University of Humanistic Studies

What University of Humanistic Studies does

The University of Humanistic Studies (Universiteit voor Humanistiek, UvH) is a private, non-profit Dutch higher education institution founded in 1980 and organized as Stichting UvH, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 41182028. Headquartered at Kromme Nieuwegracht 29 in the historic center of Utrecht, the institution serves approximately 600 bachelor and master students through a deliberately small-scale, personal teaching model. Its core academic portfolio comprises a three-year Bachelor Humanistiek, a three-year professional Master Humanistiek training chaplains, a one-year Master Zorgethiek en Beleid (described as the world's only university-level care ethics program), a one-year Master Burgerschap en Kwaliteit van Samenleven, and a new one-year Master Sociaal Werk en Sociale Rechtvaardigheid launching in September 2027 as the first university-level master's in social work in the Netherlands. Supporting offerings include a Premaster preparatory track, a Graduate School for doctoral research across multiple chair groups, and the UvH Academie delivering professional education including celebrant training and executive courses for healthcare, welfare, and education professionals.

Name

University of Humanistic Studies

Legal name

Stichting UvH

Website

https://uvh.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The University of Humanistic Studies (UvH) is a Dutch private non-profit university founded in 1980 in Utrecht, serving approximately 600 students through a small-scale, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences program portfolio, including the world's only care ethics master's.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities (EDAHABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA), Arts, Humanities & Creative Research Universities (EDAHABAG)

Keywords

• Humanistic higher education
• Humanities and social sciences
• Spiritual care training
• Care ethics studies
• University degree programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition fees and government funding: As a Dutch university, the institution receives government funding for education and research, supplemented by tuition fees from students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The University of Humanistic Studies (Universiteit voor Humanistiek) is a Dutch private non-profit university offering a three-year Bachelor Humanistiek, four master's programs (Humanistiek, Zorgethiek en Beleid, Burgerschap en Kwaliteit van Samenleven, and the new Sociaal Werk en Sociale Rechtvaardigheid launching September 2027), a Premaster preparatory track, a Graduate School for PhD research, and a UvH Academie providing professional education including celebrant training, executive education, and short courses for healthcare, welfare, and education professionals. The institution combines knowledge from social sciences and humanities to address questions of meaning, ethics, social justice, and citizenship.

Product overview

The University of Humanistic Studies is an educational institution offering a portfolio of programs anchored in humanistic values. Its core offerings include a Bachelor Humanistiek (3-year bachelor), four master's programs (Master Humanistiek as a 3-year professional training program for chaplains; Master Zorgethiek en Beleid as the world's only university-level care ethics program; Master Burgerschap en Kwaliteit van Samenleven; and Master Sociaal Werk en Sociale Rechtvaardigheid launching September 2027 as the first university-level social work master's in the Netherlands), a Premaster for non-direct entrants, and a Graduate School for PhD research. The UvH Academie provides professional education including Celebrantenopleiding, Executive Onderwijs, and sector-specific programs for healthcare, welfare, and education. The institution combines knowledge from social sciences and humanities to address questions of meaning, ethics, social justice, and sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor Humanistiek A three-year undergraduate bachelor program providing a broad interdisciplinary foundation in humanistic studies, covering humanization of institutions, meaning-making, ethics, and societal questions for prospective students.
• Master Humanistiek A three-year professional master program training students as humanistic chaplains, focusing on contemporary societal issues, complex meaning-making questions, and ethical dilemmas through psychological, anthropological, sociological, philosophical, and historical perspectives.
• Master Zorgethiek en Beleid A one-year interdisciplinary master program (the only one worldwide in care ethics) studying care from multiple academic perspectives including philosophy, ethics, social sciences, disability studies, and gender studies.
• Master Burgerschap en Kwaliteit van Samenleven A one-year master program providing theoretical foundation for reflecting on citizen behavior and formation in democratic society, focusing on central tensions and moral dilemmas facing ethical professionals.
• Master Sociaal Werk en Sociale Rechtvaardigheid A one-year master program (starting September 2027) as the first university-level master's in social work in the Netherlands, focusing on societal problems, professional practices, and professional development.
• Premaster A preparatory program for students who do not meet direct admission requirements for master's programs.
• Graduate School PhD programs for doctoral research across various chair groups including Social Resilience of Older Adults, Care Ethics, and others.
• Celebrantenopleiding A professional training program for ceremonies and life events, preparing individuals to serve as celebrants.
• Executive Onderwijs Executive education programs for professionals and managers, delivered through the UvH Academie.
• Professionals in Zorg, Welzijn en Onderwijs Short courses and programs for professionals in healthcare, welfare, and education sectors, delivered through the UvH Academie.

Quantifiable outcome

• Teachers rated 4.15/5, study counselors rated 4.26/5 (benchmark ~3.80)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Hogeschool UtrechtflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2026Co-organizer of the CARN Conference 2026 (Collaborative Action Research Network) bringing together citizens, professionals, educators, researchers, and policymakers to explore pathways towards a just and humane society.
• Bibliotheek UtrechtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 August 2025Book club collaboration 'Boekenclub van Deirdre en Menno' featuring five meetings with five UvH professors discussing books by conservative thinkers, with reflections from Utrecht professionals.
• Humanistisch VerbondcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Collaborative partner in the Polarisation and Connection study group led by Universiteitshoogleraar Evelien Tonkens, examining contemporary polarization and dialogue facilitation.
• International Care Ethics Research Consortium (CERC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Hosted the third CERC conference 2025 on 'Care, Aesthetics, and Repair' bringing together researchers, artists, scientists, and philosophers to explore care ethics.
• Gemeente RotterdamflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Long-standing partnership since 2015 for the bijzondere leerstoel (special chair) 'Sociale Weerbaarheid van Ouderen' held by Prof. dr. Anja Machielse, focused on loneliness and social resilience research.
• Stichting UvHcoreOthersThe foundation Stichting UvH is the governing body responsible for data processing and operations of the university, registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number 41182028.
• HumanitascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Polarisation and Connection study group alongside the Humanistisch Verbond, contributing to interdisciplinary research on societal polarization.
• HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeaningful Artistic Research (MAR) collaboration exploring artistic work as a source of knowledge for a caring and meaningful society, combining humanistic studies with arts research.
• Windesheim AlmereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreconference partner for CARN Conference 2026, hosting a preconference session on urban innovation and inclusive city development.
• Partner Universities (Exchange)minorOthersExchange partnerships with universities in Thessaloniki, Tallinn, Milan, and Prague for student mobility programs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tilburg University: Larger Dutch research university with strong programs in humanities, social sciences, and ethics/policy — overlapping with UvH in care-ethics and citizenship research, but operating as a broad multi-faculty institution rather than a niche specialist.
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam): Private Dutch research university with humanities, social-science, and ethics programs that overlap with UvH's curriculum, but at a much larger scale and broader disciplinary scope.
• Universiteit Leiden: Historic Dutch research university with humanities, ethics, and social-science programs that broadly overlap with UvH's curriculum, including internationally recognized humanities research.

Regional players

• Erasmus University Rotterdam: Large Dutch research university with social-science and policy programs, and a long-standing endowed-chair partnership with UvH via Gemeente Rotterdam; comparable in the social-resilience research domain but at substantially larger scale.
• Universiteit Utrecht: Major public research university co-located in Utrecht with strong humanities, ethics, and social-science faculties; competes for the same regional student pool and faculty talent as UvH but operates at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• TIAS School for Business and Society: Dutch private executive education and graduate school affiliated with Tilburg University; comparable to UvH's UvH Academie in offering specialized post-experience programs for working professionals.
• Protestantse Theologische Universiteit (PThU): Small, private Dutch university with a value-based (faith-affiliated) profile and a similarly narrow enrollment scale, offering graduate and professional programs in theology and ethics — directly comparable in size, mission, and governance structure to UvH.
• Nyenrode Business Universiteit: Small, private Dutch university with selective graduate and professional programs, an applied/mission-driven curriculum, and a comparable student scale and private-foundation governance model to UvH.
• Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam: Specialized Dutch graduate institute focused on social sciences, development studies, and policy — closely comparable to UvH in mission (socially engaged, interdisciplinary social-science teaching) and in operating as a small, specialized entity within the Dutch higher-education landscape.

Emerging players

• University of Humanistic Studies (international equivalents) — e.g., University of Bucharest Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, or European University Viadrina: European universities with comparable interdisciplinary humanities/social-science profiles and exchange partnerships; representative of the broader category of small-to-medium European institutions that compete for international humanities students alongside UvH.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HumanistiekUtrecht
• Facebookfacebook.com/UniversiteitVoorHumanistiek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/551840
• Instagraminstagram.com/universiteitvoorhumanistiek

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Humanistic Studies