Career Preparation
The programme
The curriculum of Linguistics offers a wide range of perspectives on the history, structure and use of language. The programme has three specialisations.
How can you use this knowledge and the skills that you acquire? Which specialisation should you choose within your study programme and why? What skills do you already have, and what further skills do you still want to learn? How do you translate the courses that you choose into something that you’d like to do after graduation?
These questions and more will be discussed at various times during your study programme. You may already have spoken about them with your study advisor, other students, or made use of the Leiden University Career Zone. Many different activities are organised to help you reflect on your own wishes and options, and give you the chance to explore the job market. All these activities are focused on the questions: ‘What can I do?’, ‘What do I want?’ and ‘How do I achieve my goals?’.
Activities
You will be notified via the Faculty website, your study programme website and email about further activities in the area of job market preparation. The following activities will help you to thoroughly explore your options, so we advise you to take careful note of them:
Transferable skills
Future employers are interested not only in the subject-related knowledge that you acquired during your study programme, but also in the ‘transferable skills’. These include cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, reasoning and argumentation and innovation; intrapersonal skills, such as flexibility, initiative, appreciating diversity and metacognition; and interpersonal skills, such as communication, accountability and conflict resolution. In short, they are skills that all professionals need in order to perform well.
It is therefore important that during your study programme you not only acquire as much knowledge as possible about your subject, but also are aware of the skills you have gained and the further skills you still want to learn. The course descriptions in the e-Prospectus of [Linguistics] include, in addition to the courses’ learning objectives, a list of the skills that they aim to develop.
The skills you may encounter in the various courses are:
Collaboration
Persuasion
Research
Self-directed learning
Creative thinking
Analytical skills
Internships
During your studies you have ample opportunity to gain experience studying, working, or conducting research at an organisation or institution. This experience is highly valued within international organisations. Many of our students choose to do an internship during their study. Internships are a great way to gain invaluable first-hand experience in your area of interest before you decide on making it a career. More information about finding and arranging an internship can be found on this website.
In recent years, students from Linguistics (specialisation) have participated in internships at:
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics
Koninklijke Brill NV
Transnational Consulting S.L.
Taalmuseum Leiden
Meertens Instituut
Ambassade van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden Rome
Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken
KERN B.V. Vertaal- en Tolkservice
LiBC Babylab voor taalverwerving
Europees Parlement
Pro Comunidades Indigenas
Instituut voor Gebaren, Taal & Dovenstudies
Contact
If you have any questions about career choices, whether in your studies or on the job market, you are welcome to make an appointment with the career adviser of the the Humanities Career Service 071-5272235, or with your study advisor.
