Year 1
Your first year at European Studies is all about understanding Europe and understanding yourself. You’ll study politics, business and culture while getting to know Europe’s government agencies, international organisations, non-profits and private businesses – your potential employers.
You’ll also learn the fundamentals of management within those organisations and collaboration between them. Along the way, you’ll sharpen your professional skills and work on research and critical thinking. You’ll get comfortable with public speaking, study intercultural communication and work on your foreign languages and English. You’ll also begin a four-year personal development process to help you identify and pursue your own career goals.
The first year provides the foundation for the rest of the programme and if you successfully complete all of your courses, you’ll earn a first-year diploma (Propedeuse). It’s a challenge, and you will have to do a lot of multi-tasking, but you’ll have help from a class supervisor and a student mentor from the second or third year who will help you to adjust to university life. You’ll also have access to tutoring and language support.
You’ll also have a lot of opportunities for extra-curricular learning and you’ll have a good time with field trips, clubs and parties put on by our study association ESCAPE.
Year 2
In the second year of European Studies, you’ll take everything to the next level, developing a deeper understanding of international businesses and organisations, public policy and European culture, while doubling down on your professional skills and foreign languages. You will still have guidance and supervision, but you’ll also be given more independence and take on more complex challenges.
Year 2 includes a deep dive into how Europe’s organisations deal with contemporary challenges like sustainability, as well as peace and security and you will explore the decision-making processes and strategies used by governments, non-profits and companies to take on those challenges. It also includes preparation for the study abroad experience you’ll have in Year 3.
Year 3
Year 3 of European Studies includes one of the high points of the European Studies programme: a 5-month exchange to one of over 100 partner institutions all over the world. While mandatory for Dutch students, the study abroad experience, supported by the Erasmus Plus programme, is optional for internationals. Either way, you’ll follow courses of your own choosing, giving you another opportunity to build a unique CV that is fully tailored to your own career goals. Choose wisely.
The other half of Year 3 combines your ongoing career development with an analysis of the impact of diversity on Europe and its organisations that will ask you to look at contemporary issues from a business perspective, a political perspective and a cultural perspective. You’ll also continue with your foreign language learning and personal development. By the end of the year, you should be ready to enter the final phase of your studies.
Year 4
In this final phase of your studies, you’ll choose to specialise in either the public sector or the private sector, in politics or business, and you will customise your final year around that discipline, by doing an internship and a graduation project in your chosen field.
Your internship will put you to work advising or assisting with policy advice, strategic planning or marketing/communication at an organisation, institution or business that is active in Europe, but it doesn’t have to be in Europe. You’re welcome to go abroad for work experience, though you should keep in mind that The Hague also has a lot to offer as the international city of peace and justice. In your final project, you’ll conduct applied research for an employer and provide them with practical advice, producing a professional product that you can use to show employers what you’re capable of. Alongside this research, you’ll take a final foreign language class that will prepare you to speak French, German, Spanish or Dutch in the workplace and you’ll round off your personal development by reflecting on where you’ve been and planning out where you’re going next.
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