Artificial Intelligence

A robot that does your housekeeping for you. Predicting events by analysing tweets. Operating a computer purely with your mind through the smart measurement of brain activity. Are these things possible? Yes! In the Bachelor’s programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI) you will learn how to create these types of intelligent systems.

At Radboud University, we are convinced that a broad view will generate new and surprising insights. This Bachelor’s programme in Artificial Intelligence is a good example: in addition to mathematics, computer science (programming) and other exact-science subjects, you will study psychology, neuroscience, logic and linguistics. After all, before you can create smart computers and robots, you need to know how the human brain works. Conversely, computer models that mimic these brain processes can be used to understand the human brain. The focus on both humans and machines makes this degree programme unique in the Netherlands.

Characteristics of the programme:
• The Bachelor’s programme is based on three pillars: Brain, Cognition and Computer.
• The programme collaborates with the world-renowned Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, located on the Radboud University campus.
• There’s accessible personal contact between students and lecturers.
• You will be given excellent guidance: as a first-year student you will have your own mentor who will help you settle in and teach you how to study efficiently.
• In the first year you will have an average of twenty hours of teaching and twenty hours of independent studying each week. In later years, the teaching will reduce slightly and will be replaced by group work and projects.
• The three-year Bachelor’s programme prepares you for an AI Master’s programme.

Year one: In the first year of the programme you will develop your basic AI skills. You will be introduced to the most important subjects, which will provide you with a good overview of the programme and the field of artificial intelligence. You will also master a study attitude in which you take initiative and think logically, with a focus on creativity.
As this AI programme is a combination of exact sciences and courses from the human sciences, you will follow courses in computer science, mathematics, robotics, psychology and logic. Furthermore, you will learn skills and techniques to do research, including statistics and how to design an experiment. Mimicking the brain plays an important role in this programme; you’ll be heavily involved in modelling human thought processes in the computer, as well as with making computer programs smarter, and thus more user-friendly.

Year two and three: After building a strong foundation in the first year, the rest of the Bachelor’s programme will be spent on expanding the depth and breadth of your knowledge of the field. You will increasingly develop your own emphasis through three electives and an original research project for your Bachelor’s thesis. After finishing your first year, you’ll continue to explore the brain and the computer in greater depth.
You will deepen your knowledge and skills in programming, mathematics, statistics and modelling. For example, you will be introduced to neural networks: models of cognitive functions such as memory, observation, learning and language. This exploration of the brain and technology will raise many questions on ethics and views of humanity. These questions will be addressed in the subject Theoretical Cognitive Science: Foundations and Implications.
Although true specialisation does not begin until you start your Master’s programme, you will be able to study your topic of interest in greater depth whilst still doing your Bachelor’s. In your third year you will take electives, which may include subjects at other faculties or universities. For your final Bachelor’s thesis, you will develop and conduct your own research project, giving you plenty of opportunity to add your own emphasis.

Language requirements
You should have sufficient proficiency in the English language in order to be admissible. No proficiency in the Dutch language is required. Should you have obtained a high school diploma from a European country in which you have taken English in the final examinations, then in some cases you do not have to provide a separate language certificate. You will find a list of these diplomas on the specific programme web pages. Proficiency in the English language can be proven by meeting one of the following conditions:
• You have a diploma from the list of European diplomas, as mentioned above.
• You have a Dutch VWO diploma.
• You have a German ‘Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife’ with English as ‘Grundkurs’ or ‘Leistungskurs’ in the ‘Abitur’.
• You have an International Baccalaureate.
• You have a European Baccalaureate with English Language 2 or 1.
• You have obtained a diploma equivalent to or higher than the Dutch VWO level from an institution where the language of instruction is English in one of the member states of the EU/EEA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA.
• You are a citizen of Australia, Canada (with exception of Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, or the USA. Should you not meet one of the conditions mentioned above, then, in general, you should provide one of the following language certificates. Some programmes may have further language requirements, so please check the web page of the programme you’re interested in carefully. 
• IELTS Academic: A minimum overall score of 6.0, apart from Chemistry and Molecular Life Science, which require an minimum overall score of 6.5. Please check programme specific web pages for information on minimum sub-scores.
• TOEFL iBT: A minumum overall score of 80, apart from Chemistry and Molecular Life Sciences, which require a minimum score of 90. Please check programme specific web pages for information on minimum sub-scores.
• Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): minimum mark of C.
• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): minimum mark of C.

Governmental student finance: EU/EEA students might qualify for a student loan from the Dutch government. To be entitled to this loan, you need to work for fourteen hours a week (56 hours a month) in the Netherlands (next to your studies). If you are entitled to receive the student loan from the Dutch government, you may receive up to € 1,000 per month, in addition to your salary. After graduation, you will need to pay back the loan. In order to determine how much you need to pay back each month, the Dutch government will take your financial situation (such as income) into account. More information is available on www.duo.nl