language department, NT2.

Please keep in mind that, since this is a special course organized by our language department, it will not appear in your personal timetable at rooster.vu.nl like your other courses. Students will receive a separate timetable directly from the professor and a transcript (worth 6 ECTS) upon completion. Basic Dutch on Campus is scheduled in the evening so that it will not overlap with your other courses. Note that this course spans two periods; it is not possible to choose just one period or the other. 

Please confirm with your home university or provider if you are required to take a Dutch course. You can also take Basic Dutch on Campus as an elective.

Registration and Deregistration Deadlines

Download the syllabus and timetable for the upcoming Spring 2026 Basic Dutch on Campus course here. 

Imagining the Dutch: Themes in Dutch History

The course Imagining the Dutch will familiarize students with core aspects of Dutch history and the way the Netherlands is imagined. Students will learn how to connect Dutch history with a number of present-day public debates on issues such as national identity, tolerance, environment, colonialism, World War II, democracy, and multiculturalism. There is no language component for Imagining the Dutch. You can find more information in the course description in the Exchange Study Guide.

This course is offered twice a year, once during the Fall semester and once during the Spring semester. In the Fall semester, Imagining the Dutch takes place during Period 1. In the Spring semester, this course spans two periods, periods 4 and 5. This means that during the Spring semester, this course is spread out over a longer period of time, but you will meet fewer times per week. It is not possible to choose just one period or the other.

The course (de)registration deadlines for Imagining the Dutch are the same as other courses found in the Exchange Study Guide (see the course registration deadlines below).

A Broader Mind is unique in that it’s developed by students, for students — allowing you to engage with the topics that matter most to you. Together you will explore the big issues that shape our society while learning how to facilitate discussions among people with diverse beliefs, backgrounds, and perspectives. This course challenges you to think beyond conventional boundaries and gain a fresh, global perspective on complex societal challenges. Through collaborative learning, you’ll learn how to turn theory into action, transforming knowledge into meaningful change together with fellow students who are passionate about making a difference. Our student ambassador from Japan, Sakurako, named A Broader Mind as her favourite course at VU Amsterdam. You can read more about Sakurako’s experience here.

A Broader Mind is made up of two tracks: Track A and Track B, and takes place in periods 4 and 5 during the Spring semester. Note that this course will only take place in the Spring. Each track covers four themes:

• Track A: Success & Failure, Poverty, Human Body, and Rebellion
• Track B: Health & Happiness, Digital World, Viewpoints & Worldview, and Sustainability

You can find more information about A Broader Mind here.

*Please note that A Broader Mind is an extracurricular course and is not offered for credit. You will not receive ECTS for this course. It will appear on your final transcript with a pass/fail grade.

Please note that the course registration process consists of two parts: course pre-approval and course registration. If you do not complete the pre-approval process on time, you will not be able to register for courses.

Course Pre-Approval Period

• Fall 2026: Monday, 15 June - Sunday, 12 July
• Spring 2027: November - December 2026

Course Registration Period

• Fall 2026: Monday, 20 July - December 2026
• Spring 2027: December 2026 - May 2027

*The Fall 2026 academic timetable will be published on Friday, 17 July. We strongly recommend that all students check for overlaps from 17 - 19 July so that you can register as soon as course registration opens on Monday, 20 July. Set a reminder and mark this date in your agenda.

Please note the following information:

• During pre-approval, we check whether you meet the requirements for your chosen courses. If not, we’ll help you select alternatives. Approved courses remain provisional until the academic timetable is released and you can officially enroll. This typically happens in July (Fall semester) or December (Spring semester).
• Once the timetable is published, you must check for overlaps and register for 18 - 30 ECTS of your approved courses. If any classes overlap, you’ll need to replace one with an alternative. For this reason, you must submit more courses for pre-approval than you actually plan to take. If you do not submit backup course selections and two of your course times overlap, you will have to wait for a new course to be approved before you can register.
• Once you have registered for courses, you will be able to view these courses in your personal timetable at rooster.vu.nl. Note that the timetable is also a public timetable, meaning you can view course, exam, and re-sit schedules for any course at VU Amsterdam. It is not necessary to log in or be affiliated with VU to view the public timetable.

Entry requirements

Bachelor's (undergraduate) courses

• You are allowed to take courses across faculties as long as you meet the entry requirements for each course. There are a few exceptions to this:
  1. Faculty of Behaviour and Movement Science 
     Psychology courses available to Semester in Amsterdam students are offered by the Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences at VU Amsterdam and the focus is on Biological Psychology; Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology; Experimental and Applied Psychology. Students must have completed the equivalent of at least 30 ECTS of psychology courses to be eligible to participate in courses offered by the faculty of Behavior and Movement Sciences. If you do not have a background in psychology, you are not eligible to take these courses.
  2. Faculty of Business and Economics 
     Students who wish to take Business and Economics courses should pay special attention to the listed background requirements. For these courses, the recommended background knowledge is usually required. 
• Levels 100, 200 and 300 usually (but not always) mean these are first-year, second-year and third-year bachelor's courses, respectively. You can find the level of each course in the course descriptions in the exchange study guide.
• Level 300 normally means that you need to be a full-time student in this field of study. Exceptions are the level 300 courses that are part of minor programmes that are available to all students, regardless of your academic background.
• You are only allowed to take courses that are listed in the exchange study guide. Courses found via the regular degree programmes are not open to Semester in Amsterdam students.

Master's (graduate) courses

• To be able to take master's courses, you have to submit your bachelor’s diploma. You can find more information on our How to Apply page.
• You can only choose master's courses that are related to your own field of study.
• Please carefully check the entry requirements and recommended background knowledge on each course page. 
• Levels 400, 500 and 600 are master's courses. You can find the level of each course in the course descriptions in the Exchange Study Guide. 
• You are only allowed to take courses that are listed in the exchange study guide. Courses found via the regular degree programmes are not open to Semester in Amsterdam students.

Below you can find the deadlines to add and drop courses for the 2025-2026 academic year. Note that most of the registration deadlines occur before the start of the course, so you will not have a chance to "try out" courses before finalizing your schedule. 

For courses that take place during two periods (courses in period 1+2 or 4+5), the registration deadline of the period in which the course starts always applies (period 1 for period 1+2 courses). If a course lists more than one period, this course is continuous; you must participate in both periods.

Academic year 2025-2026 

Academic year 2026-2027 

For more information, please consult the academic calendar.

The Period Structure

The academic year is divided into two semesters. Each semester is then divided into three periods. 

Periods 1, 2, and 3 take place during the fall semester (semester 1) and periods 4, 5, and 6 take place during the spring semester (semester 2). The first two periods of each semester are 8 weeks long (periods 1, 2, 4, and 5) and the last period is 4 weeks long (periods 3 and 6). Students generally take at least two courses in each of the first two periods of each semester. Courses that take place in more than one period (1+2, 4+5, etc.) are continuous courses that take place throughout the duration of both periods. If you want to enroll in the course, you must enroll in both periods; it's not possible to choose just one period or the other.

You are free to skip the last period and return home in December (Fall) or the end of May (Spring) if you prefer (this also applies to minor programmes). As an alternative to taking a course in periods 3 or 6, you can also choose to take an extra course in another period. Students can take a maximum of 30 ECTS (usually 5 courses worth 6 ECTS each) per semester. It is up to you to decide how many courses to take in each period. We advise students not to take more than 3 courses in any one period.

ECTS Credit System and Study Hours

A regular semester workload consists of 24 - 30 ECTS. Each ECTS credit is equivalent to 28 study hours. Unlike many other academic systems, ECTS credits include hours spent in class as well as self-study hours spent independently working by yourself outside of the classroom. A course that is worth 6 ECTS credits would be equal to 168 study hours (including time spent both in and outside of class). Students are advised to take 24-30 ECTS per semester.

You can also find more information in the ECTS user’s guide (though this is quite a lengthy document).

The Academic Timetable: Rooster.vu.nl

Course Registration will take place after the academic timetable has been published. Once you have been registered for courses, you can view these courses in your personal academic timetable by logging in with your VU ID and password at rooster.vu.nl. Please note that the timetable is public and can be viewed by anyone, but you can also view your personal course registrations by logging in using the link in the upper righthand corner. 

Please note that in order to view your courses and exams, you must always first select the "List" tab and then the correct academic year and semester. Otherwise, some of your courses and exams will not appear. It is also possible to manually select and deselect groups or exams in your personal timetable. If you have de-selected the exam or a specific group, this will no longer appear in your timetable. 

A few helpful notes about "groups":

• HC and LE stand for the main lecture – you are always required to take this group.
• TE/01 is the first exam – you must always take this group.
• TE/02 is the re-take exam - you cannot sign up for re-takes until after your final grades are published, but it's a good idea to keep this date in mind so that you know whether or not you will be present in Amsterdam and thus able to take the exam if needed.
• TE/02_Extra Time and TE/01_Extra Time refer to extra time for exams. Unless you have requested academic accommodations, you should ignore this. If you requested accommodations, this is when your extra time is scheduled.
• WG and SG stand for workgroup or seminar group. Not all courses will have one of these groups, but if it’s listed, you must enroll in only one group (for example, WG08).
• Sometimes there are other sections listed such as DX (Digital Exam).  You must always register for one of each section listed, except for the re-sit exam (TE/02) – see notes about re-sits above. 
• It is possible that a course only has one study group and no main lecture. In this case, you must register for the study group.
• If there is a main lecture listed in the timetable (HC), you must enroll in this group. If there is a study group with multiple sections (SG/04, SG/05 or WG/01, WG/02 etc.), you should only enroll in one of these groups.
• You should always plan to take the first final exam (TE/01). If there is a digital exam (DX), you must also enroll in this group unless the professor later states otherwise. 

Some helpful tips about using the timetable:

• Note whether or not you need to be in a specific workgroup to avoid an overlap with another course. 
• You can easily edit the timetables you have added via the list on the right side of the screen.  You can simply deselect a timetable so that it no longer appears, or you can delete it from your list entirely.
• You can edit the groups you have selected by clicking the 3 dots that appear when you move your cursor over a course title in the panel on the right side of your screen.
• If two of your chosen courses have exam times that overlap, this is an overlap. You will need to choose a backup course selection instead. Don’t forget to check your exam times in the timetable.
• Once you have actually been registered for courses, you can remove all courses and groups you are not registered for from your timetable by clicking the 3 little dots that appear when you hover your cursor over “2025/26” in the panel on the right side of the screen and then clicking “Remove all and restore default timetables.” Then click “Remove All.” 

Canvas

Once your professors have added you to each of your registered courses, you can view your course materials using the VU online learning platform, Canvas. Keep in mind that Canvas is managed by your professors and is not a list of course registrations. Your professors must first add you to the course before you will see it in Canvas. 

Questions about Canvas? You can find a full list of instruction videos and resources for students here.

VU Dashboard

Once your final grades have been published, you can find them in your VU Dashboard. Please note that only grades published in your VU Dashboard are final grades (grades published in Canvas are not final grades). All grades at VU Amsterdam are rounded up or down to the nearest decimal. Please see the information provided under Dutch Grading System below.

Re-Sit Exams

You must be present in Amsterdam if you want to take the re-sit exam. Most courses offer the chance to take a re-sit exam if you fail the first exam, but if you only stay until period 2 in the Fall semester or period 5 in the Spring semester, then the date of the re-sit exam often occurs after you have already returned home. The Semester in Amsterdam staff does not have the power to arrange proctored re-sit exams.

1. If you received a No Show (NS) for your exam, you have to manually register for the resit via the registration module at least 1 week before the resit takes place. For instance: you can register until Friday 15 December 23:59h for an exam held on Friday 23 December.
2. If you did not pass the exam or received an NVD (requirements not met), you will be automatically registered for the resit. 
3. If you did pass the exam but still wish to retake it, you must manually register for the re-sit

If you decide to take the re-sit exam, the re-sit grade is the grade that counts, even if it is lower than the grade you received for your first final exam. If you register for a re-sit but do not participate, a No Show will be registered but the grade you received on the original exam will still remain valid.

Dutch grades range from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). The highest grades of 9 and 10 are only rarely awarded. An 8 is considered a high mark while 7's and 6's are more common. Grades from 1 (very poor) to 3 are rare. Grades of 5.5 and higher are passing grades in the Netherlands, but we advise you to confirm what constitutes a passing grade with your home university. 

It is up to your home university to determine a conversion scale. Grades at VU Amsterdam are always rounded up or down. For example, an 8.3 will be rounded up to an 8.5 and an 8.2 will be rounded down to an 8.0. The exception to this rule is a 5.5, which is always rounded up to a 6.0.

Please be prepared for the fact that your final grade may be made up of only one final exam. Most courses offer the chance to take a re-sit exam if you fail the first exam, but if you only stay until period 2 in the Fall semester or period 5 in the Spring semester, then the resit exam will likely occur after you have returned home. You must be present in Amsterdam to take the re-sit exam.

Study hours at VU Amsterdam are a combination of hours spent in class with the instructor and hours spent out of class working independently. In general, a VU student has about 10 hours per week of strictly student/professor contact hours. The remaining hours are spent outside of the classroom and can include time spent working on assignments with other students from your course, known as “work groups,” or time spent working individually on assignments, known as “self-study.” 

The Dutch understanding of “self-study” is a fixed number of hours spent working on specific assignments. Although the number of hours spent by each student may vary, all students are expected to complete a minimum number of hours of self-study for each course. This varies per course, but you should be prepared to spend more time studying independently than you may be used to. Self-study hours are weighted the same as in-class hours and are thus included in the 1 ECTS = 28 contact hours calculation.

Studying at VU Amsterdam: What is expected of you?

• Be an active learner and critical thinker: ask questions, participate, and share your opinion
• Be present and on time: many teachers have a 100% attendance policy; it's wise to check this with your professor beforehand
• Be prepared: fewer lectures, more self-study
• Be accountable: you are responsible for knowing when your assignments are due and when the exams take place
• Be transparent: always mention your source of information; plagiarism may result in automatic failure of the course

Studying at VU Amsterdam: What can you expect?

• High level of classroom interaction
• Independence and active learning
• Relative lack of competition
• Direct feedback
• Social equality
• No grade inflation or scaling

After completing your studies at VU Amsterdam you will receive a transcript of records. 

Your study abroad provider or university may require that your final transcript include failed grades. If you participated in Semester in Amsterdam through direct enrollment (not via a provider), then you are free to request a transcript without failed grades. All students (regardless of whether they participated through a provider or not) have the option of requesting a transcript without failed grades 6 months after the completion of the programme.