Little vent but I need to talk about it. Why UvA requires for some masters such a weird list of scores for the English certifications?

I've taken the TOEFL and, apart from costing an absurdity, I've got 111/120 which is okay in 99.9% of the universities in the world. However I had a bad throat ache and found pretty difficult to talk for extended periods without coughing, as a result I received a quite disappointing 24/30 which was of course the lowest score in the 4 sections.

And of course the minimum requirement is 25 for speaking and no, I've been told, I need to repeat the test even if all the other parts are almost perfect. I hope you see as much as I do how ridiculous this is. I've even done a bachelor entirely in English but since this wasn't in an English speaking country, this is entirely useless.

It just seems as if they wanted students to donate money to ETS and similar companies.

After completing the program what did you do? Was it easy to find a job? Did the LLM give you an edge over your competitors?

For this upcoming semester, I need to get 30 CTS with electives. I’m looking for interesting electives, preferably with flexible attendance rules and ideallyy no exam Lmk of any recs

Heyo! We're a mix of students, expats and locals in a football team in Amsterdam east. We are always looking for good addition to the team! So if you have experience, come over tot try out :)

Just wondering if anyone has gotten a thesis exemption from their course yet? Planning on doing my thesis soon but due to personal issues I failed the exam component of one of my compulsory courses last Summer and don’t have a chance to repeat it until the thesis begins. I really don’t want to extend my studies; do you know if it is feasible to get an exemption provided I have documentation and a valid case of personal issues?

Hello, I’m a non-Dutch speaker (Swedish) in my second year at AUC, and I’m considering taking a few courses at UVA (specifically within physics). The problem is that many of the courses I want to take are taught in Dutch. Has any other non-Dutch speakers here done this and could share if this is manageable? Is there any way to get help from the professor in English, or possibly even taking the exams in English? Thanks in advance!

Hi! I’m from Mexico, and I’ll be moving to Amsterdam for the spring semester in 2025. I’m a bit concerned about the costs of public transportation I’ve seen on social media. I know biking is a common option, but I have a few questions:

• Since biking is so popular, how convenient is it really? How much time would I typically lose by relying on a bike as my main transportation? And does the weather (cold or rainy) make it hard to get around?

• I know there will be times when I’ll need to use public transportation instead of a bike. Is there an affordable monthly pass for international students (non-EU)?

• If there’s no special pass for international students, what’s the regular monthly cost for public transport?

Any tips you might have are also very welcome—thanks for the help!

I’m currently a High School senior looking to apply for EBE (English). I’m wondering which are the hardest subjects in the first year program so I know what to expect if I (hopefully) get admitted and join.

Onderwijsprotest geschrapt, Utrecht vreest geweld pro-Palestijnse demonstranten

FYI. It has been cancelled.

Edit at 22:15 :

I have confirmed with three sources that not all of the unions or all of the union members have withdrawn the protest. The protest was not legally *banned*, but rather "voluntarily" *cancelled* by the leadership of some of the unions. Some (many?) people will still be going tomorrow.

If you go, please be sure to practice safety. Go in a group and look out for one another. If you do not have a Dutch passport or are a dual citizen, please seriously consider protecting your identity. Be aware that the police are very, very likely going to be provocative. Take good care of each other. <3

Hey,

Does the Faculty of Humanities have different English requirements for exchange students than the general exchange student english requirements?

When I applied the website said that I did not need to submit a language test as I graduated from an English-speaking Canadian high school (I am not a Canadian citizen though), however I got a recent email by UvA about the English language requirements for Humanities and didn’t mention anything about being exempt from submitting a language test if you meet the requirements, like it did while I applied. (I have since been accepted to Humanities as well, in case it is relevant)

Im gonna be applying to UvA for 2025 semester 1 Bachelor of Business Administration as an international student and i am genuinely curious whether finding a house in Amsterdam is really as hard as everyone makes it sound. Also, is it easy to secure a place in the uni’s accommodation system?

Hi all,

I'm currently planning on going on exchange to the University of Amsterdam in Semester 1 next year (Sep-Feb). As part of our course at my home university in Melbourne, we are required to take "breadth subjects", i.e., those that do not relate directly to our course (in my instance, Commerce).
I'm interested if anyone had any subject recommendations that I could take in this area, I'm looking for something that would be more specific to Amsterdam and more broadly Dutch culture that would be really fun as an exchange student.

Cheers

Hi everyone!

I’m an international student at the University of Amsterdam with a passion for musical theater and a background in directing shows. I’m eager to start a musical theater production company focused on producing musicals. I have experience directing shows in the past, and I’m excited to continue that while managing my studies. I also have a few questions to help me get started: -Are there specific steps to register as a student association at UvA? -What are some effective ways to secure funding for this production? -As an international student, are there any additional steps or restrictions I should be aware of regarding starting a company or earning income in the Netherlands? I appreciate any advice or experiences you can share

Are there any American students that go to the University of Amsterdam that can share their experience? I'm 17, from about an hour outside of NYC, and just got conditionally admitted to the Global Culture Arts and Politics program. I am very interested in attending UvA but don't know a lot. Any help is appreciated!!

one of our housemates is subletting their room has up to like 4 people from what we’ve seen in the room at once & they are called ‘friends’ but its now obvious what really going on and it’s starting to annoy everyone; they are in the common areas kitchen and bathroom/shower which is meant for just two students and with 6 people already it’s just a lot. what advice do you have for us, should we directly contact UvA?

Hey everyone,

I am seeking a PhD position at the University of Amsterdam, and I have learned that it comes with a monthly salary of €2782 (gross). I’m trying to understand the cost of living better.

1. Accommodation: Does the university provide free or subsidized on-campus accommodation to PhD students? If not, what is the general rent in or near the city center or other livable areas for an international student?
2. Monthly Expenses: What should I budget for rent, groceries, utilities, transportation, and other essentials in Amsterdam? Could you share a realistic monthly breakdown for a single student?

I want to know if €2782 per month will be enough to live comfortably, considering that I won’t be sharing an apartment. Any insights from current or former PhD students at UvA would be super helpful!

Thanks in advance! 😊

Hi, I was wondering if there are any jazz musicians here that host jam sessions or go to jazz bars, or if there is a community like groups about it :)

Also I would be very happy if someone could drop some jazz bar names that they enjoyed visiting!

Hello does anybody know if I can get an exclusion for my minors, I am studying Fiscal economics at UvA at the moment and like to start with philosophy at the vu next year. I know you don't have to do a minor when its at the same university but is that also possible between two universities?

I'm a looking for a research group for my PhD. I'm interested in the field of chemistry (especially organometallic chemistry) applied to catalysis. The Van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences seems to be a nice workplace, conducting cutting-edge research and promoting a good work-life balance for PhD students.

Is it true? Any advice/experience you can share will be deeply appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Hi everyone!

I am incoming next September as a MSc student in Information Systems. I have a couple of fruit living in in Amsterdam but except from them I know none. I would love to ask for tips for making friends. My Dutch is very basic as well.

Thanks!

I was wondering if there are any student communities within or outside the university that go hiking, camping, or trekking :)

Can I apply to two bachelor programs as a prospective student?

This is not a question, just a PSA:

Yes, there is a chess club at the UvA! We meet every Thursday at CREA on Roeterseiland for some chill games. Follow us on Instagram to find out more (and join our gc)

https://www.instagram.com/asca.nl?igsh=bGE2eDVta3kxMm15

We play 11 a side and are looking for people to join us. Experience wanted! The team is a mix of local people and expats

Hi, I'm a 2nd year student at TUDelft and I'm looking for a minor for my 3rd year. I came across this offering by UvA and I find it interesting. If you've taken this minor, I'd really appreciate if you could share your experience of it with me (if you liked it, the workload, etc.)

hello, i’ve recently completed my undergrad in applied psychology and wish to apply for the msc psychoplogy: social influence track in University of Amsterdam.

The course appeared extremely interesting to me in terms of curriculum however, as an international student i have a few queries:

1. what are my career perspectives after the course? It mentions a lot of fields and opportunities on the website but on ground will i be able to secure a job without knowing dutch?
2. Does the university career services aid in job placements after the course? how good are the placement opportunities provided by them?
3. Would this degree be a financially viable option considering it will cost me a lot (especially with the extremely high rents), im concerned about being able to get the return on investment with the job i might get through the degree.
4. Would i still have the option to achieve a Phd Position after this course? How competitive is that?

It would be really helpful if alumna and seniors in the course could answer this questions!

Bots can create summaries of chapters. When you create chapter pdf and drop it to bot and prompt the bot lets say: "Can you give me a summary of this chapter 5. I'm preparing for exam. You can go a little bit more indent in your summary, with examples." you can have nice summary. Easy to read. I learned this method from friend. Have you tried this?

I'm interested to learn have you tried this, and what experiences you have so far?

Also, would you recommend not doing this? And lastly

Does VSPA summaries tend to be better or worst compared to Ai made?