Students enrolled in the MSc programmes Global Ethnography and Sociology of Policy in Practice develop a research project that includes a three months fieldwork period. For the Global Ethnography programme, students can make use of the research opportunities offered by our staff members listed below. This page also lists the Policy in Practice Research internships that the Institute is currently offering. Some of the GE research opportunities and PiP research internships combine with the Field Research and Training (FR&T) programme that will be organised in Ghana. Please note that some of the calls include opportunities to obtain limited financial support. Many of these calls can also be utilised by students who take the Visual Ethnography option.

Please check these pages regularly for updates, as new research opportunities and research internships may be added.

• Global Ethnography research opportunities
• Policy in Practice research internships
• Visual Ethnography research opportunities
• Financial matters
• Pre-departure requirements

Global Ethnography research opportunities

Please consider the calls below if you are in the Global Ethnography programme, and are looking for opportunities regarding your individual research project. The calls listed below allow students to conduct research on themes and in fields in which our staff itself is working.

• Custom as Capital in Upland South and Southeast Asia (Erik de Maaker) 
  Regional focus: South and Southeast Asia 
   
• Gold in Ghana (Sabine Luning and Jan Jansen) 
  Regional focus: West-Africa
   
• Museums, Heritage and Material Culture (Peter Pels)
  Regional focus: West-Africa

Policy in Practice research internships

A Policy in Practice research internship offers you the opportunity to conduct research with organisations such as a NGO, a government body or a commercial company. Your research will engage with questions that the organisation concerned would like to be answered, and as a student-researcher, you can thus benefit from the support of the organisation concerned. While these organisations can benefit from the outcomes of the research conducted by the student, the student gains valuable working experience in a professional context. Currently, we offer Policy in Practice research internships in the Netherlands.

Policy in Practice Research opportunities. 

Visual Ethnography research opportunities

Within the Visual Ethnography specialisation, you can develop your own research project or make use of the research opportunities offered by our staff members listed below.

• Mark Westmoreland 
  Regional focus: Middle East, Balkans, Ethiopia, North America, Ghana
   
• Andrew Littlejohn 
  Regional focus: Japan 

Financial matters

Expenses for fieldwork or internships

Fieldwork or internship expenses are not covered by the tuition fee for the MSc programme. Field research, especially abroad, can be a costly endeavour for the student. The total expenses for fieldwork or internship abroad, including ticket, visa, vaccinations, accommodation, etc. will approximately be € 3.000 – € 4.000, depending on the country where the fieldwork takes place. Please note that some of the Global Ethnography research opportunities and Policy in Practice research internships include the possibility of obtaining limited financial support.

Grants

Regularly, CA-DS students acquire grants from LUF or LUSTRA, but can also be successful in acquiring financial aid from smaller, private funds and trusts. Suitable funds can also be identified via the student counselor ( ‘studentendecaan’), Kaiserstraat 25, Leiden, tel.: 071-5278011.

• The LUF/LIFS International Study Fund enables MSc students to travel abroad for individual projects related to their degree programmes.
• The LUSTRA+ scholarship has been created by Leiden University for students registered at Leiden University who want to study, do research or do an internship at an institution or in a company outside Europe.
• The Steven Engelsman Grant provides financial support to research associates and talented young Master’s students interested in conducting (ethnographic) research, or publishing, on the collections of the Tropenmuseum, Museum Volkenkunde and Afrika Museum.

Other funds:

• Trustee Funds (Curatorenfonds)
• VVIK (only for South-Asian related research)

Pre-departure requirements

Before starting with your ethnographic fieldwork, the following conditions have to be met:

1. Proficiency of language has to be approved by your supervisor; 
2. Your Research Proposal has to be completed and graded sufficiently by the supervisor.
3. A Letter of Liability has to be sent to the coordinator of studies.
4. A Pre-departure form has to be sent to the coordinator of studies.
5. An overview of the budget of your fieldwork (the last chapter of your research proposal) has to be sent to the coordinator of studies.