Prospectus

nl en

Fieldwork (February intake)

Course
2014-2015

Admission requirements

Final permission for conducting field research is obtained once the following conditions have been met:

  • Formal admission and enrollment to the MA programme CA-DS

  • Declaration of liability

  • Submission of budget

  • Approval of final research proposal

  • Proof of sufficient language proficiency (declaration by the supervisor)

Description

If approved by the institute, the individual field research may be conducted anywhere in the world provided that the location is safe and not afflicted by armed conflict.
This fieldwork is arranged by students themselves. It is expected that the student will independently establish the necessary contacts with local authorities, acquire research permission and affiliation as well as accommodation in the country of research. Supervision during this preparatory period if provided by the thesis advisor in Leiden. It is expected that the student will be locally affiliated with an institute or a person willing to take (partial) responsibility for their fieldwork, because the Leiden supervisor will not be able to visit the student in the field. Nevertheless, the student remains under the supervision of his/her Leiden based supervisor the entire time. Supervision of the processing and reporting on field data is the responsibility of the staff in Leiden.

Financial matters

Field research, especially abroad, can be a costly endeavor for the student. Total expenses, including the airplane ticket, visa and accommodation will approximately be € 3.000 – € 4.000, depending on the country where the fieldwork takes place. These expenses are not covered by the tuition fee for the MA programme.

To ease the financial pain a number of funds may be applied for:

  • Funds of the Institute CA-DS
    Students can apply for a research-subsidy at the Secretariate of the Institute CA-DS (room 3A19) once their Research Proposal is approved. They need to hand in a copy of the budget-related page of ther Research Proposal as well as their bank account number.

    • Students who do MA fieldwork outside Europe will receive a 365,- euro research grant from our Institute after submitting all necessary forms at the secretariat.
    • Students who do take part in the Fieldschool in the Netherlands will receive a total of 365,- euro research grant from our Institute after submitting written evidence (invoices, tickets etc.) of the research costs.
    • Those who conduct individual fieldwork in the Netherlands and Europe may be reimbursed 50% of their research costs (with a maximum reimbursement of 365,-euro), but only after having submitted at the secretariat written evidence (invoices, tickets etc.) of the research costs.
  • Other funds
    At the the student centre Plexus you may take a look at the so-called “Book of Funds”. This book contains information on all funding organizations in the Netherlands. Relevant funds can also be found through the scholarship website: in Dutch or in English (these websites are not identical!). Most often the students of CA-DS acquire grants from the LUF and the LUSTRA but can also be sucessful in acquiring financial aid from smaller, private funds and trusts. Since most of the information about funds is available in Dutch language, foreign students might need assistance from their Dutch fellow-students when looking for relevant information, or address the resources from their country of origin.

  • Sub-letting your room in Leiden can also be a good source of income.

  • Also check the Dutch study grant provider DUO for additional information.

Assessment method

The fieldwork is rated “pass” based on performance in the research setting.

Time-table

April, May, June 2015.
NB: A later starting date is also an option, since there are no lectures to be followed before September, but this must be approved by the supervisor.

Contact

Fieldwork coördinator Dr. Erik de Maaker (room 3A34, tel. 071-527 6612, e-mail maaker@fsw.leidenuniv.nl )