Utrecht, Netherlands
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 5,398 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* fall 2025 early round 1 December 2024
** EUR 5398 EU EEA |non EU EEA EUR 16484 | EUR 14525 EU EEA with a Dutch BA MA degree
Key Summary
Introduction
Are you interested in developing your own multidisciplinary curriculum by combining classes in humanities, science and/or social science? Would you like to live on a small campus with guaranteed housing where you live and study with people from all over the world? Then look no further than University College Utrecht!
What is a University College?
University colleges in the Netherlands have been established by research universities in response to a growing demand for a more holistic type of education. Students at university colleges not only study Liberal Arts and Sciences; they also live the liberal arts and sciences by studying, living, and working together on campus with their peers from different cultural backgrounds and with different disciplinary interests. University College Utrecht is one of the honours colleges of Utrecht University and was founded in 1998 as the first university college in the Netherlands.
Live and study on campus
University College Utrecht is located at the International Campus of Utrecht University. The charming campus is conveniently located between Utrecht Science Park and the city centre. There are currently around 750 enrolled students representing over 70 different nationalities. You will live and study on campus, a close-knit community and vibrant hub of intellectual exploration and social engagement. Living on campus is part of the education and housing on campus is guaranteed for three years. For more information about living on campus visit the page Campus Life.
Admissions
Curriculum
Liberal Arts and Sciences at University College Utrecht is a three-year Bachelor’s programme taught entirely in English. You compose your own unique curriculum by choosing classes from over 20 academic disciplines across the domains of Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences. After graduation, you will receive a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree depending on your curriculum.
Compose your multidisciplinary curriculum by combining courses from Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences.
The University College Utrecht curriculum is fundamentally free. You compose your multidisciplinary curriculum by combining courses from the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences. Once you have completed the programme, you will receive a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. To learn more about the curriculum and what the benefits of a multidisciplinary programme are, watch this two-minute animation:
How to navigate our curriculum?
You choose courses from more than 20 academic disciplines, with around 230 different courses per year. Each of the three years of your study has a different focus. The study programme in a nutshell:
First year: Explore
During the first year, you start new scholarly explorations and enter various academic disciplines. All students take general academic skills courses that help develop writing, presentation and methodological skills, and also take a foreign language course. You mainly take courses at the introductory level 1.
Second year: Expand your knowledge
The second year aims at expanding your knowledge and skills. By the start of this year, you declare a major. The major is your focus area, which gives your study the needed depth.
Third year: Focus on the thesis
Your studies at University College Utrecht culminate in the research thesis, a sizeable academic paper on a topic of your own choice. After graduating, you will have sufficient disciplinary knowledge to apply for a Master’s programme, enter the labour market, or pursue other interests.
Curriculum Examples
To get an idea of what a curriculum can look like please visit our website, where you can see examples of curricula that our alumni have studied.
Rankings
Utrecht University is ranked 55th in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) was published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy and 105th by the QS World University Rankings
University College Utrecht has been selected by Netherlands based study choice organization Keuzegids, as a top-rated programme for 2024. This label is only awarded to select programmes in the Netherlands.
Program Outcome
Degree: BA (Bachelor of Arts) / BSc (Bachelor of Science)
Career Opportunities
Our graduates continue their studies in a wide variety of disciplines, and as a result, they find jobs with a large range of employers in various fields. Graduates work as doctors, lawyers, psychologists, policy advisors, consultants, politicians, PhD researchers, marketeers, and in many other professions.
Besides your academic knowledge, studying at University College Utrecht also enables you to develop non-academic skills that are important for a successful and fulfilling career:
- Adaptability and flexibility (switching between disciplines)
- Time management, planning and self-reflection / assessment
- Experience working and living with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, study interests and talents
For more examples of future careers read the Alumni testimonials on our website.
Why study at Utrecht University
University College Utrecht has been pioneering the liberal arts and sciences in the Netherlands since 1998 and offers a unique perspective on the subject matter through a rich curriculum.
- At University College Utrecht you have complete freedom to develop your own curriculum combining the subjects of your choice. This allows students to explore their academic interests, to experiment with different academic disciplines and find their unique path forward to a future career.
- Each student is assigned a tutor upon registration, who will guide them through their academic development throughout the programme. Thanks to the tutoring system, the vast majority of the students at UCU will graduate within 3 years and many go on to study for a higher degree.
- University College Utrecht offers an American-style residential campus, a little village where the student housing is right next to the academic buildings. Housing is guaranteed for 3 years for all students.
To find out more about University College Utrecht join our open day, and you are also welcome to take a campus tour if you can!
In short:
- Honours College of Utrecht University (est. 1636)
- Liberal Arts and Sciences (BA/BSc)
- Compose your own multi-disciplinary curriculum
- Residential: Study and live on campus (guaranteed housing)
- Small scale: 750 students. On average 20 students per class
- International: Over 50% international, 70+ nationalities