From last year onward only 2 elective (specialization) courses are
available: Land Use Change at the VU in period 3 or Advanced GIS in the
Spring period at University Utrecht. The courses at WUR, RUG and UT are
no longer available.

The purpose of this minor is to acquaint the student with different
disciplines within the field of Neuroscience. The student will become
familiar with the workings and functions of different types of brain
cells and brain areas. The student will learn how this knowledge can be
used to understand characteristics of the healthy brain (e.g.,
perception, attention, learning and memory, consciousness, personality),
of the developing brain
(pre- and postnatal), and of the diseased brain (e.g., depression,
addiction, eating disorders).
In addition, the students will be familiarized with recent findings from
the fields of human genetics and will actively participate in
nature-versus-nurture debates. Finally, this minor provides an
introduction into recent technological advances in brain-machine
interfaces, deep brain stimulation, and robotics in the context of
Neuroscience. The integration of disciplines such as biology,
psychology, sociology, and genetics, is central to this minor. Students
learn to think critically about how knowledge of the brain and the human
genome can be applied to tackle societal issues.

New and emerging infectious diseases, changing disease patterns, ageing,
rising costs of healthcare – these are problems that add complexity to
the already considerable health challenges the world is facing today.
Many diseases do not stop at national borders, and most health problems
have social, political and economic impacts. The world is more than ever
in need of a vision of health that spans the globe. At the same time,
innovative answers to these challenges emerge, like novel
pharmaceuticals, neurotechnologies, genomics, mhealth (using mobile
phones), field test kits that replace whole laboratories, as well as
innovative funding schemes and care arrangement (e.g. community-based
health care). But how can we make these answers fit the challenges that
are emerging? History shows numerous, at best, not-so-effective health
interventions and unintended consequences. To effectively address these
complex health challenges, global health researcher need to
cross-disciplinary boundaries and interact with health professionals,
patients and others to gain in-depth understanding of global health
problems, and to set out cohesive and strategic action to solve these
problems.

Why are some companies outperforming their rivals? How is it that
companies like Nike and ASML are responsive to changes in customer
preferences and are successfully battling their competitors, whereas
companies like General Motors and Philips struggle? Why are companies
like Airbnb and Uber successful in developing and selling product and
service innovations, whereas publishers and record companies lack
innovative capacity? How is it possible that long-existing companies are
surpassed by new venture start-ups with radical different business
approaches, such as Shapeways and Blendle? The answers to these
questions show that high-performing companies excel in using new ways of
management and organization. Specifically, these companies have business
models that work in today’s dynamic environment.

In the Minor in Business Administration you will learn to build, assess,
and change business models and tackle management and organization
issues.

The Minor in Business Administration is a 30 EC programme taught in
English. You will become familiar with the foundations of business
administration: strategy, marketing, finance, accounting, logistics,
technology, and human resource management. Using business model
thinking, you will combine and apply the knowledge from these
disciplines to study businesses. In addition, midway the programme you
are asked to select a specialization theme, which enables you to obtain
a deeper understanding about the relationship between your profession
and a business discipline. In addition to academic skills, the programme
emphasizes professional skills, including creativity, communication,
reflexivity, and consultancy. The Minor Business Administration provides
you with knowledge and skills to successfully act in dynamic
organizations, irrespective of your professional background.

Students in the BSc programmes Economics and (International) Business
Administration are excluded from participating in this University Minor.

Global food security is at the core of many of today’s societal
problems, varying from undernourished children to obese adults and
elderly; climate change presents a challenge for future food production;
novel technologies raise ethical questions with respect to animal
welfare, preservation of biodiversity, and protection of national policy
autonomy. These and many other societal issues are part of the content
of this course. These insights will be useful to a variety of academic
and societal fields, and may help you to choose your master’s programme.

This minor takes real world problems as a starting point. Examples,
assignments and (guest)lectures will be based on the variety of actual
challenges related to food security. Throughout the minor, culminating
in an advisory report in the last course, you will conduct an assignment
for a real organization active in the field of food security; e.g. the
Ministry of Economic Affairs; Oxfam Novib; FrieslandCampina.

Jobs are increasingly about combinations of insights and skills rather
than specialized knowledge only. In this minor you will acquire skills
and insights from different scientific backgrounds to be able to conduct
interdisciplinary research. The fact that this minor is offered by the
Amsterdam Centre for World Food Studies, an institute that brings
together researchers from different faculties of the VU to conduct
inter- and transdisciplinary research on food security, guarantees the
richness of skills and methods taught.

The opportunities of the digital era are essentially unlimited.
Innovative technologies may completely change how business and design
processes are set up, while new directions for fruitful start-ups are
countless. This calls for new and strategic ways of organising these
opportunities to innovate in the digital world. If you are interested in
new, exciting ways to organise for digital innovation, if you want to
learn how new digital technologies such as big data, 3D printing and
robotization change the way of working in your own field of expertise;
if you are interested in how to design and organise pervasive digital
technologies, if you would like to start your own Spotify, Uber or
Airbnb in your own specific discipline and would like to learn how to do
so; if you are interested in new professional, organisational and
managerial insights related to digital innovation, this minor is for
you.

This minor is a 30 EC programme taught in English. The programme
consists of five courses taught during the first semester of the third
year of your Bachelor program.

Students in the Bachelor programmes (International) Business
Administration are excluded from participating in this university minor.

What is the future of employment in the face of technical innovation?
Why does the discovery of natural resources make a country sometimes
poorer rather than richer? How can we keep the pension and health care
system sustainable if there are only half as many working age people?
Why do economic crises occur? These questions illustrate how economics
touches upon the most pressing problems of today: economic well-being,
inequality and sustainability. In the minor in Economics you will learn
to tackle economic issues by learning to think like an economist.

The minor in Economics is a 30 EC programme of 5 compulsory courses,
taught in English. You will become familiar with the development of
economic thought, including the principles of micro- and macroeconomic
theory and key insights from empirical economic analysis. You will gain
insight into the role of economic policy, learning to identify when
markets fail and when policy interventions may provide solutions.
Finally, you learn to take a structured approach to solving practical
problems using economic core concepts. Upon completion you will have a
proven ability to apply sound economic reasoning to a range of issues on
a micro- and macroeconomic level, for example related to labor markets,
social insurance, health and welfare policy, environmental and product
market regulation, fiscal and monetary policy, trade and development
policies.

Students in the BSc programmes Economics and Business Economics as well
as Econometrics are excluded from participating in this university
minor. More information is also available on our general Canvas page
https://canvas.vu.nl/courses/27772.

The following course is obligatory: Digital Humanities and Social
Analytics in Practice (XB_0015)

Introduction to Python for Humanities and Social Sciences
(L_AABAALG075): If you are already have programming skills (students
computer science and informatics) you can choose an alternative course
from a selection of Humanities and Social Science courses, after
consultation with the coordinator of the minor.

Choose 2 of the following 3 courses: The Personal is Political:
Biography, Gender and Diversity (L_AABAALG068); American Film
(L_ELBAELK208) or Identity, Diversity and Inclusion (S_IDI).

De kennis over de psyche en ons brein groeit snel. Wekelijks verschijnen
er artikelen en boeken met baanbrekende inzichten over de werking van
onze hersenen en het effect hiervan op ons gedrag. Deze kennis verandert
de wereld, met steeds sterk wordende effecten op marketing, rechtspraak,
technologie, computers, onze voeding en de economie. Het geeft ons
inzichten in waarin en waarom we van elkaar verschillen, en helpt ons
bepaalde groepsprocessen in de maatschappij te verklaren. Kennis over de
psychologie en ons brein zijn een must voor iedereen die wil begrijpen
waarom we doen wat we doen.

Doel
De minor Psychologie en het brein laat studenten kennismaken met de
vakgebieden die gedrag en brein onderzoeken. Studenten krijgen in de
minor een overzicht van de psychologie en de cognitieve
neurowetenschappen, en worden vervolgens geïntroduceerd in de manier van
onderzoek doen in deze velden. De doelstellingen hierbij zijn bij de
student:
a. de kennis aan te brengen om met verstand te oordelen over claims die
zowel binnen als buiten de wetenschap over psyche en brein worden
gemaakt,
b. de vaardigheden bij te brengen om zelf onderzoek te doen naar psyche
en brein.

Doelgroep:
De minor is aantrekkelijk voor studenten met een algemene interesse in
psychologie en de hersenen, met voorkennis van statistiek (zoals
aangeboden in bachelors in de sociale wetenschappen, economie, exacte en
biomedische wetenschappen).

Ingangseisen:
-Minstens 90 EC behaald binnen één bachelorprogramma.
-Minstens 6 EC behaald aan statistische vakken.

Aantal deelnemers:
Er geldt een maximum van vijftig studenten per jaar, die op basis van
First come First serve worden gekozen.

Globalisation impacts the way we live. We meet different people, learn
about diverse cultures, and internet facilitates world-wide
communication and information exchange. Law traditionally focuses on
nation states, but topics like migration, internet, climate, and
terrorism do not stop at the border. Quite the contrary. The objective
of this minor is to become aware of the fact that many societal issues
ask for a transboundary approach to law.

The minor explores the role of law in defining and resolving social
issues concerning the globalisation of societies. Central topics are
migration (transnational movement), internet (transnational
communications) and climate change (transnational action).
This minor offers students insight in questions, such as:
• Why transnational issues are not suited for unilateral, national
actions;
• What states can do within international law (such as European Union
law);
• The ways in which states are currently responding to these issues;
• The criticism of the current actions and regulations;
• Future perspectives.
After completing this minor, the student has knowledge of the core of
the legislation concerning the three topics, has gained insight in the
most important critique and analysis of this legislation (from a legal,
policy-orientated, sociological, anthropological and/or philosophical
perspective), and is capable of critically judging proposed changes. For
each of the topics the student knows which actors play a role in making
rules and policy, how states work together (or not), the consequences of
this (lack of) cooperation and the future perspective for transnational
regulations in migrations, climate change and internet. Knowledge of
these ‘case studies’ and the theory involved also enables student to
independently reflect on other areas of transnational problems, such as
security.

This minor explores a number of burning issues in the global world, such
as environment and sustainability, poverty and unequal economic growth,
global political economy, diversity and inequality, and urbanization.
Contrary to the previous minor entitled Development Studies, which
focused on issues surrounding poverty and social inequality in less
developed countries, or the Global South, this new minor approaches the
aforementioned issues through an understanding of “development” as a
field that not only pertains to so-called developing countries but also
to our own western, so-called developed, societies. In other words, the
minor Development and Global Challenges addresses a select number of
burning issues far away and in our own backyards.
The minor both addresses the policy level (including the role of states,
transnational corporations, and non-governmental organizations) and
local responses to contemporary global challenges; The minor critically
assesses earlier conceptualizations and approaches (governance) of
development and discusses their successes and failures; The minor
examines local responses to aforementioned issues, the importance of
political empowerment, and the conditions under which these responses
(and strategies) have been/can be successful; The minor addresses global
challenges such as environmental issues, urbanization and
sustainability, and social inequality both in the global south as well
as in the so-called developed world; The minor acknowledges the fact
that global challenges and burning issues are deeply connected at a
global scale, and need to be confronted at different levels (global,
national, local)