The MSc Logic Programme

The MSc Logic (often referred to as the Master of Logic, or simply the MoL) is a two-year Master's programme providing intensive research training in the foundations of mathematical and philosophical logic as well as their application in computer science, linguistics, and cognitive science. The programme has an international orientation, is highly interdisciplinary in scope, and allows every student to design their own individual programme of study, selecting from our large offering of courses, in line with their interests and ambitions.

The programme is run by the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) at the University of Amsterdam and is part of the institute's graduate programme, which also includes a PhD Programme and a non-degree certificate known as the Logic Year.

As the science of truth and valid reasoning, logic has played a central role in philosophy and the study of natural language for centuries. In the late 19th century it furthermore got closely intertwined with mathematics, with logic becoming the methodology of choice to explore the foundations of mathematics. In the middle of the 20th century, finally, logic stood at the cradle of computer science. It is this blend of a humanistic tradition and modern applications that makes logic a uniquely interdisciplinary field, combining the humanities and the exact sciences in both methodology and motivation. Standing in the Amsterdam tradition of combining philosophical enquiry with formal methods (going back to Brouwer, Heyting and Beth), the MSc Logic covers an area of research known as Logic, Language and Information. Besides mathematical and philosophical logic, formal semantics and pragmatics, philosophy of language and formal epistemology, as well as theoretical computer science and logic in artificial intelligence, the programme also embraces neighbouring disciplines such as cognitive science, computational linguistics, and mathematical economics.

The MSc Logic is probably the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive Master's programme in Logic, Language and Information in the world. We are very proud that so many talented and enthusiastic students choose to come to Amsterdam each year to study here and to share with us their fascination for this interdisciplinary field of enquiry.