Summer schools and short courses abroad

Summer schools, winter schools and single courses abroad

• King's College London 2026

  This Summer School in the heart of London offers different modules in various subject areas such as law, economy, literature, science. Please note, that even though King's College London offers many different courses in their summer school, you can only apply to the ones that are mentioned here below.

  Dates (choose one session) and courses:

  Session 1 – 6 July – 17 July 2026 

  • Institutions, Trade & Economic Growth 
  • International Political Economy 
  • London’s Cityscape and London Life 
  • Britain; Institutions, Power & People 
  • Media, Gender & Culture 

  Session 2 – 20 July - 31 July 2026 

  • Evaluating & Designing Public Policies 
  • Marketing in the Digital Era 
  • Shakespeare in London 
  • Drug Discovery 
  • Critical Approaches to Sustainability and Development 
  • War & Diplomacy  

  Places available: 4

  GPA requirement: 7

  If you get selected, you will not have to pay the tuition fee for this summer school. However, you will need to pay for all personal expenses, such as accommodation, food, transportation etc. 

  Depending on the approval of your exam board, you can earn up to 7,5 ECTS. Please find more information about this summer school here or in the PDF above. 

  You will have to be nominated by VU for this summer school (see 'application procedure' below). Please note that the application deadline for this summer school is 23 March 2026. If you’re interested in this programme or have any questions, please send an email to outgoing@vu.nl. 

• SMU – Singapore Global Summer Programme 2026

  The Global Summer Programme offered by Singapore Management University features three specialised tracks with over 20 courses in these growing fields: (1) Asian Insights, (2) Digital Intelligence, and (3) Sustainable Futures. Students can choose to study up to two courses from any track, provided there are no timetable conflicts. Next to the courses, there will also be company visits, networking sessions, and many social and cultural activities. 

  Dates (choose one session): 

     • Session 1: 29 June to 24 July 2026
    • Session 2: 13 July to 7 August 2026

  Places available: 10 

  The costs for this programme are:

  • Application fee of SGD 150 (approx. 105 EUR, to be paid when applying online)
  • Miscellaneous fee of SDG 230 (approx. 163 EUR, and includes student's medical insurance)
  • Personal expenses (flight, visa, accommodation, food etc.)
  • The tuition fee is waived

  Depending on the approval of your exam board, you can earn between 6 – 7.5 ECTS per course. You can find more information here.

  You will have to be nominated by VU for this summer school (see 'application procedure' below). If you’re interested in this programme or have any questions, please send an email to outgoing@vu.nl. The application deadline for this summer school is 8 March 2026.

• SKKU – Seoul, South Korea 2026

  The Summer School at SKKU offers courses in business and economics, social sciences and humanities, computer and data science, engineering, Korean studies and Korean language. Next to the classes, the university also arranges many cultural activities.

  Dates: 26 June to 24 July 2026

  Places available: 5

  The costs for this programme are:

  • Application Fee of 100,000 KRW (approx. 75 EUR)
  • Fee for insurance and social programme: 300,000 KRW (ca. 220 EUR)
  • Personal expenses (flight, visa, accommodation, food, insurance etc.)
  • The tuition fee is waived

  Depending on the approval of your exam board, you can earn 3 ECTS per course and you will have to follow 3 courses at this summer school. You can find more information here.

  You will have to be nominated by VU for this summer school (see 'application procedure' below). Please note that the application deadline for this summer school is on 7 April 2026. If you’re interested in this programme or have any questions, please send an email to outgoing@vu.nl.

• Aurora - follow a course abroad at one of our Aurora network partner universities

  VU Amsterdam is part of the Aurora network. Together with our network of European partner universities, we are working on joint activities that strengthen societal engagement and impact within our universities.

  As a VU student, you can go abroad to follow a course at one of our Aurora partner universities, you can find an overview of the available courses on this website. Most of the time, Aurora courses do not have a course fee for VU Students, but please check this for the specific course that you are interested in in the course catalogue. 

  If you want to apply for one of the Aurora courses, please fill in this form. We will then get in contact with you. If you have questions, you can also send an email to outgoing@vu.nl. 

  Aurora Mobility Fund

  VU Amsterdam has limited funds available to support Aurora Mobility. If you are selected for a course, training or summer school at one of our Aurora partner universities, you might be eligible for the Aurora Mobility Fund. 

• NAHSS - Netherlands Asia Honours Summer School 2026

  Gain knowledge on China and Southeast Asia to keep up with the advancements in a rapidly globalizing world! The Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS) is a unique collaboration between Dutch universities, ministries and Dutch and Asian multinationals. Each year, the program grants a group of 70-100 ambitious students of all disciplines and Dutch universities the opportunity to participate in this dynamic programme and prepare students for the Asian academic world, business life and culture.

  NAHSS 2026 delegates will conduct a consultancy project from March to September 2026 for one of the partners, following lectures by Southeast Asia and China experts and participating in a summer school programme in Asia, this year in Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City.

  Who can apply? Honours students, students with a GPA of 7.5+, or students with distinctive extracurricular activities. It is open to English speaking students too. 

  Applications open on 1st of December and close on 8th of January. Visit their website www.nahss.nl for more information and to apply. You can also follow them on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay up to date. 

• Application procedure

  Some Summer Schools, including the 3 exchange Summer Schools mentioned above (KCL, SMU, SKKU), will require a nomination by VU Amsterdam in order to qualify for the discount or tuition fee waiver they offer to VU students. If other Summer Schools ask you to be nominated, please send an e-mail to outgoing@vu.nl with the request to do so. Please mention your name, student number, the Summer School you would like to participate in and the courses you wish you take.

  How to apply for King's College London, SMU and SKKU
  
  If you would like to apply for one of the summer schools mentioned above, please fill in this form. Please note that the application deadline for SMU is on the 4th of March. You can find the application deadlines for the other summer schools above. 

  How to apply for an Aurora course:

  If you want to apply for an Aurora course, please fill in this form. 

  Please note
  
  * Even when the tuition fee for a Summer School is waived, you are still responsible for paying for all your personal costs, like in most cases accommodation, travel, visa, food and other personal expenses.
  * Register your stay abroad via My Dashboard (Apps > Study/internship abroad > Register internship/free mover abroad) after you have been accepted by the Summer School.

• Other summer and winter schools abroad

  VU Amsterdam cooperates with partner universities around the world and many of them offer a Summer School programme. As a VU student you can often get interesting discounts at our partner universities, which makes taking a Summer School very attractive.
  
  In the "Summer Schools 2026" PDF document above, we present Summer Schools from our partner universities, which are generally more affordable. There are, however, many more Summer Schools available in the world, this is not a complete overview and you are welcome to look into Summer Schools from other universities. For instance on this website for Summer Schools in Europe.
  
  To apply for other Summer and Winter Schools, please:
  
  * Check the application deadline for the Summer School of your choice
  * Check if you meet the requirements the programme asks for
  * Check if nomination by the VU International Office is required
  * If nomination is not required, you can apply directly on the website of the partner university
  * If you apply directly at the partner university, please still inform us at outgoing@vu.nl
  * You are always responsible for paying for all your personal costs, like accommodation, travel, visa, food and other personal expenses.
  * Register your stay abroad via My Dashboard (Apps > Study/internship abroad > Register internship/free mover abroad) after you have been accepted by the Summer School.