Psychology

Something extraordinary happens to children around the age of four or five. They suddenly realise that other people can think differently than they do. From then on, they start thinking about other people's thoughts. They become amateur psychologists. When you choose to become a psychologist, you take this one step further. You can start to apply scientific knowledge and methods to gain an understanding of what other people think, feel, desire and do.

What drives a person?

Human behaviour often appears to be predictable. But on closer inspection, it turns out to be less obvious than you think. Can behaviour ever be understood? And can it – where necessary – be influenced? These questions are explored in the Psychology Bachelor’s programme. This programme not only looks at the general characteristics of human behaviour, but focuses particularly on differences between behaviour. Questions that may be explored include:

• How do people respond to stress?
• Can mental training improve athletes' performance?
• What exactly is being in love?
• Why does one person perform better at school than another?
• Why is one person friendly and relaxed while another may often seem tense and stressed?

One of the most important instruments available to the psychologist is research. By using scientific methods to do research, a psychologist can gain insight into human behaviours.

Is Psychology for you?

If the bullet points below apply to you, then this programme could be a good fit:

• You are fascinated by people and their behaviour.
• You are interested in what drives people, in their skills, emotions, development and the way in which they interact.
• You are able to work independently and enjoy reading and writing.
• You show initiative and are inquisitive. In order to study behaviour, you will apply scientific methods to collect data about people.
• You have a pre-university diploma equivalent to a Dutch VWO diploma.
• You must have pre-university-level Mathematics because of the amount of research and statistics in the programme.

Why study Psychology at the UvA?

• Psychology at the UvA offers you a choice of many different Bachelor’s specialisations.
• You will be taught by leading researchers, and our lab offers excellent facilities for research.
• As well as large-scale lectures (in English), you will attend more intimate tutorials where you will explore issues in depth with your fellow students. These tutorials are offered in both English-language and Dutch-language versions.
• The Roeterseiland campus is an open, city campus located in the vibrant heart of Amsterdam.
• You can spend part of your study programme abroad. We have a wide network of contacts with universities across the world.

Perhaps you want even more? We offer a unique Honours programme and an extensive choice of minors.

Psychology

The Bachelor's programme is structured to include approximately 40 study hours per week. During the first year, you will have approximately 12 hours of teaching each week. The remaining time is spent on self-study. Self-study may include assignments, searching for and reading study materials in the library, and preparing for exams and write essays.

The first year: introduction

The first year of study, known as the propaedeutic year, consists of a substantive component and a research component

• During the substantive component, you are introduced to the field of psychology and all its sub-disciplines: biological psychology, social psychology, developmental and educational psychology, work and organisational psychology, clinical psychology, research methods and cognitive psychology.
• In the research component, you will learn academic skills and writing skills during the courses in Test Theory and Practice (including Research Orientation through Participation), Research Methods and Statistics 1 and practical training groups in Academic Thought. At the end of the year, you will also write a propaedeutic thesis.

After completing all components in the propaedeutic year, you will receive the first-year diploma.

You can find more information about the propaedeutic year of the Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the UvA in the course catalogue (Dutch only. The English course catalogue will follow soon). 

The second year: learning to conduct research

In the second year, the focus is on learning how to conduct research:

• translating psychological questions into a research design
• compiling a study
• writing a research report
• practising communication skills in oral practical training

In addition, you will attend such courses as:

• Fundamentals of Psychology
• Scientific and Statistical Reasoning, Including Test Development
• Electives

You can find more information about the second year of the Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the UvA in the course catalogue.

The third year: specialisation

In the third year, you will choose a major or subject specialisation. There are seven different possibilities:

• Work and Organisational Psychology
• Psychological Methods
• Brain and Cognition
• Social Psychology
• Clinical Psychology 
• Clinical Neuropsychology (Dutch)
• Clinical Developmental Psychology 

 You can find more information about the third specialisation year of the Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the UvA in the course catalogue. 

Teaching methods

• As a Psychology student, you will attend lectures, tutorials and practical training. During a lecture, the lecturer will do most of the speaking, explaining the literature that you will have studied in advance. 
• Tutorials are offered in both English-language and Dutch-language versions.
• Practical training focuses on acquiring special research skills, such as learning to handle psycho-physiological and audiovisual measurement equipment, learning to conduct and interpret tests and practising therapeutic interviews.
• Most courses culminate in one or multiple tests. These may consist of a written or oral exam, an essay or a presentation.

Binding Study Advice (BSA)

The propaedeutic year of all Bachelor’s programmes at the UvA includes what is known as Binding Study Advice (BSA). This is used at the end of the first year of study (following the summer resits) to determine whether the student genuinely has the motivation and capability to succeed on the degree programme.

Students with a foreign diploma are eligible to apply if their diploma is equivalent to the Dutch pre-university diploma (vwo-diploma) and includes:

• Mathematics
• English

as part of your final examinations. 

The starting level of a regular study programme at Dutch universities is comparable to that of other Western European countries, which is usually one or two years higher than in most countries outside Western Europe. A student's diploma or certificate from previous education will be compared with the list of country qualifications which has been drawn up by the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. 

Additional requirements: Mathematics

In general, mathematics has to be included in the upper secondary education curriculum up until the final year and final examinations. The level of mathematics should be equivalent to at least the Dutch level of VWO mathematics: Wiskunde A. There are no further minimum grade requirements. 

An alternative route to meet the mathematics entry requirement may be to complete one of the English taught mathematics courses and exams offered by the James Boswell institute in The Netherlands. We will accept VWO certificates in mathematics A and B. 

Additional requirements: English language proficiency

All non-native speakers of English are required to demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English. All students must be able to read textbooks, understand lectures, and take exams in English. Students who are considered as native English speakers are those who have obtained their diploma in Australia, Canada (with the exception of Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. All non-native speakers of English are required to submit a valid English test score which must be obtained no longer than two years before the start of the programme.

• TOEFL iBP test: minimum score 92, at least 22 on each sub-score
• IELTS test (Academic): minimum score 6.5, at least 6 on each sub-score
• Cambridge International Examinations: minimum scores Cambridge English: 170 or Advanced -  C; Proficiency - C.   

Exemptions

These applicants are exempted from the English test:

• Applicants with a Dutch vwo diploma with a satisfactory result (6 out of 10) for English.
• Applicants with 3 GCE A-levels and 3 GCSE O-levels.
• Applicants with the course English included in their final examination in one of these diplomas, The course must be passed with a satisfactory result.

Taking the test 

Students are strongly encouraged to make early preparations for the test. Please note that you have to upload your test results by the application deadline of January 15, 2018. We do not accept test results submitted after this deadline.

We  refer to the contact details of test centres below. In case of insufficient scores, applicants can do a resit as long as deadlines are respected. Without sufficient test scores, you do not meet our admission requirements.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Study costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you will need to include a number of other study costs in your budget, such as books, stationary, excursions, a laptop or other equipment. These costs vary per programme but academic books and study materials will usually cost you between €50-100 per month.

Living costs

Keep in mind that living in Amsterdam also includes costs such as accommodation, food and public transport.