The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. And to be a university where personal education and societal involvement play a leading role. Where people from different disciplines and backgrounds work together on innovations and on generating new knowledge. Our teaching and research embrace the whole spectrum of science – from the humanities, the social sciences and the pure sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 26,500 students. We employ more than 4,600 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible, located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.
DiversityDiversity is one of our university’s core values. We are an inclusive community, and we believe that diversity and international activities enhance the quality of education and research. We are always looking for people who can enhance diversity on our campus thanks to their background and experience.
Faculty of Social SciencesThe Faculty of Social Sciences examines the major social problems of our time from multiple perspectives. From bullying at school to dealing with illegal immigration, from the rise of populist politicians to creating a self-reliant society. Only at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam you will find all the academic disciplines needed to understand these 'wicked problems': alongside the traditional disciplines such as sociology, anthropology and politics, we also research and teach the new social sciences such as communication science and management & organization science. We do not settle for easy answers in our teaching and research. Our researchers and students are critical thinkers and doers who work together to devise surprising solutions to the problems of today.
Working at the Faculty of Social Sciences means working with colleagues from a range of academic disciplines in an inspiring and personal work and study environment with excellent research facilities. We employ more than 250 staff members, and we are home to around 2,500 students.
About the departmentThe
department of Sociology hosts over 50 fte of academic staff and organizes the bachelor and master education in sociology, as well as courses in methodology in social sciences at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In the coming two years, our bachelor program will be renewed to include more transdisciplinary courses in which students learn from involvement with societal stakeholders. Education in the methodology of social sciences is also undergoing a series of innovations to meet the new challenges of working with big and small data. The Bachelor and Master programs in Sociology deal with the themes of diversity, social inequality, social networks and social capital, social conflict and change, and in- and exclusion. The research of the department is organized in the research program Participation in Society (
PARIS) that includes five theme groups: ‘Social Context of Aging’, ‘Social Inequality in the Lifecourse’, ‘Identities, Diversity and Inclusion’, ‘Social Conflict and Change’ en ‘Philanthropic Studies’.