B.Sc. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)

Tackle societal issues
Part of the John Stuart Mill College, studying PPE at VU Amsterdam means benefiting from a personalised learning experience with lots of interaction between students and teachers. This Bachelor's programme is the first of its kind in mainland Europe.

You will tackle societal issues from multiple perspectives, using multiple disciplines. For example, approaching climate change from a political and an economic perspective, or examining issues that monopolies create through an economic lens and an ethical lens. Teaching is done mostly through seminars: in small groups, you will debate the big questions, look at how policies are applied, and critically discuss the outcomes.

The college has its own floor within VU Amsterdam's main building. This allows students to experience the vibrant VU campus life while taking advantage of the college’s private spaces available to PPE students only. The college provides spaces for social activities (mostly organized by PPE’s own study association KallioPPE ) and extracurricular events organized by coordinators, (PhD) students.

The programme is truly international in its orientation: 50% of the students who follow PPE come from abroad, and all students have a very international outlook on life. That's important, given that almost all PPE students take one semester at a partner university abroad - whether in the US, Europe, Asia or South Africa.

Students are required to choose two disciplines/tracks from their second year onwards. However, for highly talented students it's also possible to participate in the Honours programme (30 ECTS). There are two options: the internal honours programme, which means taking all three PPE disciplines; or the external honours programme, which means taking courses from another faculty or even another university in Amsterdam.