During the elective space you have the freedom to tailor your studies yourself. In order to pass the elective space, students from the Bachelor Security Studies must obtain 30 ECTS. This can be done by doing minors, electives, internships, studying abroad or a combination of those. The elective space lasts from September until the end of January (semester 1 of year 3).
If you ever have questions about the elective space, you may always reach out to the Study Coordinators via securitystudies.info@fgga.leidenuniv.nl. If you foresee that you will not obtain 60 ECTS or a GPA high enough before the start of year 3, please contact the Study Advisors at your earliest convenience by sending them an e-mail to isga.studyadvisor@fgga.leidenuniv.nl.
Minors & Electives
Description
If you would like to deepen your knowledge and skills in a certain area, you can choose to do a minor or some electives. A minor is a predefined set of courses and is worth 15 or 30 ECTS. An elective is a single course worth 5, 10 or even 15 ECTS. You can basically use electives to put together your own set of courses.
A well-chosen minor or set of electives allow you to broaden your knowledge, insights and skills and to apply your experiences in your chosen field. Choosing the right minor/set of electives also gives you the opportunity to prepare for the master's that you want to take after your bachelor's, so that you can increase the likelihood of gaining a place in the master's you would like to follow. Taking an educational minor/set of electives in combination with a particular bachelor's programme will give you a teaching qualification for secondary education.
You can choose to do a minor/a set of electives at Leiden University or at another university in the Netherlands. There are special arrangements in place for Leiden University students who would like to do a minor/electives at Delft University of Technology or the Erasmus University Rotterdam (so called LDE-courses). Please read more about this here. If you wish to follow courses at a university outside of the Netherlands, please take a look under ‘Studying Abroad’.
You are allowed to choose almost all minors/electives that academic universities offer. In some cases you need permission from the Board of Examiners. How this works will be explained under 'admission requirements'.
Sidenotes:
as of academic year 2021-2022, you will be able to follow the minor Global Affairs. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take part in the courses Terrorism and Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Intervention and Peacebuilding since the content is similar, fully or in part, to compulsory components of the BSc Security Studies programme. Even without these courses it remains possible to obtain 30 ECTS within the minor Global Affairs.
as of academic year 2024-2025, you will be able to follow the new minor Public Risk and Disaster. This minor does not have overlap with the BaSS programme.
Admission requirements
There are a few admissions requirements you need to keep in mind:
You are required to have obtained all 60 ECTS from year one by the time the minor/elective starts.
In principle, students are allowed to follow all minors/electives they desire, unless they overlap with BSc Security Studies content.
You are only allowed to follow academic courses. This implies that courses offered by universities of applied sciences are not allowed to follow.
Additional requirements set by the minor/elective might apply.
The ECTS for the minor/elective should be obtained during the enrolment in the BSc Security Studies programme. This implies the following:
- Students may not use ECTS obtained prior to their enrolment in the BSc Security Studies.
- Students who are simultaneously enrolled in a second bachelor’s programme may use ECTS obtained in their second programme (as an exemption for their elective space). Please ask for permission with the Board of Examiners ASAP (certainly in case of non-LDE-courses), but only after you have obtained the required 30 credits for your elective space (e.g. don't ask for permission yet if you have not obtained the 30 credits you'd like to use in your elective space from your second bachelor's programme).
- Students who wish to take part in minors/electives outside of Leiden University and outside the LDE-courses need to submit a request for approval from the Board of Examiners. Please note that the standard lead time to process the request is six weeks. The Board of Examiners can be contacted via: isga.boe@fgga.leidenuniv.nl.
Registration
Steps you need to take before the elective space starts:
Step 1: Find a minor/set of electives you’d like to do.
Step 2: Take a look at the concerned e-guide of that minor/elective to learn what is expected from you and follow up accordingly.
Step 3: Make sure you know when registration for the concerned minor/elective opens and register on time at the concerned university within the Netherlands.
Step 4: Ask permission from the Board of Examiners by sending them an e-mail. Please note that this is only necessary when you are going to do minors/electives outside Leiden University, Delft University and Erasmus University Rotterdam. Please make sure to ask permission right after you’ve finalised the registration for your minor/elective, but before the minor/elective starts!
Step 5: Start your minor/elective and enjoy it!
Steps you need to take when you have finished your minor/elective:
o In case you did a minor at Leiden University, grades will automatically be registered in your uSis account. You only need to send the OSC an e-mail to ask if they can add the minor to your elective space, so it can ultimately also be listed on your diploma.
o In case you took (an) individual elective course(s) at Leiden University, you need to file a petition in uSis in order to add the course(s) to your elective space. You can file a petition in uSis via the Academic Requirements page. Click on one of the items ‘Elective space’ in your elective space, and on the next page indicate that you wish to file a petition. Choose the option ‘Replacement’ and fill out the required information for the courses you wish to place there. You can add multiple courses to one request. The OSC will process your petition as soon as possible, but it may take several weeks.
o In case you took a(n) minor/elective outside of Leiden University, you need to file a petition in uSis in order to add the courses to your elective space and you need to make sure that the education administration office of your minor/elective sends your transcript directly to the OSC (via e-mail). Please note that transcripts sent to the OSC by yourself will not be registered into your uSis account (this is to avoid any fraud). You can file a petition in uSis via the Academic Requirements page. Click on one of the items ‘Elective space’ in your elective space, and on the next page indicate that you wish to file a petition. Choose the option ‘External education’ and fill out the required information for the courses you wish to place in your elective space. You can add multiple courses to one request. The OSC will process your petition as soon as possible, but it may take several weeks.
o Please be aware that all minors/elective that you have done outside of Leiden University, TU Delft or Erasmus Rotterdam should have been approved by the Board of Examiners beforehand! In case the Board of Examiners did not approve your minor/elective yet, please send them an e-mail asap to get your elective space approved. Otherwise we can’t register your minor/elective grades!
o In case you did an internship during your elective space you don’t have to file any petitions.
o In case you went on an exchange abroad during your elective space you will have had contact with the FGGA International Office. They are your first point of contact and need to give permission for the external courses before the exchange happens. Once your exchange is in progress, you can find more information about grades, grade conversion and ECTs in the e-mail ‘finalizing your exchange’. That e-mail will be sent during the last month of your exchange. You can contact the International Office with any questions you may have. Keep in mind that if you have gone on exchange without asking for permission from the International Office first, it is not guaranteed that those credits will be included on your diploma. Contact the study advisors about this. Once your exchange is completed the International Office will send you and the OSC a converted transcript of grades. You then need to file a petition ‘external education’ in uSis. The OSC can only process that petition once they have received the converted transcript from the International Office directly. Host transcripts, either sent from the institution or yourself, will not be accepted. The OSC will process your petition as soon as possible, but it may take several weeks.
Important e-mail addresses:
Please contact the Board of Examiners via: isga.boe@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Please contact the OSC (Educational Service Center) via: osc.fgga@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Please contact the Study Advisors via: ISGA.studyadvisor@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Please contact the International Office via: international@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Questions?
Please first always take a look at the e-guide of your minor/elective.
Questions about minor/electives at Leiden University:
In case you can’t find the answer in the e-guide or if the e-guide has not been published yet, you can always send your general questions to securitystudies.info@fgga.leidenuniv.nl.
In case you have a more specific question about the minor or elective itself (for example about the content), please contact the coordinator of that specific minor/elective. Contact details can be found in the e-guides.
Questions about minor/electives outside of Leiden University but within the Netherlands:
- In case you have any questions in regards to minors/elective you’d like to follow at another university (but within the Netherlands), please contact their study coordinators.
Studying Abroad
Description
Studying abroad is a great way to broaden your horizons. It’s beneficial for both your academic and personal development. Not only will you gain new experiences, but you’ll also learn to get by in a different environment. A period of study abroad is an asset on your CV. With the increasing internationalization of job markets, many employers regard international experience as a real advantage.
BSc Security Studies students can study abroad during the first semester (Sept-Jan) of their third year (it is not possible to study abroad in the second semester (Jan-Sept) of your third year!).
The study abroad application process for FGGA bachelor’s students starts with kick-off sessions in September of your second year. Keep an eye out for an invitation in early September. Topics include destinations, the application process, finances, eligibility, and requirements. More information can be found here.
There are different types of study abroad, including exchange and studying abroad independently. Admission requirements can be found here. More information about destinations can be found here. Be sure to check out the world map! Finally, be sure to read the health and safety information.
More Information
Your point of contact for study abroad is the FGGA International Office. Please contact them with any questions you have after reading the information provided on the website by sending an email to: international@fgga.leidenuniv.nl. Be sure to include your student number and mention that you are a BaSS student.
Internship
Description
Internships are an excellent way to confront theoretical knowledge with practical dynamics in the security and safety domain. Being an intern will help you to develop and train your professional skills. Students in the bachelor programme Security Studies may choose to do an internship during the elective space in their third year. Please note that you are also allowed to do an internship outside of the elective space. However, you won’t obtain any credits then. This can’t retroactively be changed afterwards.
Admission requirements
You should have obtained all 60 ECTS of year 1 of the bachelor Security Studies by the time you want to hand in your proposal (which needs to be done at least one month before the start of your internship).
You are responsible for finding an internship yourself. You may always make use of FGGA’s or ISGA’s network.
You will only receive study credits if the internship is carried out during the elective space in the first semester of year 3.
You can only participate in one internship at any given time. You cannot do multiple internships for study credits.
The internship must be approved in advance by the academic supervisor.
You cannot change from a 15 ECTS to a 30 ECTS internship once your proposal has been approved.
Internship requirements
Internship activities with sufficient common ground with Security Studies can be performed at a public, semi-public of private organization within the Netherlands or abroad.
With doing an internship you will obtain 15 EC (420 hours) or 30 EC ( 840 hours). These hours should be spend on participation at your internship organization, the internship report and meetings with the internship supervisor.
Both fulltime and a part-time internships are possible, as long as the total hours are met.
Core activities during an internship should be at an academic/strategic level.
Next to activities carried out at the internship organization, you will need to work on an independent academic reflection on a security or safety related topic present in your internship organization. The organization that you work with should provide supervision, time and data in order to complete this independent academic reflection.
During your internship, there are two mandatory meetings with the academic supervisor at ISGA.
More details about these admission- and internship requirements can be found in the internship manual.
Assessment method
Internship report (100%) which includes:
An academic reflection
A personal reflection
An evaluation by the practical and internship supervisor.
Grade must be 5,50 or higher to pass the course.
Please note that if you do a 15 EC internship, you need to combine the internship together with minors/electives to make up for the 30 ECTS that you have to obtain during your elective space.
Brightspace
Please note that we post possible internship organisations often on the BaSS Elective Space Brightspace page] All students are enrolled to this page automatically, but let the study coordinators know if you do not have access.
Please note that the Internship Manual can be found on the this Brightspace page as well (under ‘General Information’). In this manual you’ll find all the requirements and information that you need to get your internship started.
Registration & what to do after your internship has been finished
When you choose to do an internship it is not necessary to enroll yourself in uSis/Brightspace before the start of your internship. Simply send us your proposal by email to get things started.
For doing an internship you don’t need additional approval from the Board of Examiners as we will cover that by approving your proposal before the start of your internship.
Once you have handed in your internship report and once this document is graded by the internship supervisor, your grade will be registered in uSis by the internship coordinator. In that light, there is no need to file any petitions in uSis when doing an internship.
Career Services
If you ever need guidance on internship and career questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Career Services. They can help you with:
discussing your (academic) career (e.g. part-time jobs, internships, extra-curricular activities)
advice on results of career tests
looking into what positions and types of employers would suit you best
building your network
examining your qualities, interests and what drives you (creating your personal profile)
learning about where and how you can collect information about positions and organisations
checking your CV and cover letter
tips for updating your LinkedIn profile
preparing and practicing for job interviews
Contact
Study Coordinators BSc Security Studies: securitystudies.info@fgga.leidenuniv.nl