University College Maastricht (UCM) is an

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

, internationally oriented, liberal arts and sciences college housed in the 15th century ''Nieuwenhof''

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Founded in 2002, it is the second of its kind in the Netherlands. The college is part of

Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public university, public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen List of universities in the Netherlands, Dutch universities. In ...

() and offers a selective honours interdisciplinary programme. The Dutch Higher Education Guide (''Keuzegids Hoger Onderwijs'') ranked UCM the best bachelors programme in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2016; in 2012, 2014 and 2015 they ranked UCM the best university college in the Netherlands. In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018 '' Elsevier Magazine'' ranked UCM the best university college in the Netherlands in terms of student satisfaction. It is a member of the European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

History

, of which UCM is part, was founded in 1976, making it one of the youngest universities in the Netherlands, and as of 2014 has over 16,000 students and roughly 3,600 employees. University College Maastricht itself opened in September 2002, before moving to a new location in 2006, and currently has over 800 students.

Academics

Education at University College Maastricht, providing

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degrees, is fully taught in English. The College is a

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

. Classes put an emphasis on independent learning via a group process structured through the

Problem-based learning Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defined solution ...

(PBL) method. The courses of the UCM programme are contained within three ''concentrations'' namely the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

sciences Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

. Of these students are required to choose one, although a combination of two is possible, in addition to a mandatory core curriculum and self-assembled general education, the latter picked from courses in a different concentration than the individual student's chosen concentration.

Concentrations

The Humanities concentration includes the

academic disciplines An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

and

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

cultural studies Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...

European studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on the History of Western civilization and the evolution of Western culture, as well as on current developments in European integration. Some ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and science and technology studies. The Sciences concentration, previously known as Life Sciences, includes

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. Finally, the Social Sciences concentration includes

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. Courses are additionally structured in a 1000 to 3000-level grid, indicating an increasing level of complexity and necessary previous knowledge. In addition to courses, students are required to choose skills trainings including, but not limited to,

argumentation An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persu ...

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

languages Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is ch ...

and

research methods Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

. Thirdly, students are required to take one project, e.g. academic debating, per semester.

Curriculum structure

An individual student's curriculum consists of the previously mentioned courses, skills trainings and projects. With UCM using the

European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard means for comparing academic credits, i.e., the "volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload" for higher education across the Eu ...

(ECTS) a BA or BSc at UCM will comprise a total of 180 ECTS. Students subsequently enrol in a maximum of 30 ECTS per semester, or 60 ECTS for a full year, with students receiving 5 ECTS for courses and projects and 2.5 ECTS for skills trainings. Students create their own curriculum, with help of academic advisors, by choosing courses located within their respective concentration in addition to a requirement to complete a core curriculum, consisting of four courses, and a general education requirement, consisting of two courses per concentration the student did not choose. The aim of this curriculum is to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own academic preferences and talents and acquire the expertise and skills to enter a Master programmes (see Admissions and Student Population).

International partnerships

Since its inception the college has established a number of international partnerships, allowing its students to participate in exchange programmes with subsequent study points counting towards their UCM degrees. Partner universities include

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

(including a flagship Double Degree Programme),

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and Sciences Po Lille.

Location and building

After major renovations, UCM moved into the former ''Nieuwenhof'' convent in 2006. Located in the Jekerkwartier neighbourhood in central Maastricht, the building dates back to 1485 immediately adjacent to Maastricht's city fortifications. The 2000s (decade) renovation of the former convent included the creation of a

common room A common room is a type of shared lounge, most often found in halls of residence or dormitories, at (for example) universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. They are generall ...

, IT facilities and a reading room providing specific literature related to courses taught at the college. UCM's Jekerkwartier location makes it part of the larger city centre campus of Maastricht University including its inner city library, School of Business, Law faculty and Graduate School of Governance. File:Zwingelput.JPG, Zwingelput street File:Entreedeur aan straatzijde - Maastricht - 20364823 - RCE.jpg, Entrance Zwingelput 4 File:University college maastricht hansbeijerplein.jpg, Courtyard File:University college maastricht front.jpg, Chapel Nieuwenhof

Admissions and student population

New students at UCM enrol in September. Compared to other undergraduate programs in the Netherlands, the admissions process is rigorous and extensive. New students are selected based on a letter of motivation, a CV, and an

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

. The UCM student population includes about 50 different nationalities with approximately 70% of students originating outside the

. In recent years, 13.5% of applicants have gone on to study at UCM which is indicative of the highly competitive admissions process.

Extracurricular activities

UCMSA Universalis is a multicultural and multidisciplinary study association directly affiliated with UCM. It is run by UCM students for UCM students. Universalis contributes to both academic and social life at UCM. The association is involved in the organization of parties, charity fundraisers, excursions, debates, student representation and many other events.

Notes

External links

''University College Maastricht'' homepageBachelor's Courses

Universalis, UCM study association
{{authority control Education in Maastricht Educational institutions established in 2002 Liberal arts colleges at universities in the Netherlands Maastricht University Universities in the Netherlands Universities using Problem-based learning 2002 establishments in the Netherlands