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after your arrival at vu university amsterdam our international office will help you with · residencepermit:before,orwithinseveraldaysofyour arrival,youmustapplyforaresidencepermitif applicable theinternationalofficewillassistwiththe application · bankaccount:ifyouwishitispossibletoopenabank accountinthenetherlands · municipality:youshouldregisterwiththemunicipalityif youstayinthenetherlandsformorethanfourmonths ifyouarriveduringthedesignatedarrivaldays,youare enabletofinishthefirstformalitiesdirectly syrup waffles bicycles and canals that is what the netherlands is to me wheniwasdoingmybachelor s,iwenttoitalyasan exchangestudent,andthatwaswhereifirstheardmore aboutthenetherlandsandvuamsterdam.mycuriosity wasaroused,andi mnowworkingonmymaster sthesis it sgreattocycleroundthecityattheweekend,especially iftherearen tanytouristsaround.eventhoughidon tfeel asthoughi matouristanymore,istillsometimesfind myselfactinglikeone!oneofthefirstthingsididwheni arrivedinthenetherlandswastobuyabike,eventhough ihadnevercycledbefore!iboughtasecond-handone from`klavertjevier thecycleshopnearthevu.atfirsti usedtojustcycleupanddownthestreet,butnowitravel acrossthewholecityonmybike ialsohaveagreatdealofcontactwithmyfellowfinance students-therearefortyofus.aftertheendofeach periodwegotothebasketthebaronthecampus premises andsometimesthetutorscomewithus!the tutorshereareveryaccessibleanyway-thedoorisalways open,andyoualwaysgetfeedback.inromaniait sa differentstory.thestrangestthingtomewhenifirstcame hereisthatyouareallowedtoeatduringlectures ifyou recomingtoamsterdam,mytipsaretolookat www.lastminuteticketshop.nlwhereyoucangeta50 discountonticketsforconcertsandthetheatre!and don tforgettobringsomerainwearwhencomingtothe netherlands gabriela fortfota from romania information guide for exchange students vu university amsterdam 2010 2011 www.vuamsterdam.com/exchange

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about vu university amsterdam vuuniversityamsterdamisaleadingeuropeanresearch university,establishedin1880bythestatesmanand theologianabrahamkuyper,thefirstdutchuniversityfreeof stateandchurchinterference.thatheritagefuelsourdriveto excelandourclosenesstothesocietyinwhichwearerooted weseekqualityineducationthroughstructure,personalscale andamplescopeforpersonalambitionanddevelopment around23,000studentsand4,500staffworkcloselytogether inpursuitofnewknowledge,withscientificresearchasakey partoftheeducationalprocess ourstudentsarechallengedtoaskcriticalquestions tackleproblemsandplacewhattheyarelearninginawider philosophical,ethicalandsocialcontext educationisprovidedatthreelevels:bachelor sba,bsc master sma,mscanddoctoralphd twelvefacultiesshare asinglecampusandcoverawidespectrumofarts,sciences businessandmedicine.wehavealwaysencouragedscholars andstudentstolookbeyondtheboundariesoftheirown fields vuuniversityamsterdam:internationallyoriented,withmany multidisciplinaryprogrammesbasedonoutstandingresearch international relations vuuniversityamsterdamhasenteredintovarious bilateralagreementswithinstitutesabroad.these varyfromexchangecontractstointensiveprogramme cooperationandspantheglobefromeuropetosouth africa,fromasia-pacifictotheamericas.vuuniversity amsterdamalsoparticipatesinanumberofinternational exchangeprogrammesincludingtheeuropeanerasmus programmesandtheinternationalstudentexchange programisepfordutch-americanexchanges nearlyallfacultiesofvuuniversityamsterdamhave bilateralagreementswithpartneruniversitiesintheusa canada,australia,south-africa,orasia vuuniversityamsterdamhasbilateralagreementson centrallevelwithfouruniversitiesinchina,withseveral universitiesinsouth-africa,andwiththeuniversityofnew mexicointheusa theseagreementsaremeanttofacilitatebilateralstudent exchanges.theexchangesareusuallyforonesemester withamaximumoftwosemesters.please,checkwith yourownuniversitywhetherthereissuchanagreement betweenyouruniversityandvuuniversityamsterdamand askthemaboutthepossibilities lifelong learning programme erasmus theeasiestwayofarrangingashort-termstayis throughanexistingstudentexchangeprogramme suchaserasmus,whichispartoftheeuropeanlifelong learningprogramme vuuniversityamsterdamhasbilateralagreementswith variouseuropeanuniversities.youcaninquireaboutthe possibilitiesattheinternationalofficeofyouruniversity.the advantageofparticipatinginsuchaprogrammeisthatthe universitiesalreadyknoweachother,soarrangementstendto runmoresmoothly.moreover,youwillbeexemptfrompaying tuitionfeesatvuuniversityamsterdam,providedthatyouare registeredasastudentatyourownuniversity grades thedutchgradingsystemisgenerallybasedona markbetween1minimumand10maximum a gradeof5.5ormoreisconsideredtobea`pass agrade oflessthan5.5isa`fail ingeneral,theectssystemand vuuniversityamsterdam sgradingsystemfittogetheras follows ects grade abcdefail vu university amsterdam grade range1-10 8.5-10 7.75-8.49 7.00-7.74 6.0-6.99 5.00-5.99 0.00-5.50 planning your stay therearedifferentwaysofarrangingashort-term stay6-12monthsatvuuniversityamsterdam.the mostimportantthingthatyoushouldstartmaking arrangementsforyourstayatleastsixmonthsinadvance whenplanningyourtrip,westronglyrecommendarriving duringthedesignatedarrivaldays.thereisalsoapick-up serviceavailablefromtheairport.foruptodateinformation aboutthepick-upserviceandthearrivaldayscheck www.vuamsterdam.com/introduction checklists thissectioncontainsanumberofcheckliststo remindyouofthethingsyouneedtotakecareof beforecomingtovuuniversityamsterdam credits students progressistrackedaccordingtotheeuropean credittransfersystemects theaimofthissystem istofosteracademicrecognitionthroughouttheeuropean union,therebyencouragingstudentstocompletepartoftheir studiesinanothercountry.theectscreditsystemisbased onstudyworkload,whichincludescontacthoursandtime spentcompletingpapersandassignmentsandpreparing forexaminations.inthissystem,oneectscreditrepresents 28hoursofstudyincludingclassattendance afull-time studentisexpectedtoearn60ectscreditsinoneacademic yearand30creditsinonesemester aftersuccessfulcompletionofthecoursecomponents,a transcriptofrecordsisdrawnupandauniversitycertificate isawarded what should you have arranged before your arrival · · · · insurance:medicalinsuranceandthird-partyliability insurance accommodation:ifyouhavearrangedaccommodation viavuuniversityamsterdam,youwillneedtosupply partoftherentinadvance,togetherwithadepositof between400and600.askyourcontactpersonat thefacultytoprovideyouwithdetailsoftheexact amount avisaifapplicable youcanapplyforastudent visamvvthroughtheinternationaloffice avalidpassport exchange programme vuuniversityamsterdamwelcomesstudentsfrom allovertheworldasdegreeseekingaswellasnon degreeseekingstudents,egexchangestudentsfrompartner institutions.onourwebsiteyouwillfindinformationabout thecoursesweofferonbachelor saswellasmaster slevel awiderangeofenglishtaughtcoursesisavailableonboth levels.mostmaster sprogrammesareofferedinenglish checkouttheonlinestudyguidetofindexchangecourses opentoexchangestudentsperfaculty www.vuamsterdam.com/exchange theysaythatvarietyisthespiceoflife.thismixofdutch andinternationalstudentsisreallyinspiring!it salsoreally fascinatingtoconsidermanydifferentperspectiveswhen studyingbusinessmodels.theamsterdamlocation,with manymultinationalcompaniessocloseby,reallyhasbeen afantasticmotivationformepersonally annavanderheij,internationalstudentofibafromrussia our central international office attheinternationalofficeofvuuniversityamsterdam wecanhelpyoutofindaccommodationandtoapplyfor avisaandresidencepermitifapplicable wealsooffer orientationperiodsforinternationalstudentsinaugust andfebruaryconsistingofsocialevents,sportsactivitiesand aculturalprogramme.inaddition,theinternationalstudents associationesn-vuniverseorganizesarangeofactivities throughouttheyear vu honors programme thevuhonorsprogrammeofferstalentedandmotivated studentstheopportunitybothtoinvestmoretimein theirownareaofstudyandtobroadentheirhorizon studentstakecoursesattheirowndepartmentand interdepartmentalcourses.thevuhonorsprogrammeis taughtinenglishandtheinterdepartmentalhonorscourses areopentoexchangestudentswhoqualify.ifyouare interestedinthisprogrammepleasecheck www.vu.nl/honours accommodation theinternationalofficeofvuuniversityamsterdamis mostlyabletoprovideaccommodationforshort-stay foreignexchangestudentsattheuniversity.therentalperiod is6or12months.thepricesvarybetween1,450and 3,300persemesterperperson.housingcontractscannot becancelledduringyourstayattheuniversity.ifyouhave anyquestionsaboutouraccommodationortherulesand regulationscheckwww.vuamsterdam.com/accommodation · · · · · what should you bring along upon your arrival youracceptanceletter acertifiedcopyofyourbirthcertificate.this certificateneedstobeindutch,english,german orfrench.ifnot,ithastobetranslatedintoone ofthesefourlanguagesbyasworntranslator amarriagecertificateifyouaremarried this certificateneedstobeindutch,english,german orfrench.ifnot,ithastobetranslatedintooneof thesefourlanguagesbyasworntranslator threerecentcolorpassportphotos lettertoyourhomeaddress,sentbyvuuniversity amsterdamoryourfacultynecessaryforopeninga bankaccount checkwithyourfacultyforfurtherdetails.

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