Career Preparation
Labour market preparation in the Research Master Arts, Literature and Media
In addition to offering you a solid university education, Leiden University aims to prepare you for today’s labour market. Your studies will contribute to the development of your employability. After finishing the programme, it will become easier for you to make the transition to the labour market, to remain employable in a dynamic labour market in a (career) job that suits your own personal values, preferences and development.
'Employability' consists of the following aspects that you will develop within your study programme, among others:
1. Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills specific to your study programme.
2. Transferable skills
These are skills that are relevant to every student and that you can use in all kinds of jobs irrespective of your study programme, for example: research, conducting analyses, project-based working, generating solutions, acquiring and developing digital skills, collaborating, oral communication, written communication, presenting, raising societal awareness, independent learning, and resilience.
3. Self-reflection
This concerns self-reflection in the context of your (study) career, including reflecting on the choices you make as a student during your studies, esp. with respect to what you can do with your knowledge and skills on the labour market.
In addition, reflecting on your own profile and your personal and professional development. Who are you, what can you do well, what do you find interesting, what suits you, what do you find important, what do you want to do?
4. Practical experience
Gaining practical experience through internships, work placements, projects, practical (social) assignments, which are integrated into an elective, minor or graduation assignment.
5. Labour market orientation
Gaining insight into the labour market, fields of work, jobs and career paths through, for example, guest speakers and alumni experiences from the work field, career events within the study programme, the use of the alumni mentor network, interviewing people from the work field, and shadowing/visiting companies in the context of a particular subject.
Employability in the Research Master Arts, Literature and Media
The curriculum of the Research Master Arts, Literature and Media focuses on Arts and Culture, Media Studies or Literary Studies. In addition, students may choose to explore a specific period through the programme’s two lines of specialisation: Middle Ages/Early Modern or Modern and Contemporary. The programme's flexibility will encourage you to adopt an interdisciplinary perspective. During your studies you will develop a valuable skill set and gain knowledge, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, historical and theoretical.
How can you apply the knowledge and skills you acquire? Which specialisation aligns best with your interests and goals - and why? What skills do you already have, and which additional skills would you like to develop? How can your choice of courses be translated into knowledge and skills that will support your career ambitions after graduation?
These and more questions will be addressed regularly throughout your study programme. You may have already discussed them with your study coordinator, the Humanities Career Service, fellow students, or through resources such as the Leiden University Career Zone. Diverse activities are offered to help you reflect on your own wishes, explore your options, and give you the chance to engage with the job market. These activities are focused on questions such as: What can I do? What do I want? and How do I achieve my goals?
Transferable skills
Throughout your study programme, it is therefore important not only to acquire knowledge about your subject, but to remain aware of the skills you have developed and those you still wish to learn. The course descriptions in the e-Prospectus of the Research Master Arts, Literature and Media include the learning objectives as well as the key skills each course aims to foster.
Courses in the Research Master Arts, Literature and Media
Courses of this study programme are designed to support your academic and professional development. Preparing you for the job market is an aim embedded both directly and indirectly throughout the curriculum.
Below you can find examples of courses in which we develop each of the ‘employability aspects’ listed above. The examples are selective, as most courses train you in several of these aspects:
Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
The Epic Course: A Premodern Genre and Its Digital Disclosure
Questions of Law and Justice in Literature, Arts, and Media
Imagining Reconciliation in Literature, Arts and Media
Shared transferable skills
Self-reflection
Digital Media and Machinic Cultures
LUCAS Seminar: Cultural Theory for the 21st Century
Methodological Concepts in Arts, Literature and Media
Practical experience
Labour market orientation
Students can also opt to do an internship in order to gain valuable work experience. You can contact the study adviser to discuss this option.
Activities to prepare for the labour market alongside / outside the curriculum
Every year, various activities take place, within, alongside and outside of your study programme, which contribute to your preparation for the labour market, especially where it concerns orientation towards the work field/the labour market, (career) skills and self-reflection. These activities could be hosted by your study program to discuss the key decision stages within your program. Furthermore, you may want to attend career workshops and events organised by the Humanities Career service or your study association.
You will be notified via the Faculty website, your study programme website and email about further activities in the area of job market preparation. You can also join the LinkedIn group of our study programme – meant for current students and alumni – for announcements of relevant events and for exchanging information about job opportunities, internships, or other opportunities for research and collaborations. The following activities will help you to thoroughly explore your options, so we advise you to take careful note of them:
Humanities Career Service, LU Career Zone and Career Workshops Calendar
Humanities Career Service
The Humanities Career Service offers information and advice on internships, study (re)orientation and master's choice, orientation on the labour market and careers.
Leiden University Career Zone
The Leiden University Career Zone is the website for students and alumni of Leiden University to support their (study) career. You can find advice, information, (career) tests and tools in the area of (study) career planning, career possibilities with your study, job market orientation, job applications, the Alumni Mentor network, job portal, workshops and events and career services.
Workshops and events
On the Workshops calendar you will find an overview of career and application workshops, organised by the Humanities Career Service.
February Starters
Most students start this study programme in September but there is also a possibility to start in February.
Programme changes
Students who start this programme in February follow a slightly adjusted version of the study programme presented in the study guide. For some of these adjustments there may be different options, so it is advisable to first discuss the adjusted study programme with the study advisor in order to take well-informed decisions.
The most important adjustments for February-starters concern the first year of their studies. Students are expected to follow the programme in the order mentioned below.
Compulsory
Choose one of the following
Core Course: Methodologies and Theories - Medieval and Early Modern - Semester 1 (spring semester)
Core Course: Methodological Concepts in Arts, Literature and Media - Semester 1 (spring semester)
Optional
- Case Based Research - Semester 2 (autumn semester)
The Case Based Research course can be taken in semester 2 or 3 (recommended) or semester 4 (possible but not recommended)
The other courses (theme courses and electives) remain unchanged and can be chosen according to timing and availability.
Thesis deadlines and graduation
Prior to handing in your thesis, you should have completed the resMA Thesis Seminar (5264VTSEM).
The informative and methodological sessions of the thesis seminar take place in the autumn semester; in the spring semester the seminar operates mainly as a collective writing- and peer-review-lab. February-starters can start the thesis seminar in their second semester (autumn) or in their third semester (spring); in the latter case, they attend the informative and methodological sessions in their 4th semester (autumn), parallel tot writing their thesis.
Graduation for February-starters takes place at the end of the autumn semester. The timeframe and related deadlines are as follows:
Submission of thesis proposal to the examination board: 15 June of the year preceding graduation
Submission of complete draft version of the thesis: 1 December
Submission of final version to supervisor: 21 December
Supervisor and second readers have four weeks to read and grade the thesis (six in holiday periods).
