Care Ethics and Policy

How do people care for each other here? Anyone who asks themselves this question will soon encounter challenging (political) ethical issues that play a role in our society. From questions about market forces and human dignity, to questions about technological progress and social inequality - everything is sharpened by the healthcare perspective.

In the one-year master's in Care Ethics and Policy, you investigate the question of what is morally good in all kinds of practices of care and policy. You will discover how this can serve as a basis for humane and meaningful improvements. You do this in all kinds of ways: theoretical and philosophical as well as practical, and from both policy and social perspectives. Not only the perspective of care providers is important here, but also that of care recipients. Because care always takes place between people in interaction with their environment.

Located at the heart of the medieval city centre of Utrecht, the University of Humanistic Studies is a small denominational university that is explicitly inspired by humanist traditions. Our research and education focus on contemporary issues concerning meanings of life and worldviews, and on building a humane society.

Currently around 550 regular students are enrolled at the University in a Bachelor, Master or pre-Master programme of Humanistic Studies, or in the Master programme of Care Ethics and Policy. These programmes are (so far) largely offered in Dutch. Some courses are taught in English and open to exchange students. The University also offers doctorate programmes in the graduate school.

Humanistic Studies is a multidisciplinary science that draws on various disciplines that are used in conjunction whenever appropriate. These disciplines are philosophy, ethics, psychology, education, sociology, history, religious studies, and philosophy of science and scientific methodology.