On this page, we provide a picture of research in the broad domain of social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands.

To start with, it is good to highlight the document Samen Sterker – Picture of the SSH-domain. This document – prepared in 2019 – provides a picture of research in the broad domain of social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands. It was prepared by quartermaster prof. dr. Mark Bovens (UU) in close consultation with the SSH-council, in particular its then-chairman prof. Claes de Vreese (UvA). They received official support from dr. Inge Drijfhout (NWOSGW), dr. Annie Tummers (UU) and dr. Michel Walthouwer (UM).

How the SSH-domain is structured

The Dutch SSH-domain is large and heterogeneous and consists of four different sectors: the Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Economics. Those sectors are subdivided into disciplines, especially in the Social Sciences (e.g. psychology, social geography, anthropology) and in the Humanities (e.g. Dutch, media studies, linguistics, philosophy). The domain thus encompasses a multitude and diversity of areas of expertise, and increasingly, major social and scientific issues are being addressed in collaboration across the boundaries of traditional disciplines.

  The four SSH-sectors are organised into 52 separate faculties, which in turn house a palette of subdisciplines. This is in contrast to the STEM and medical sciences, which are often housed in a single faculty. Sectorplans within SSH can therefore be interdisciplinary in themselves. We are keen to emphasise this because interdisciplinarity has become an important value in Dutch research policy. This is a development we wholeheartedly support, also because major social issues can only be tackled by combining expertise.

Student numbers

This page of Universities of the Netherlands provides an overview of student numbers. The intake of undergraduate students for academic year 2023/’24 was 59,213. Of these students, 35,722 chose studies in Economics, Behaviour and Society, Law and Language and Culture. This is over 60 per cent.

At the start of academic year 2023/’24, 51,576 students started a university master’s programme. 32,025 students chose a master’s from the aforementioned SSH-sectors, or over 62 per cent.

These figures show that the SSH-domain serves more than half of all students enrolled in universities.