Course registration: incoming first-year students
Course registration for your first semester: 5 courses in total
To guide you through the course registration process for your first semester at AUC, we ask that you review this information. It contains important information about your first semester, which includes a 16-week in Autumn term followed by a 4-week January period.
| Semester 1 |
16-week period (Autumn)
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4-week period (January)
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An overview of all courses can be found in the course catalogue. Make sure to select “AUC” under Institutes. Please note that you may only request courses listed under Course 3, Course 4, and Course 5 below.
Courses 1 & 2: Mandatory courses
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Please note that all incoming first-year students starting in September 2025 will receive an email in mid-July with access to a personalised form, which they will need to review and confirm that they have read. |
Confirm your mandatory courses by 1 August
All first-year students are required to take mandatory courses in their first academic year.
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Courses 1 & 2: Mandatory
All first-year students are required to take the following mandatory courses in their first year.
- Academic Writing Skills
- Logic, Information, Argumentation
- First Methods course
- Humanities: Methods in the Humanities I
- Sciences: Calculus or Methods in Life and Earth Sciences
- Social Sciences: Methods for Social Sciences Research
We will register you for two out of the three courses in Semester 1. The remaining course must be taken in Semester 2 (Spring 2026).
Courses 3 & 4: Elective courses
Registering your elective courses in GLASS from 18 August to 25 August
For the elective courses, you must register yourself via GLASS, the course registration platform of the University of Amsterdam. The direct link to GLASS is: https://glass.uva.nl/. For your first year you will be able to register for courses during the late registration period (Monday 18 August, 10.00 to Monday 25 August, 13.00).
How does GLASS work?
We've made two clips to demonstrate how to use GLASS:
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Course 3: 100-level course from your major
For your third course, you are required to choose a 100-level course from your major.
Humanities Majors
900103HUMY
Introduction to Literature
900107HUMY
Introduction to Philosophy I
900109HUMY
Introduction to Art History 1
900132HUMY
Introduction to Film Studies
900154HUMY
Introduction to Media Studies
Sciences Majors
900103SCIY
Life, Earth and Universe
900105SCIY
Introduction to Climate and Sustainability
900106SCIY
Introduction to Health and Wellbeing
900109SCIY
Introduction to the Energy Transition
900132SCIY
Introduction to Physics
900141SCIY
Introduction to Chemistry
900152SCIY
Introduction to Biology
900161SCIY
The Human Body - Anatomy and Physiology
900171SCIY
Introduction to Public Health
900181SCIY
Introduction to Environmental Sciences
900191SCIY
Programming Your World
900102SSCY
Artificial Cognition: Pattern Recognition
900145ACCY
Programming in Digital Societies
Social Sciences Majors
900102SSCY
Artificial Cognition: Pattern Recognition
900131SSCY
Economic Thought in a Historical Perspective
900142SSCY
Law, Society and Justice
900151SSCY
Classical and Modern Political Thought
900161SSCY
International Relations Theory and Practice
900171SSCY
Classical and Modern Sociological Thought
900181SSCY
Classical and Modern Anthropological Thought
900192SSCY
Psychology
900171SCIY
Introduction to Public Health
900181SCIY
Introduction to Environmental Sciences
900105SCIY
Introduction to Climate and Sustainability
900103ACCY
Mathematical Methods for Economics
900122SSCY
Environmental Economics
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Course 4: 100-level course from any major
For your fourth course, you are free to choose from all available 100-level courses at AUC, regardless of your major. However, it is recommended to select courses relevant to your major or those that align with your interests, as they will provide a strong foundation for your future studies.
Course 5: January period [4-weeks]
During your first year, you are required to take the course The Global Identity Experience (GIE) in either January or June.
Please note that GIE is a mandatory course for your first year. However, since there will be a 50/50 split over the January and the June intensive, the course may be oversubscribed. If you selected GIE and the course is full, we will place you in an alternative January intensive and you will have to take GIE in Semester 2 (spring).
In the period when you do not take the GIE course, you will take a different 4-week course. You can choose from several 200- and 300-level courses as long as you meet the entry requirements. Note that you may fulfil the entry requirements by completing a prerequisite course during the 16-week period and we will check for this.
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January period course options
Course code Course name Prerequisites 900141ACCY The Global Identity Experience 900102SCIY Health, Resilience and Human Flourishing 900103SSCY Challenges of Food and Nutrition Security 900222SSCY Risk Management and Natural Hazards "Introduction to Environmental Sciences" or "Introduction to Geographic Information Systems" 900102SCIY Health, Resilience and Human Flourishing 900110SCIY Intermediate Programming: Principles and Practice 900334SSCY Market Failures, Institutions and Economic Policy 900319SSCY Peace Lab 900243SCIY Environmental Chemistry/Eco-Toxicology "Introduction to Chemistry" or "Introduction to Biology" or "Introduction to Environmental Sciences" 900254SCIY Evolution and Origin of Human Diseases "Ecology - from Soil to Society" or "Introduction to Biology" or "The Human Body - Anatomy and Physiology" 900113HUMY Music and Text 900369SSCY Diplomacy Lab "International Relations Theory and Practice" or " Classical and Modern Political Thought" or "Theme Course: Political Science, Law, Economics" 900395SSCY The Empathic Brain "Psychology" or "Brain and Cognition" 900325SSCY Behavioural Economics "Game Theory" or "Statistics for Sciences" or "Statistical Methods for Social Sciences Research" or "Mathematical Methods for Economics" or "Probability and Statistics"
900129ACCY Arabic 1: Language and Culture 900130ACCY Chinese 1: Language and Culture 900126ACCY Spanish 1: Language and Culture 900228ACCY Spanish 2: Language and Culture 900113ACCY Dutch 1a: Language and Culture 900116ACCY Dutch 1b: Language and Culture Language courses and your level
If you opt for a language course, you will need to select the course at the level you believe matches your proficiency. You will be able to find context on the level, in the course catalogue description for the respective course (studiegids). Additionally you can self-test here ‘check your language level’. You will be able to determine the course you should be placed in immediately after completing the test. In the first week of class, your instructor will conduct a further check to ensure all students are in the appropriate language courses.