Humanities Lab: broaden your horizon and grow
Are you a motivated student wanting to grow outside of your own bachelor’s programme? Then, look no further than the Humanities Lab honours programme: a challenging opportunity to broaden your horizon and grow.
‘I’d definitely encourage anyone to try it,’ says Eleonora Savinova. She is both a student ambassador and an honours student for the Humanities Lab. The track is for students who want to take extra courses in addition to the ones that are part of their bachelor’s programme. It consists of four courses and two compulsory modules. ‘It’s an opportunity to learn more about yourself and about new fields of study that aren’t covered in your bachelor’s programme. And, on top of that, you learn a different approach to studying. It’s more creative, more focused on the individual and because of the smaller classes there is more room for discussion.’
Additionally, honours students now also have the opportunity to go abroad. The Humanities Lab has developed a course in cooperation with NIMAR, the University’s expertise centre for Moroccan Studies in Morocco.
Interdisciplinary
Eleonora describes the courses as interdisciplinary, because students from all over the faculty participate in the programme. ‘In my last course I was joined by students from Middle Eastern Studies, as well as from International Studies and Religious Studies,’ she says. ‘You get to hear a lot of different perspectives on issues.’
It is not only fellow students that provide those different perspectives; the courses themselves also encourage an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach. ‘Last year, I took a course on Africa and Europe, which I really liked. It was very different from the courses in my bachelor’s programme, because it focused on cultural aspects instead of just politics. In addition to the European perspective, there was also an African perspective. I really enjoyed taking that approach.’
Is the Humanities Lab for you?
But who should apply to the Humanities Lab? The Honours College track is open to all students from the Faculty of Humanities with a GPA of 7 and a healthy dose of motivation. You can either start the track in the second semester of your first year or in the first semester of your second year. But most importantly, you have to complete the programme in the third year of your bachelor’s programme.
‘You definitely need a lot of motivation to be able to handle 30 more credits on top of your regular programme,’ Eleonora adds. ‘Even though it’s fun, it’s still additional work. But all in all, the majority of students agree that the honours programme is well worth it.’