Awkwarada

I believe there is one introductory course in philosophy of science. Since the Logic Master is very interdisciplinary, a lot of the students have hardly any background in philosophy at all, but instead have majored in mathematics, artificial intelligence, linguistics or similar subjects. Because of this, quite a few philosophy courses are meant to introduce these students in philosophical subjects such as philosophy of language, philosophy of science, etc. This would mean that you should be able to follow the introductory course in philosophy of science without too much trouble. However, as far as I am aware, there aren't too much courses on philosophy of science. You should check out the link I posted above, you will find a list of all the courses currently taught. There is a course 'Causality and Explanation', which would borderline between philosophy of science, epistemology and metaphysics, I guess. If you're really interested in the program, I suggest you take some time to look at course descriptions for the courses you'd like to take. Besides checking to see if you like what you find there, most of the courses also have specified entry requirements (though usually this is just that you have a basic understanding of first-order logic). There are plenty of very diverse yet interesting subjects being taught!

I live in Amsterdam and I am thinking of applying to it next year (the philosophy track). Also, I have a friend who is currently doing the Logic Master. You probably have already found this site, but just in case you have not, here is a recent list of all the courses taught and if you click on them you get (more or less) detailed descriptions: http://studiegids.uva.nl/xmlpages/page/2015-2016-en/search-programme/programme/1431/174186 It is true that, if you're non-EU, it's rather expensive. But if you are a EU student, it is relatively cheap--especially in comparison to UK/US programs. I wouldn't know too much about the computational/mathematical side, but I do know the following things (I'll just sum them up, take from 'em what you want): You're very free; meaning: you can basically follow any path you like. The master takes two years and only three courses are predetermined. You would basically have +/- 10 courses remaining, which can be mathematical/philosophical/linguistic regardless of your chosen track. Amsterdam can be a rough place to find housing (that is, housing that isn't over the top expensive). I'm sure that international students can apply for housing via the university in some way or other, but Dutch students always complain that Amsterdam is the hardest place to find affordable housing. The Master of Logic (MoL) has no maximum of students that can be allowed. Thus, if they think you're qualified, you're in (basically). Of course they couldn't accept 100 students, but still. It's very hard work, don't be too keen on your free time (of course this is variable to personal background knowledge, intelligence, how many courses you take, etc.). It's very interdisciplinary. Of course, 'soort zoekt soort' as the Dutch would say (I guess the English variant would be 'Birds of a feather flock together'); philosophers spend most time with philosophers and the same goes for mathematicians etc.. However, the professors are generally very approachable, regardless of your personal focus. You're forced to do so research projects, which means that you and maybe a couple other students approach a professor and decide on a topic and study it intensely for a couple of weeks. I have no direct or indirect experience with this, but I imagine it can be very enlightening. I must say, most of this information is not first hand, but still rather reliable I think. The Dutch regard the program equally to what others said: the place to study to study logic.

Congrats @Musicologist on getting accepted to PhD programs and thank you so much for your comments. Since you are from the Netherlands, would you mind answering a few questions specifically about the transition (if you have the time, of course)? Did you receive your BA in Netherlands (UU or UvA?) and then went on to do MA in the US? If so, would you say the two programs connected well or were you ahead/behind? Did you find it a big transition, like in practical matters such as language, contacting the home front? (The time difference makes it so that it is hard to find a good time to contact people in the Netherlands, I believe.) How did you do on the GRE's? And did you study a lot for them? Luckily, Oxford and Cambridge don't require them, but I ever were to apply to US programs, this would be a major concern me, because I feel I wouldn't do well at all without studying intensely. Not that that is a problem, but it would take a lot of time that I could've spent otherwise. And what about the TOEFL? Also, the introductory courses in mathematics are (as far as I am aware) quite advanced subjects, so even though they're introductory they would count as advanced courses (they are 'niveau 3', the highest undergraduate level at UU). Besides, I wouldn't be doing them just to look good, but also because they interest me and to test my mathematical abilities for the Master of Logic. I will take your comments on the personal statement to heart! However, some Dutch universities require a personal statement of two to three pages (!), so I guess it would make sense to say something about my side interests in that case. Anyway, your comments were helpful and thank you for your time so far.

So, this will probably be a rather long post, but I hope that doesn't scare you away. I am currently studying for a BA in philosophy and a BA in musicology at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands). I am not totally sure how Dutch BA's compare to US/UK ones, but in general they take three years to finish, during which you spent approx. two full years doing courses in your chosen area and the remaining time doing more or less interdisciplinary courses (this is the standard for the humanities, anyway). If everything goes according to plan, I will graduate next year with a thesis in musicology and in philosophy. Naturally, I've been contemplating what to do after graduating. My initial plan was to do a Dutch Master's degree first (more on those below), and then try to apply to programs outside the Netherlands, but as it turns out I will need to do an English Language Test for the programs in the Netherlands anyway, which means that I will basically have all the required documents to apply to Oxford/Cambridge (if I do not fail the test, that is). Last year I gained interest in doing a PhD/BPhil in the US/UK, but did not really look into it too much. Now, however, I have been doing some extensive research (as much as my spare time would allow) on where I would most like to study, the requirements, costs etc.. In the Netherlands, an MA is simply required for a PhD, the MA is simply the next stage towards a PhD. For Oxbridge, the most usual path seems to be to first get the BPhil (or Cambridge's equivalent) and then continue to do the PhD (if you're successful enough). In the USA, as I understand it, a Master's degree is not all necessary (even though it might help getting into certain programs), but is basically equivalent to the first year of a PhD (?). So, I've been thinking about my chances to get into for example Oxford or Cambridge (with funding); these are my primary targets not in the least (but also not in the first) because they are relatively close to home in comparison to the USA. So, here's my first question: 1. Would a Dutch master's degree significantly increase my chances of getting into top programs such as Oxford\Cambridge? I would probably do either the Research Master in Philosophy at the Unvisersity of Amsterdam, which is a two year master required for a PhD in the Netherlands with focus on research, or the philosophy track in the Master of Logic (also at the UvA). Master degrees are both way more common and less expensive here in the Netherlands, so it would not really be a financial problem or anything (as it can be in the US). Related to this question is my second question: 2. Would you suggest that I apply to Oxford/Cambridge after my BA's, or just wait 'till after my Master's? Would it hinder my application if I get refused the first time around and apply two years later with a Master's in philosophy or logic (assuming I get accepted for one or the other of these programs)? As I said, I have basically all the documents necessary to apply, so why not, right? I have heard, however, that they evaluate more harshly if you already have a Master's degree. Also, would the Logic Master be a better choice because it would make more sense to follow it up with a BPhil, instead of following a research orientated philosopher master with the BPhil? My overall GPA is the same as for philosophy only: both 4.0. The Dutch system (of course) differs from the UK/USA system: the scale is between 1 (worst) and 10 (perfect). In principle a 10 was considered unreachable (technically teachers are not supposed to get 10's on their own courses), but this depends on the type of study. Obviously, in more the exact sciences it is possible to give all the right answers, just as with multiple choice tests that are common in psychology and other popular subjects in Holland. However, more essay-type tests and courses with only two papers will almost never give students between a 9 (is just reachable) and a 10 (seriously, forget it for essays/papers). The usual conversion table is that a Dutch 8.0 equals GPA 4.0. (I would like to argue that the conversion table should differ for more exact sciences, but oh well, who am I anyway?) As of now, my overall average is something like 8.2 and a little higher for philosophy only courses. Besides doing two BA's, I also plan to do (and for a part am already doing) some courses in mathematics: first some introductory courses and hopefully also an introduction in axiomatic set theory and introductions to model theory, proof theory and complexity theory. Now, I am not a mathematical genius, and my planning would mean that I would have to follow these courses at the same time as writing my Musicology thesis. Needless to say, this will probably hamper my performance on the thesis (hopefully not too much). So here's my third question: 3.Would following these introductory courses in axiomatic set theory, complexity theory, etc. help my application significantly (for example if I name them in my personal statement)? These courses will surely help in my application to the Logic Master, but would they help me in applying to e.g. the BPhil? This is also on the assumption that I succeed in these courses, which is not at all a given! Also, would my grade matter much (6.5 vs 8.5 for example) or do you think passing them is incredible enough for someone with almost no mathematical background? I hope I have provided sufficient information to evaluate my position and maybe try to answer my questions. (I can hardly imagine I have not, considering how long this post has become.) Any reaction (be it negative or positive) to this long story would be greatly appreciated.