38 Social Science MSc Degree Programs in Netherlands

Master Psychology: Health and Social Psychology studies behaviour and behavioural change using methods from clinical and social psychology. The main focus is on understanding how people’s personalities, cognitions and social environment influence their health and social functioning.

Law and Society: Governance and Global Development (MSc) is a one-year master’s degree at the internationally renowned Leiden Law School of Leiden University. The program brings together students from law and social sciences to examine the dynamic relationship between legal norms and social reality. Its global orientation, interdisciplinary approach, and focus on social justice make this master’s program unique in its field.

Are you passionate about sustainable development? Would you like to ensure that the resources that we now have will still be available for future generations? And can you see yourself developing strategies to steer governments and businesses towards sustainable behavior? Then the master’s program Sustainability Science, Policy and Society is the perfect program for you! The world needs professionals capable of tackling today's sustainability challenges. This interdisciplinary master's program focuses on factors affecting sustainability, such as global dynamics, policy, governance, and law. You will also learn how to design, conduct and evaluate sustainability assessments. Based on your personal interest, this master's program allows you to specialize in Policy or Business.

The focus of the MSc in Psychology: Applied Social Psychology is on the theory and application of psychology to manage real-life problems. We provide an international approach, with international and staff experts tuition from professionals in the field, and you will have the freedom to choose your own area of specialization. Dutch students can take a large part of the program in Dutch.

Embark on a unique journey with the only research master in European Studies in the Netherlands. Dive into interdisciplinary research, gain hands-on experience, and receive tailored training for a research career in academia, politics, or journalism.

As a research master student you choose one of our three multidisciplinary themes. The theme-specific courses will give you a broad view on the theme and will introduce you to the unique perspectives of the theme-related specializations. In the course of the first semester you will choose your own specialization. It will enable you to tailor your master to the topics that you wish to engage in.

As a social scientist you need the knowledge and skills to collect and analyze data in a digital society. Polarization, cybersecurity, international migration, artificial intelligence and healthy ageing for example are global challenges that do not keep to disciplinary and methodological boundaries. Advances in digital technologies, such as algorithms, platforms, apps, and online social networks, create societal challenges that are highly complex and interconnected, affecting society at all levels: individuals, communities, organizations, and nations.

Have you ever wondered how diversity, solidarity and inequality are connected? Or how to counter radicalisation? How segregation in social networks arises? How organisational processes influence inequality? This programme is the one for you!

The Master in Urban Governance of Inclusive Sustainable Cities is part of the MSc in Public Administration of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. A unique asset of this Master’s specialisation is the collaboration between the Department of Public Administration (Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, ESSB) and the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS).

The Experimental and Applied Psychology department at VU Amsterdam offers talented and motivated students a challenging and unique two-year Research Master’s program in Social Psychology. The program focuses on providing in-depth knowledge of major fields in social psychology by emphasizing general principles underlying social behavior.

Why are social divisions in society increasing? Are you interested in knowing how welfare policies can help to reduce social inequality? Then this master track might be the right choice for you. This master's programme offers insights into the causes and consequences of social and wealth inequality and sheds light on ways in which social policies can reduce it.

Are you captivated by how people interact in today's global societies? Do you want to deepen your knowledge of the dynamics in our society? Are you fascinated by the tensions between economic, political, and social hierarchies that often create inequalities and diversity challenges? You’ll explore all these issues and more if you follow the Master's program in Social and Cultural Anthropology at VU Amsterdam.

What is the “right” amount of policing? Can we sustain our healthcare system with a shrinking, ageing population? Under what conditions is it acceptable to enact censorship on social media? How do we encourage the uptake of sustainable behaviour amongst disadvantaged groups in society? These are the types of questions we will tackle in the Master's programme Sociology: Contemporary Social Problems.

As a research master's student, you choose one of our three multidisciplinary themes. The theme-specific courses will give you a broad view of the theme and will introduce you to the unique perspectives of the theme-related specializations. In the course of the first semester, you will choose your own specialization. It will enable you to tailor your master's to the topics that you wish to engage in.

In the MSc International Economics and Sustainable Development, you are taught societally relevant topics and how they are related to the world of economics, and we help you develop valuable skills in international trade, international finance and banking, policy analysis, and more

The MSc in Conflict, Territories, and Identities focuses on the interplay between (inter)national conflicts and the identities and borders in the minds of people. Learn to look beyond the violent conflict itself by also paying attention to practices of post-conflict reconstruction.