University College

Where most academic degree programs focus on a single discipline, such as economics, psychology or law, a University College offers a wide-ranging, multidisciplinary Bachelor’s program, called Liberal Arts and Sciences, after the Latin Artes Liberales. Study programs in classical and medieval European schools included the core subjects of grammar, logic and rhetoric. An art (or artes) in this case meant a subject, and the arts were called free (or liber) because they trained students to be free people.

Liberal Arts

The same is actually true for today’s Liberal Arts program at the University College Tilburg, which aims to train students to be independent thinkers and committed citizens. A University College is international: a major share of its students is international and the curriculum is English-taught. The lectures introduce students to other perspectives and different cultures. Since 2008, Tilburg has had a three-year Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor’s program. Its founder and first Dean was Willem Witteveen. Since September 2016, the Liberal Arts and Sciences program has been taught by the University College Tilburg. The first year is entirely interdisciplinary. In their second year, students choose a major in the fields of business and economics, social sciences, law, the humanities or cognitive neurosciences. In their third year, the first semester is an opportunity for study abroad, and the final semester is devoted to the writing of a final paper.

Team teaching

University College Tilburg is not a residential community: some students share accommodation while others live elsewhere. A unique aspect of University College Tilburg is team teaching, whereby many subjects are taught by two teachers jointly, and different disciplinary perspectives often generate interesting debates.