Global Challenges: Understanding is the first signature Global Challenges course first-year students take at LUC. It aims to help you think and talk about global challenges as fundamentally complex, multi-level, multi-layered, interdisciplinary and dynamic problems that do not have -neat ‘solutions’. Instead, these challenges can only be engaged with continuously, in a conversation or debate between people with different experiences of the problem, different values, and different kinds of positions and forms of expertise. Becoming a Global Citizen requires you to find your own way of understanding, and later engaging, with these challenges.

In block 1, all first years will attend lectures focused on Dutch history and culture. This part of the course requires no specific foundation in history, though students who took Dutch history at their secondary school should note that this course will offer the subject at a more advanced, academic level and that there will be very little overlap with the VWO history curriculum.

In block 2, students who are fluent in Dutch (near-native or native level) will continue the course with a focus on Dutch-language science communication. Students who do not have Dutch fluency will continue the course with a focus on language acquisition. Students whose Dutch language skills fall in between the requirements for the two variations will be required to take a test in Block 1 to decide which option is best for them.

Academic Writing is a group of courses that will teach you, step by step, how to write excellent essays and conduct relevant research at university. The Academic Writing courses not only differ in terms of their subject but also the periods they cover, which range from the early modern period to the contemporary era. They offer an introduction to particular academic disciplines, including history, literary studies, cultural studies, international relations, and (international) law. The following Academic Writing courses are offered:

- Conflict Resolution
- The State as an Actor in International Affairs
- The Concept of Genocide
- The History of Uncertainty
- Church, Mission and Colonialism: 1600-1940
- Dilemmas of Justice in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocities
- Food, Globalization and National Identity 
- The Ancient World Today

For more information about each different Academic Writing course please visit the e-prospectus here.

Statistics is part of everyday life—from news reports to daily decisions. This course builds your ability to understand, analyze, and communicate with real-world data. Whether you're new to statistics or refreshing your skills, you'll learn practical techniques for interpreting data and drawing meaningful conclusions. No prior knowledge is required, but students less confident with math should plan to review the provided extra materials during the course.

In block 2 you get to select your elective course to explore different fields and to help you decide which major you wish to take in your second and third year. You can selects from any of the 100 level courses listed in the e-prospectus here.

Building upon the knowledge and skills developed in the course Global Challenges: Understanding, this course invites students to investigate the ways that global challenges play out in local contexts, with an emphasis on The Hague. In teams, students will choose amongst a selection of local challenges and be tasked with exploring the multi-dimensional nature of these complex problems and the ways that different groups—civil servants, university researchers, community leaders, artists, and others—engage with these issues.

You will develop your knowledge of local contexts and deepen your understanding of theories of (global) citizenship, ultimately considering what it means to act in solidarity with others. Then you will apply your knowledge and skills of your challenges to design game-based learning projects to be shared with local secondary-school students.

In block 3 you get to select two more elective courses to explore different fields and to help you decide which major you wish to take in your second and third year. You can selects from any of the 100 level courses listed in the e-prospectus here.

The history of philosophy is really the history of the various arts and sciences. Long before we started distinguishing the various disciplines from each other (or trying to bring them back together, as we do at LUC), philosophy was the area of inquiry that addressed all of their questions. This course will focus on ethical issues—not only those having to do with why we think some behaviors are right and others wrong, but also with how we go about building a character and living a good life. Alongside its ethical emphasis, this course will serve as an introduction to several core philosophical issues, with the aim of making students better critical thinkers as they go on to consider the many ethical problems surrounding contemporary global challenges in their other courses.

The mathematics courses in the first year are designed to be accessible for all students from all mathematics levels. The focus is on understanding how mathematics is embedded in everyday activities and how it relates to real world challenges. Even without a strong mathematical background, you will be able to learn to work with data and to understand the language of mathematics in an accessible way. LUC offers the following four mathematics courses: 

- Mathematics for Cryptography
- Mathematics for the Life Sciences
- Mathematics for Music
- Mathematics for Social Networks

Click on the specific course for more information and the course description.