Admission requirements
This course is only available for students who have successfully completed their propaedeutic (first) year. Requires approval by the Board of Examiners in case of:
I.2 - Minor at another university;
II - Study Abroad;
III - Internship;
IV - Custom Elective Credits Package.
Description
All students have the opportunity to use the Elective Credits Space to deepen, broaden and personalise their BA Urban Studies in a variety of ways. Please note that students can use this space to adhere to admission requirements for their Master’s programme. Keep an eye on your future plans when designing your Study Plan. The Study Advisers can help you with this. There are four options that allow you to gain elective credits, each with a distinctive character.
I. Minor
A minor is a compact and coherent package which (in contrary to your major, i.e. main programme) allows you to either focus on a specific topic within or divert from your main programme. Minors are worth 30 credits and can be taken at Leiden University or another Dutch university. Please note that some minors are spread out over the course of an academic year (so called ‘lint’ minors), whilst others are clustered within a semester (so called ‘block’ minors).
- I.1: Minor at Leiden University: Leiden University offers some 56 different minors (mostly in English), spread out across the faculties. All minors are accessible to Leiden University students, with the exception of a few minors with additional admission requirements. All minor options can be found in the minor section of the Prospectus.
A minor at Leiden University -including LDE minors- does not require approval of the Board of Examiners.
- I.2: Minor at another Dutch university. Make sure to check the procedure and possibilities for guest students in time, as well as to inform yourself on the amount of credits and the schedule.
A minor at any other university than Leiden University requires the approval of the Board of Examiners. Please fill out the Elective Credits Space Approval Form.
II. Study abroad
Studying abroad is a very valuable experience for any student, but especially for those in an international and interdisciplinary programme such as Urban Studies. There are several options available to BA Urban Studies students who wish to study abroad: student exchange with Urban Studies partners, University-wide partners, Faculty partners, Erasmus partners of other programmes. Additionally, a student can decide to compose their own curriculum as a free mover. The courses taken abroad must adhere to the following four requirements:
1) Courses must be academic: While some partner universities may assign credit to, for example, sports activities and/or language classes, the BA Urban Studies programme will not approve these courses for course transfer;
2) Chosen courses may not repeat courses you have already taken in the BA Urban Studies programme;
3) You must take at least one upper-level (third or fourth year) course;
4) Courses must form a coherent package. This means that the courses should have a common theme that binds them. Courses do not have to be in the area of Urban Studies, as long as they are a cohesive unit in and of themselves.
A study abroad requires the approval of the Board of Examiners. Please fill out the Elective Credits Space Approval Form. See this link for more information about studying abroad. Please note that the courses that are part of a study abroad will be converted into a pass or a fail grade.
III. Internship
An internship is a fantastic way of combining work experience with your academic work. The activities during an internship should be in line with what you have learned as part of your study programme and it should contribute to the work of the internship organisation. Under the supervision of one of the faculty’s lecturers (the internship lecturer) and a staff member from your internship organisation (the internship supervisor), you spend some time working for a company or an organisation.
The total amount of credits for an internship as part of your Elective Credits add up to 30 EC, composed of:
The course Organisational Theory and Workplace Preparation (5 EC) in the second semester of your second year;
The internship (15 EC), including associated academic assignments, and an internship report (3 EC);
An academic research paper (7 EC).
See this link for more information. Please keep in mind that, apart from this procedure that runs through the Career Service, the package as a whole requires the approval of the Board of Examiners. Please fill out the Elective Credits Space Approval Form.
IV. Elective package
If you wish to create your own personalised electives package using courses offered at either Leiden University or another institution of higher education, the following conditions apply:
the chosen courses need to cover 30 EC;
must have sufficient academic level;
must form a coherent package.
Creating your own electives package requires the approval of the Coordinator of Studies as well as the Board of Examiners. Please fill out the Elective Credits Space Approval Form.
Contact
Study Plan: Study Advisers
Interships: Career Service
Exchange or study abroad: Humanities International Office