academics at the UvA

a blog by Chiamaka🎀(Universiteit van Amsterdam in the Netherlands)

(me when i realised had to do work on exchange </3)

campuses + campus life
I studied on Roeterseiland Campus, which was huge. I think that the whole of UoM could fit on its grounds. It has an expensive but delicious canteen, 2 bars / cafes and even cinema rooms to rent. The location is maybe a 10 minute cycle from the centre and there is a metro nearby. There are several study spaces on Roeterseiland, which is perfect since the main library is in a random location. I visited Oudemanhuispoort once, which is the ‘aesthetic’ campus. It’s quite nice and is in a central location. Science park is soooo far (I guess distance is relative), and is kind of its own university – people live and study on the same grounds. They have some nice food spots.

People are more dressed up than at UoM. There are very few sports societies and no campus league as is common in the UK. This was the main thing I didn’t like about the university – I felt like that would allow students to expand their networks. I did join one student association – Black African Student Association. Most of my friends were made going to their hangouts. But, if your familiar with ACS, the two are nothing alike.

Semester structure
The academic year is MUCH different to in the UK (I will assume this is a Netherlands wide structure, but for reference I’m at the UvA). The 2 semesters each have 3 periods, each lasting around 8 weeks. A 6 credit course lasts for one block, and a 12 credit course for 2. So, unlike at UoM where you take a set of modules for a whole semester, then do one big batch of exams, here you normally have 3 exam seasons (and maybe midterms). This sounds awful, but I actually preferred this method. It means that if you hate a module choice you won’t have to suffer through 4 month. You can choose any combination of modules to fit your schedule. For example, in sem2 I took 3 classes – 2 were 12 credit courses, and 1 was 6 credits. They all started in January, but by block 2 I had finished one and had more time to relax as the summer warmed up. And now I have no classes in block 3 so I am free for the whole of June !

Here are the courses I took:
(for context, I am in the faculty of social and behavioural sciences here at the UvA)

Foundation – Computational Social Sciences – 30 credits
This is a first year course that took up my whole semester one. You can carry it into sem2 if you like, but sem1 is a prerequisite. I enjoyed it, but felt limited in making new friends. It reminded me a lot of secondary school where you see the same people everyday. The classes were all on the same corridor, so it was a bit restricted. The content was pretty easy since it was mostly an introduction to university. Obviously most people were freshers but there were many who were 23+ and doing a 2nd bachelor’s degree. The only part I found hard was the coding (beginner Python) and the weekly deadlines, though this did force me to complete the work. There were no exams, but a few assessments. I had class on Monday and Wednesday for a full day, and a half day on Friday. They had a slightly different grading system to the rest of UvA.

Politics and Artificial Intelligence – 6 credits
This is my favourite module that I’ve ever taken. The professor was amazing and so was the content. I learnt so much ! The structure was 2 x 2hr lectures per week, and a midterm and final exam. I 100% recommend.

Contemporary Debates – Health – 12 credits
I really enjoyed this course and I would definitely recommend. It didn’t cover the expected content but I learnt a lot that I can bring back to my UoM courses. There was a big focus on ADHD. It was 2 hours each of lectures and seminars a week. 70% of the lectures were just explanations of the readings, but I really liked how the core lecturer brought in the academics to talk about their own work and research. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the biweekly blogs. The other assessments were a midterm exam, a group in-class presentation, a group social media account, and a group video essay.

Social Movements: Change from Below – 12 credits
It was interesting, but I don’t know what I learnt. The lecturer is also an activist, which adds a cool touch. It was one 3 hour class a week, which isn’t as bad as it sounds. He is a very lenient marker. The assessments are 2 reflection papers (very vague but easy way to increase your grade), an op-ed (I loved this assignment), a 3000 word essay, and diy seminar (hosting the whole 3 hour class with a group). I learnt more from these seminars than I did from the course content. The class often ended up being mostly discussion.

Exams
I found the three exams I did here to be really easy, especially compared to at UoM. All exams (and most assignments) have resits, as long as you participate the first time around. Your transcript doesn’t say if the final grade was a resit or not. Resit culture is more normalised here.

Grading system
Here, grades are on a scale of 1-10. A pass is a 5.5. 7 is a good grade. 8+ is an excellent grade. The academic standards are said to be higher, but I think that assessment is easier than at UoM (but that could be the modules I chose). I didn’t get below a 7 throughout my exchange, so my grades here were better than at home with similar effort.

Politics
The UvA (and probably VU, too) is a very leftist and woke institution, so class was full of debates and commentaries.

Final thoughts
I did way more work than I thought I would on exchange, but I prefer the courses here to at UoM. If I could go back, I would take normal modules in semester 1 to expand my horizons. I enjoyed the academic aspect of my exchange.