At UCU, you study Liberal Arts and Sciences, an educational philosophy that is common in the United States. Instead of choosing just one subject, you create your own study program from a large number of courses in Science, Social Science, and Humanities.

Think about it. The problems we face nowadays are complex. To understand global warming, for example, you need the sciences. But you can’t fully grasp it without knowledge of politics, economics, or even ethics. By studying more than one discipline, you learn to approach problems from different perspectives and to think ‘outside the box.’ This is what we call multi- and interdisciplinary thinking.

Creating your own study program can be difficult. That is why at UCU you have a personal tutor, who will help you think about your future and choose the right courses. At University College Utrecht, you can choose courses from more than 20 different fields in Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science.

Thanks to the broad and free setup of our curriculum, you have plenty of options to design your own study path. Find out below the content and focus of the main three academic fields:

HUMANITIES

The Humanities comprise the study of subjects that are fundamental to understanding the human experience. How do we grapple with reality and give meaning to our existence? What lessons can be learned from the past? What are our values and beliefs? What are our dreams and fears? How do we communicate these feelings and ideas? What kind of representations do we use to make sense of the world? The Humanities are also about the art of reasoning, argumentation, and persuasion, as well as about the politics of truth and the search for beauty, and the analysis of the cultural contexts of it.

Our Humanities fields of study are:

Art History & Museum Studies
China Studies
History
Language & Culture
Linguistics
Literature & Classics
Media Studies
Performance
Religious Studies

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Social Sciences aim to offer a systematic and critical inquiry into human nature, social and legal institutions, and human relationships. What are the main constituents of a society, how do individuals function in that society, what is the role of cultural differences, and what are people’s ideals about how to live together? What is the impact of the physical environment in which people live?

Our Social Sciences fields of study are:

Anthropology
Economics
Geography
Law (double degree possible)
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology

SCIENCE

Science aims to understand the underlying principles and laws that govern all aspects of nature; from the origins of the universe and the evolution of life to the workings of the brain and the constituents of space, time, and matter. In Science, knowledge is derived by using formal reasoning, modeling, and simulation, but always in close connection to observation and experimentation.

Our Science fields of study are:

Biology
Chemistry
Cognitive Neuroscience
Earth & Environment
Mathematics
Medical Science
Physics (double degree possible)

We also offer a pre-medical science program, which makes you eligible for a Master’s in medicine, like the SUMMA program at Utrecht University.

LINKED FIELDS

Following our Liberal Arts and Sciences educational philosophy, we believe that the different fields of study benefit from each other. Just a couple of examples of fruitful linkages between the fields are:

History helps contextualize the theory and application of Politics or Law.
Art History and Museum Studies are enriched by courses in Anthropology and Human Geography. If your interest is in art conservation, choose Biology or Chemistry.
Linguistics and Psychology come together in the Psycholinguistics course.

At University College Utrecht, you have the possibility to declare an interdepartmental major. This means that you assemble your study program beyond the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science major by combining courses from at least two of these. You can also study a double major, in which you complete two full majors.