This information page is composed for students of the Bachelor programme in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology.
A minor is a coherent package of courses offered by the university, usually consisting of 30 ECTS. By means of a minor, students may explore topics outside their own educational programmes, and a well-chosen minor will enrich the Bachelor’s course with knowledge, insights, and skills from other disciplines. A minor can also help students prepare for a Master’s degree.
Students may take a minor at any time once the first year has been successfully completed, but the best time is in the third year (first semester) of the Bachelor’s course. Ideally, a minor should be completed within one year, as changes might be made to the curriculum for following years.
It is important to start looking into the possibilities well in advance, e.g. during the first semester of the second year. Second-year students will receive information about minors during a plenary tutoring meeting in the first semester.
Please make sure to check the application deadline of any minor you are interested in. You can register for a minor on eduXchange.
After registering for a minor, the minor needs to be added to your academic requirements in uSis. The procedure for this depends on whether the minor is offered by Leiden University or another institution. Please review both scenarios below.
Minor at Leiden University
Leiden University offers over 50 minors. However, while the choice is wide there are restrictions: some minors have special admission criteria, and for others a limited number of places are available. Students may not follow minors in their own disciplines since they may include courses also included in the Bachelor’s curriculum.
After registering for a minor at Leiden University, the SSC will include the minor in your uSis academic requirements. This means you do not need to file a petition in uSis for the minor.
Minor at another Dutch University
Students may follow minors at other Dutch universities, (N.B.: not those offering "applied sciences"/HBO).
Students who wish to choose minors from other universities must enroll as "guest students" following the application procedure of that particular institution. No extra tuition fee will be due, because fees have already been paid to Leiden University.
Leiden University has an agreement with the Technical University in Delft and Erasmus University in Rotterdam, making it easier for Leiden students to follow minors at those institutions. Places are reserved for Leiden students and the application procedure is more uniform. Please read more about the LDE cooperation and available minors on the designated page of the University website.
To add "external" (non-Leiden) minors to your academic requirements in uSis, you must submit a petition in uSis ("petition for external education"). Petitions should be submitted before starting the minor, to allow confirmation from the Board of Examiners that the preferred minor is compatible with Bachelor’s courses at Leiden. An official transcript of records issued by the university in question should then be submitted to the SSC after the minor has been completed, so that grades and ECTS can be registered in uSis.