Education and rankings

From 2019 until 2025 I studied philosophy in Groningen. First the bachelor, and then the research master. I went to Groningen because of its reputation and its friendly, cozy and collaborative atmosphere. Among philosophers, Groningen is well known for its analytical rigour, high-profile researchers and diverse range of strengths (researchers at this faculty gather disproportionally large sums of research grants and prizes, among which 2 Spinoza prizes (!!)). In applied philosophy (ethics, politics), as well as in theoretical philosophy and in history of philosophy, Groningen hosts several researchers who are leaders in their respective fields. The quality of the research is reflected in the education: students learn directly from top-level experts. Furthermore, philosophers from the University of Groningen are well-embedded with research groups from other faculties. For example, there are crossovers with biology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, physics, political science, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, et cetera, both in research and in education. I particularly enjoyed the courses on philosophy of AI, and ended up combining my philosophy degree with courses from both the AI programme, and the psychology programme. What's also appealing is that Groningen still has its own Faculty of Philosophy, which grants researchers and students a lot of freedom to pursue their interests, and fosters a unique, family-like atmosphere. It should be clear that I think this is really a fantastic place to study, and I would highly recommend it.

I studied at the Faculty of Philosophy from 2019 until 2024. I thoroughly enjoyed my Bachelor's studies. During my time as a student, I took the time to also indulge in other passions alongside my academic ambitions. For example, I took part in the think tank board at the local political party Student&Stad, and I was active within my student association. The faculty always gave me the space to be able to divide my time in the ways that I wanted to, for which I also greatly thank the study advisors, who supported me in this.

After this, I followed the Master's Philosophy Now at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and in September 2025 I started my job at the Youth Education Fund, where I work as the relations manager municipalities, maintaining contact and improving national systems for children in the Netherlands who grow up in poverty.

Upon first look, philosophy may not seem to be very connected to this, but I can see how the programme got me here. Systemic changes are not only technical, but they also consider the following: which systems should be leading; how does policy affect people; how do we, as a society, deal with vulnerable groups? By recognizing structural systems and analysing policy, it's possible to look farther ahead than just "putting on a band-aid". Philosophy has helped me formulate clearly, ask critical questions, make complex cases comprehensible, and getting to the core of a problem. By using distributive theories of justice, you can learn all the different ways to arrange society in fair ways. Political philosophy has taught me what really matters: how I can challenge municipalities to look further than just a case, namely, at a person, and to eventually choose to adjuts policy in a way that can make a difference in someone's day-to-day life.

With great expectations, I arrived at the Faculty of Philosophy in 2007. I had taken the propaedeutic year of the study Business Administration at the Faculty of Economics and Business and was looking very much forward to some more abstract material. I was not disappointed. The faculty of philosophy is a small and friendly place of high-quality thinking. I remember fondly the general introduction course that gave students a ‘taster’ of many subjects later to be developed in the programme. Overall, the Philosophy BA programme offered a comprehensive and well-rounded introduction to the main fields and styles of philosophy, laying a solid foundation for my eventual specialization during my Master’s studies.

It was fun too; it made me enthusiastic enough to apply for the Research Master (at the same Faculty of Philosophy), and focus only on philosophy after I completed my degrees in Philosophy and Business Administration. The RM programme was even more fun, as it allowed for close contact with and supervision by staff, and encouraged a term abroad (in my case, St. Andrews). It prepared me well for an academic career, culminating in a thesis a version of which would ultimately be published in a good journal.

After the RM, I continued at the faculty as a PhD candidate. Here, the support and contact with staff intensified even more, and the line between being a student and being a staff member blurred considerably. I was given opportunities to teach and help with manuscript and grant preparation. These experiences were crucial for my career trajectory: first as a lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy, and now as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business.

I studied at the Faculty of Philosophy from 2013 to 2021. First, I followed the Bachelor's programme Philosophy and immediately after I did the Research Master's. I did not finish this; I ended up switching to the Master's programme Education Philosophy and I received my Master's Degree there.

After this, I worked as a philosophy teacher in secondary education and higher professional education for 4 years. The best part about working as a philosophy teacher is being able to really transfer that spark of awe to the new generation. The materials you studied during the university programme really come to life in the classroom and having conversations about it with the students energizes me. What's striking is that, within philosophy teaching, critical thinking itself is really the most important learning goal for the students, but during the programmes at Philosophy, this is taught more implicitly by doing. This required a bit of a switch within me and about how I approached philosophy, which made the job extra fun after my studies, because it added a whole other dimension to what philosophy is.

However, after all this, I eventually started doing something else entirely; the environment of a school and the workload did not fit that what I wanted to achieve eventually. At the moment, I work as a coordinator at the public prosecutor's office. The skills that I learned as a philosopher and a teacher are surprisingly useful there, too. The criminal justice chain and justice in general benefit greatly from a critical outlook, a uniter of perspectives, an asker of questions, a discussion partner, a keeper of overview, and a skilled and exercised reader and writer. For this reason, plenty of people who studied philosophy work here. This, to me, is proof that the philosophical contents of the studies really helped encourage the formation of an independent critical thinker in me.

At the Faculty of Philosophy, I consecutively earned my Bahcelor's Philosophy of a Specific Discipline (2013-2014) and the Research Master (2014-2016), and finished a promotion process (2016-2022). I specialized in the areas of history, philosophy, and philosophy of history.

One of the questions that occupied my mind throughout this entire period was: 'Is it possible to learn from the past and, if so, how?' The knowledge that I gained as a result is very useful in my current work for Planbureau Fryslân. There, I help government organizations to learn from the execution of their own policies. Additionally, I am responsible for the continuous development of the method of the learning policy evaluation at the planning bureau. For this, I use the works of philosophers such as John Dewey (1859-1952), R.G. Collingwood (1889-1943) and Frank Ankersmit (1945- ).

As well as that, I developed a number of skills that I can apply almost daily during my studies. Obvious ones include critical thinking, precise reading and analysing of texts, and being able to put myself in someone else's shoes.

Most useful, however, is probably being able to think about the bigger picture. The philosophers I studied during my courses were often systematic thinkers: they focused on the entire spectrum of philosophy, from metaphysics to ethics and political philosophy, and they saw these fields as one. To be able to understand these philosophers, I had to think in similar ways.

This is a skill that is also very useful at Planbureau Fryslân. In government policy, areas oftentimes come together - economics, physical space, and social environments - all of which affect one another. Moreover, different actors, from citizens to entrepreneurs and governments, evolve activities that relate to the domains and to one another. My philosophy degree helps me to be able to see through the chaos.