Where are you currently on exchange?
“I'm currently in Rome, doing an exchange at Luiss Guido Carla, a private university. It is the first time at PPE that we have the possibility to go to Luiss, so it’s very exciting. I’m here with five other PPE students from Amsterdam. We could choose different packages of courses ourselves. One course I’m taking is from the actual PPE programme here. The other four courses are Master’s electives. Personally, I am mostly interested in politics so I choose very different politics courses. I think it's amazing that the programme Amsterdam gave us the possibility to choose those electives ourselves and go after our own interests."
Why did you choose this university?
“Luiss is a really high ranked University, especially for social sciences. They have a lot of politics courses, which appealed to me because in Amsterdam I already chose the philosophy and the politics track. The second reason was to learn the language. I've had Italian back in high school, but it's been some years. Already being around Italians in daily life here makes a huge difference. I mean, it's not like in Amsterdam where everybody speaks English. So when you're in a restaurant or in a cafe, you actually need to speak Italian if you want to be understood. But that's amazing, because then you actually learn a lot!”
How is the study load?
“PPE at VU Amsterdam prepares you for a lot. So after two years of PPE, you are definitely ready for most exchange programs. You need to pass all courses, but your grades don’t count, which simply takes some pressure off. However, since we are taking Master’s courses, they can be quite challenging sometimes. The workload is fine, I am studying and I'm going to uni every day. I do have a lot of projects and papers, but I still have enough time left to go to the centre and explore and do day trips. I'd say it's a perfect combination. I am learning a lot, but I'm not suffocated or stressed; I'm actually enjoying the courses.”
Other than workload, what are the biggest differences?
"Luiss is way less international than VU Amsterdam. Even though it’s in Rome, and the programme is taught in English, the student body is around 70 or 80% Italians compared to 50% Dutch students at PPE VU. Amsterdam is such a bubble of different nationalities, that everybody feels like it’s their city. In Rome, I feel more like a foreigner, because sometimes in classes or at parties, I’m the only non-Italian. It's just different, but it's a nice experience.
Furthermore, Luiss is a private university which would normally cost way more to go to, which is reflected in the even higher staff to student ratio and stuff like equipment and the campus itself. But I think education-wise, PPE Amsterdam is definitely excellent. It is good to have a comparison now and to realize that your study prepared you well enough to keep up even with second year master students. Even though it is tough at times, it’s worth it!"
