For best experience please turn on javascript and use a modern browser!
You are using a browser that is no longer supported by Microsoft. Please upgrade your browser. The site may not present itself correctly if you continue browsing.

Research organisation

Research activities at each faculty are organised within research institutes, each headed by a research director. For a number of interdisciplinary themes, researchers from various institutes work together in research centres.

Research institutes

At each UvA faculty, research takes places within one or more research institutes. There are a total of 26 institutes, including well-known institutes such as the Amsterdam School of Communication Research and the Institute for Information Law. The research director is responsible for the quality and relevance of the research and for the Institute’s strategic direction. 

Research centres

Research centres are collaborative, and often interdisciplinary, initiatives on the part of researchers and research institutes that have been set up around a specific research theme. The UvA has around 30 such research centres. Themes include Brain and Cognition, Urban Studies, Tax Law, Neuroscience, and Sustainable Development Studies.

National research schools

National research schools bring together research institutes from multiple universities. These schools provide high-quality and highly rated PhD programmes. The UvA participates in a large number of national research schools and is the lead organisation in the research schools listed below:

Dutch institutes abroad

The UvA is also actively involved in several Dutch Scientific Institutes Abroad (NWIB). These institutes offer courses for students and facilities for academic staff and students doing temporary research abroad. The UvA has 6 scientific institutes in other countries, and manages the institute in Athens: