IOS education

Today's complex issues in society such as globalisation, security and polarisation call for creative and sustainable solutions, which can mainly be achieved with a broad perspective. We want to increase the understanding of how formal and informal rules work in human interactions and exchange. The functioning of our rules of the game determines the quality of our society. Is an open society (still) within reach?

Think about institutions such as the legal system, politics and citizenship, but also how we behave as a group and shape our interaction. Students and young scientists are explicitly involved in the search for possible creative solutions. A good example is the education project TerInfo, which helps teachers to make terrorism, political violence and other disturbances in society discussable in the classroom. Read more about TerInfo.

Types of education

Besides the regular programmes (bachelors and masters), there are also several short courses (minors, summer courses and for professionals), which address questions related to the core questions of Institutions for Open Societies:

• what is the ideal society?
• with which institutions is the ideal society achieved?
• which mechanisms threaten society and how can we respond to them?

A good example in which the key questions are reflected is the undergraduate course Philosopy, Politics and Economy and the master's course Institutions Think Tank to be chosen in your masterprogramme. Besides that, various faculties offer master's programmes related to these questions. We mention some examples here.

There are also summer courses related to our subjects on for example Land Governance  and Global Change. Interested ? View all summer courses of the Utrecht Summerschool.