Grading System

The dutch grading system is on a 10-point scale, from 1 til 10, with at the UvA, a 5.5 meaning a pass. Grades are rounded (usually) by the .5, expect at the pass-fail point, where either you get a 5 or a 6.

The grades at the UvA are weighted, using Testvision, there is usually a ‘guessing chance’ counter-measure. More information can be found under the Exam Regulations of each course, on Canvas or via Studiegids.

Something that especially new students find difficult to realize, that equivilant to UK and US grade, an 8.5 is usually already a 1st/A, and receiving a 10 is extremely rare due to the grades being weighted. Therefore, a realistic expectation should be held for yourself, to balance student and study life.

Teaching Assistance Programmes

Would you like to work with first-year students at economics and business? Would you like to help them in improving and optimising their study, Excel and presentation skills? And would you like to work on your own facilitation and presentation skills?

Then the following vacancy might be just for you.

We are looking for new tutors for the upcoming academic year (you can apply if you are a 2nd year, 3rd year or Master student in the upcoming year, you need at least 60 ECTS by 1 September).

Skills & Connect is a course spread over periods 1,2 and 4 and you will guide first-year students through study methods, Excel skills and presentation skills and you’ll act as their mentor in the first semester. Check the application here.

If you have any questions, send an email to p.r.stastra@uva.nl.

Education Programme

During the year you follow several courses. For each course, an exam takes place at the end of each month. This ensures that the first two weeks of the month are fairly quiet, then the third week is hard work required, and the fourth week you will be locked in the library to learn.

European Credits 

For each completed course a student will receive credits, called ECTS, but they’re better known as EC’s (European Credits). It is an international European credit system and it emphasizes the study load of a course. An easily achievable course with a very short longitude will probably earn you 3 points, while a difficult course that takes 4 months will earn you 12 points for example. Students need to earn 60 points per year to receive their Bachelor’s degree in three years. All together, the courses in the first year are worth 60 points. Of course, it can happen that you don’t pass a course, in that case, you can retake the exam at the end of the year. If students fail the exam again, they will not receive any credits.

Binding Study Advice 

Students are issued with a Binding Study Advice (BSA). This means that students must obtain sufficient study credits in the first year of their Bachelor’s programme to be permitted to continue studying in their second year. This BSA is 48 points for Psychology at the UvA. So this means that if you have not obtained a 12-point course or two 6-point courses, you can still move on to the second year! However, in your second year you will have to make up for the shortfall. If you haven’t obtained the 48 points,  you sadly have to stop studying Psychology at the UvA, except if you have specific personal reasons that have prevented you from working optimally on the course.

Year 1, semester 1 (September until January)

– In the first four months you follow the course Introduction to Psychology & Cognitive Psychology. Cognitive Psychology deals with mental activities and the acquisition of knowledge for observations and information processing. Research Methods & Statistics will be followed during the same period. It covers what science is, what scientific research is, how you do your research and finally you will be introduced to statistics.

– In the last four weeks of the semester (January), the course Developmental Psychology discusses the development of humans from birth to death.

– Throughout the first semester you will also learn how to write a scientific piece. This will also take place during the second semester.

– The Christmas holidays are the first break during the year. It takes place from December to January, specific dates depend on the year.

Year 1, semester 2 (February until June)

– In the second semester everyone will start with Social and Work & Organisational Psychology for 8 weeks. During Social Psychology you will learn mainly about group processes and in W&O you will learn about the psychology behind the employee in a company.

– You will then have Clinical Psychology & Brain and Cognition for 8 weeks. Clinical Psychology treats mental disorders and in B&C you learn about the substances and parts in the brain.

– The May Vacation is the second break in the year, it lasts a week and usually takes place around the beginning of May.

– As the last course of the year you will have Professional Orientation. This course helps you choose a specialization for the second year.

For more information, check out the link of the UvA-website for the Psychology Bachelor.

Your Schedule

The UvA Schedule is the website where you can find your courses, the lecture and tutorial times, the locations of the lecture or tutorial and your lecturer/teacher. For your information, the website is called www.rooster.uva.nl. Rooster is the Dutch word for schedule. The UvA schedule is quite a difficult one to find out, so do not hesitate to ask other people if you do not get how it works. I hope we can give you enough information about how it works to make sure you know where to be when. I will explain it step-by-step, so hopefully, you have your schedule in your timetable after these steps.

Step 1: go to www.rooster.uva.nl and log in with your UvAnetID (your student number and password) in the top right corner.

Step 2: To see your schedule, you have to add your schedule to the timetable. You can do so by clicking on “Add timetable”.

Step 3: To see a shared programme, click on “Programme of study”. For first year students your whole first year is a shared programme. For second years, most of your year is a shared programme.

Step 4: search for “Psychology” in the search bar

Step 5: click on “Bachelor’s in Psychology year ….” and then your year and click on “Add timetable in the bottom right corner”

→ now you will see a lot of classes in your schedule. These are all of the classes there are, so now you have to specify your own tutorial groups. I will explain this for the first-year classes.

Step 6: On the right of the screen, you find a list of all timetables comprising your personal timetable. Hover your mouse over the Tutorials Academic Skills/Reading and Writing of Scientific Texts – 7201620PXY_Sem1_Blok_1en2en3  timetable and click the button. Because it says Sem1_Blok_1en2en3 you know it is for semester 1, blocks 1, 2 and 3. Now click on “Filter Activities”.

Step 7: click on the tutorial group that is assigned to you and you will see your schedule!

For more information about the timetable, go to https://rooster.uva.nl/help.

Roeterseiland Campus

The UvA has different buildings and campuses located in different parts of Amsterdam. The psychology department is located on Roeterseilandcampus, Roetersstraat 11. This is the center of Amsterdam, and the place you will have most of your lectures and tutorials. However, your exams mostly take place at another location, mostly at IWO, Meibergdreef 29, Amsterdam.

The different buildings at Roeterseiland Campus:

  • A, B, C: you will have most lectures in these buildings. These are the bordeaux red, light orange, and lila buildings on the map. Big chance that your tutorial groups will take place here as well.
  • D or “De Brug” (the Bridge): De Brug is a canteen on a bridge over the canal on the 4th floor and has an amazing view over the campus. It is the green building on the map. So, for a nice view during your lunch, you should definitely go there.
  • E: Faculty of Economics & Business
  • G: the Psychology Department. The VSPA room is also situated in this building. This is the place to get your summaries, ask your questions about extracurricular activities and meet fellow psychology students. This is the orange building on the map.
  • H: In building H, the red building in the top left corner, is the general canteen. Here you can buy sandwiches, soup, and a changing assortment of warm meals, such as Vietnamese, Indian or Mexican food. Building H also has workspaces, a library, and computers to work on.
  • JK: there is a chance that your tutorials will take place in the purple JK building.

For a nice study break, a good lunch, some coffee, or a beer, CREA is the place to be. CREA is a cafe and a cultural student center, where you can do a lot. You can follow courses in music, dance, film & photography, theatre, creative skills, fine arts and much more with a discount for UvA students. For more information about CREA go to their website, or head over to ‘Enjoy Your Stay’.

For other food around campus, you should go to “De Brug” or the canteen in the H building. Luckily, the buildings are very well marked on campus with their letters. And you can always ask someone at the service desk of a building. Furthermore, the campus has practical facilities as well. There are computers in the library, you can print on campus, and you can book your own rooms via https://uva.mapiq.net/.

Around campus, there are loads of facilities. There’s a supermarket, Albert Heijn, around the corner. There are tram and metro stops close by, which makes the campus easy to reach. Moreover, there are bars, cafes, and restaurants in the streets around campus as well.

For the campus tour you can watch the following video:

Who to Contact at UvA

The Ombuds student

The Ombudsstudent is an independent contact person, this year that is Elin Swaan. If you ever find yourself in a situation in which you feel that you are being treated unfairly, or if you disagree with something and you don’t know how to solve it, she is your contact person!

Contact: 

Email: psyombudsstudent-fmg@uva.nl

The study advisors

  • Mascha Kraak
  • Irene Luth
  • Rebeka Rotter
  • Sarah Plunkett

Email

Email: studyadviser-psy-fmg@uva.nl

External link

Please be so kind as to include your full name and student ID number in your email.

Open office hours

Monday to Friday 13.00-15.00, REC G0.23 and 0.24.

Make appointment online

Students can make a personal appointment online

External link. An appointment is set for twenty minutes

Telephone consultation hours

Tuesday              10.00-11.00 T: +31(0)20 525 5855
Wednesday        10:00-11:00 T: +31(0)6 3927 0562
Friday                  10.00-11.00 T: +31(0)6 1893 8247

The VSPA

The VSPA is always there for you, for whatever questions or issues you might have. Both personal and study related questions are always welcome! We will try to help you or send you to the best person to contact.

This year we have two appointed trust persons, Heleen and Irmak. They are the specific people in the VSPA to contact when you have personal troubles and you don’t know who to contact. Heleen or Irmak will then help you out, either directly or with finding the right person.

Contact:

You can contact us via Instagram and Facebook  by sending us a private message, or you can send an email to info@vspa.nl or  you can of course also always stop by at the VSPA room (GS.25)

Trust persons: Heleen@vspa.nl and Irmak@vspa.nl

Teacher

You can always contact your teachers, the people giving the lectures, for questions that are related to the study material.

Contact:

Their contact information is course (and teacher) specific, but you can always find them on canvas or by googling: ‘their name, UvA’.

Tutorial teacher 

Your tutorial teacher is there to help you with your study material and studying in general, but they’re also your mentor! You can always contact them with your personal and study-related troubles, don’t be afraid to ask them for help.

Contact: 

Every semester you get a new tutorial teacher, you can always email them via canvas and they usually also share their other contact information in one of the first tutorials.

The education desk

If you have other questions about your application, admission or selection, you can contact our education desk. You may experience difficulties reaching the Education Desk via telephone. If you send them an email, they will reply to you shortly.

You can contact the education desk for:

  • Your (certified) grade list, which includes your GPA
  • Requests about general study information
  • To pick up your propaedeutic and bachelor’s degree (after notification)
  • Information about test viewings and reassessment requests (1st and 2nd year bachelor)
  • Contract education
  • Colloquium doctum (21+ tests)

Contact: 

Educationdesk-psy@uva.nl

Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, room G0.22

1018 WS Amsterdam

Telephone: +31(0)20 525 6770 (between 10:00 – 14:00)

Honors Program

If you are looking for a way to challenge yourself further, the Honors Program is the right place for you. You can take extra courses next to your Bachelor’s and graduate with an Honors degree.

Application 

In order to get into the Honors Program, you need a GPA of 7.5 in your first year. If you fulfill this requirement you will receive an email from Max van der Linden (Honors coordinator for psychology) towards the summer break. You will need to write a motivation letter to apply. The Psychology honors program has a big capacity so you would most likely get in.

Workload 

In order to stay in the honors program, you need to maintain your 7.5 GPA. In addition to that, you have to get an extra 30 EC’s in the second and third-year combined. The Honors courses are not affecting your GPA (it is calculated only from the Psychology courses), however, you need to pass them to get the credits. You need the 15EC by the end of your second year, meaning that you approximately need to take 2 extra courses per semester. It is a high workload but you can always decide to stop doing the honors program and there are no consequences.

Honors Courses

In the first semester of the second year, you can take any elective you want. You can also take current topic courses from the third year. However, you need to make sure the additional courses you take do not clash with your own schedule. In the second semester, you have to take one (or two) of the Interdisciplinary Honors modules (IIS). For an extensive list of all the courses offered you can check out this link. You can also take electives from different universities like the VU or AUC. However, in order to obtain the honors degree, you need to take at least 2 IIS courses overall. In the first semester of the third year, there is a mandatory course for all psychology honors students called ‘Breaking Borders’. Other than that you can shape your third year however you want.

Studying Abroad

During your studies at the UvA, you can also join one of the many exchange programs that the UvA offers. Studying abroad is a great way to meet new people, gain an unforgettable international experience and improve your CV in a fun way.

The UvA offers two main exchange programmes. The first one is the Erasmus programme, which allows you to do exchange within Europe. The second one is the Global Exchange programme if you would like to do an exchange outside of Europe. Both exchange programmes have different application procedures and deadlines so make sure to check the websites for further information.

For more general information you can check out this link or contact the Office of International Student Affairs (BIS) by sending an email to studyadviser-psy-fmg@uva.nl . These study advisors are specifically for exchange and they can help you fit in exchange in your study schedule.

Co-curricular Activities at the UvA

International Student ambassador 

The International Student Ambassadors share their first-hand experiences of the degree programs, teaching style, living in Amsterdam, and more. Would you like to connect with your fellow international students and play an important role in representing the University of Amsterdam? You can join the international ambassador program through this link but you need to check when they open their applications.

Student Delegate

There are different student delegates for each specialization, you check them out through this link. There are two responsibilities of student delegates. Firstly they are responsible for giving a summary of all the Evaluations forms of all the courses which are part of their respected specialization and then also discussing it with the course coordinator. The second part is organizing events related to their specialization.

There is no application process for being a student delegate. Anyone who is interested and motivated can join! You can just send out an email to the student delegates that you would like to join. The recruitment starts at the beginning of every semester.

Program Committee

In the Programme Committee, lecturers and students can jointly influence the teaching offered in the Psychology degree program. The committee is made up of an equal number of lecturers and students. Each program group is represented by one of its lecturers. The committee’s student members work in close communication with the ombud student, the VSPA, the Student Council, and the student fractions of the program groups. Program committee members usually serve a two-year term. The PC is an important advisory organ, and therefore a great addition to your resume. For more information, you can check out this link

If you have any questions about the PC, you can always send an email to: ocstudentenfractie-fmg@uva.nl

Focus group

The education and the evaluation reports are discussed with the teachers and students of the Focus Group. The Focus Group students help the teachers with the interpretation of the reports and they advise the teachers and policy officers on how to improve the education and the educational environment. Therefore, the Focus Group is an easy way to contribute to the quality of the education, without taking too much of your time.

If you have any questions or want to register for the focus group, you can send an email to: ec-psy-fmg@uva.nl

VSPA

The VSPA also offers a lot of opportunities to improve your resume, e.g. by doing a board year or joining certain more serious committees. Below we have gathered all the information you need!

P.S. If you are interested in doing Work & Organisational Psychology, joining one of these committees may be perfect for you since they contribute to your critical thinking and experience within the field!

If you are interested in any of these committees, you can always contact one of the board members for more information, keep an eye on our social media, or send an email to info@vspa.nl.

Board Year

Every year the VSPA is run by a new board. This board consists of 6 highly motivated Psychology students that get selected by the Application Committee and the members. They are responsible for the association as a whole and for all of her committees, members, and activities. They work full-time throughout the entire academic year. A board consists of a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Committee Affairs Officer, Study Committee Affairs Officer, and Officer of Sales & Acquisition. All of these functions have different roles within the board, but all of them are indispensable to the functioning of the board.

Doing a board year is a big commitment, but it is also something that looks great on your CV and is a lot of fun to do. But, most of all, you are able to contribute to making the student life of psychology students at the UvA even better. Consider a board year, because you acquire knowledge that is useful for the rest of your life.

Applying for a board position starts in February. You will go through an application process in which you do interviews and matching days, to make sure the best combination of applicants get selected.

The advisory organs: SB and CAC 

The treasurer of the board keeps track of the financial part of the association. However, on behalf of the GMA, the treasurer of the board will always be checked by the Cash Audit Committee (CAC). Members of the CAC will also attend board meetings to give their critical opinions on financial matters. The CAC often consists of old treasures or students who are interested in the financial side of the association, but it’s not necessary. The members of the CAC will be elected by the GMA.

The Supervisory Board (SB) checks, on behalf of the GMA, whether the board is keeping to their policy and the charter (official statutes/rules of the association). In addition to this controlling function, the SB plays an advisory role in the decision-making of the board and will be elected as the private contact persons of the board. If a board member would like to discuss professional or private issues, which has an influence on the quality of their performance, the SB-members could be helpful during that period. The SB members attend board meetings and often consist of old board members or members with a lot of experience in the policy process of the VSPA. Like all of the other administrative bodies, members will be elected by the GMA.

General Members Assembly (GMA) Committee

Every new plan or idea of the board, with a big enough influence on the association, has to be approved in the General Members Assembly (GMA). In addition, all the administrative bodies are elected during GMA’s. During a GMA, at least 1% of the members of the VSPA must be present. As a member, you can express your opinion, contribute to the thinking process, ask questions and decide whether proposals should be accepted or denied. This way, all of the members have a significant influence on the current situation and the future of the association.

During a GMA you get a little more insight into the serious side of the association. The committee that organizes the GMA’s, thinks about the policy, and prepares the agenda for the GMA’s is the GMA-Committee (GMAtee)

The committee consists of a chair, a secretary, and possibly general members. The chair leads the assemblies and the secretary writes everything down that is discussed during the GMA’s. The general members help with the preparations and promotion of the GMA’s.

Lustrum Coordination Committee (LCC)

On the 14th of May 1941, the VSPA was founded by Marie (Mia) Rijk van Ommeren. This means that every five years, we are looking for a special committee to help us celebrate this milestone. As a member of the Lustrum Coordination Committee (LCC), you will have a lot of freedom in what kind of activities you choose to organize. During our 75th anniversary, this committee organized a pool party for instance. There is more than enough room for creativity in this committee! This committee will take you around an hour per week, but this will increase to approximately five hours a week as the event(s) near. The next LCC will be chosen at the end of the academic year 2024/2025.

First Year Weekend Coordination Committee (FCC)

The First Year Weekend (FYW) takes place at the start of the year. This is the weekend where first-year psychology students spend a great weekend together in the south of The Netherlands to get to know each other and older VSPA-members. For many students, this is one of the most enjoyable VSPA-activities of the year! The weekend is full of fun activities, games, food, and parties: the perfect place to make some friends. The committee always starts in April and will finish after the first year’s weekend. The workload of the committee is pretty high so be aware of this. Every spring, around five coordinators will be elected at the GMA, who will work together to create a weekend that will never be forgotten. In addition to the First Year Coordination Committee (FCC), many people are still needed to make the FYW a success. Would you like to become a FYW volunteer mentor next year, keep an eye on the VSPA-platforms for more information.

Application Committee (AC)

The Application Committee (AC) is responsible for finding the perfect next board of the VSPA. The AC holds interviews and organizes the assessment day with the psychology students who apply for a position in the new board. During this process, you analyze the interviews, the personal characteristics, the competencies, and the possible pitfalls of the applications. After the procedure, the AC presents its board with its motives to the GMA. The GMA then votes on whether to accept this future board.

The AC consists of multiple members, who all have a different connection with the association. Around December the AC will be elected during a GMA. Do not underestimate the hours you will be spending interviewing the applicants and analyzing them afterward, together with the rest of your committee.