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Minors

A minor allows you to develop your knowledge beyond the boundaries of your study programme, or to specialise further in your own field of study. You can follow a minor in Leiden and also in Delft or Rotterdam.

A minor is a cohesive set of courses. Most consist of 15 to 30 credits (ECs) which means you can use your elective credits to follow a minor. In terms of level, minors are most suitable for third-year bachelor’s students.

A minor allows you to broaden your knowledge and skills by looking beyond the boundaries of your own study programme, or to further specialise in your own field of study, for example, in preparation for a master's. ​​​​​​

  • You are a bachelor's student at Leiden University.
  • Your minor does not overlap with your regular study programme.*
  • If you only want to follow part of a minor, you need permission from the Board of Examiners
  • Want to do a minor in Delft? Check if you can be admitted in the admission matrix.
  • For some minors there are additional admission requirements. You can find these in the description of the minor. 

*In your study programme's Course and Examination Regulations (OER) you can read which minors you are not allowed to follow due to overlap. Don't see your minor but still in doubt? Check with your Board of Examiners

1. Preparation: create an eduID

  • To register, you first need to create an eudID. Do it right away. Then you can register as soon as registration opens. 
  • Link your eduID to Leiden University*. To do so, go to My eudID > 'Personal info' > 'Verify your account now'. 
  • Did you create an eduID last year? Be aware that you need to link it to Leiden University again! 

* Exception: if you are doing a bachelor's in Clinical Technology or Life Science and Technology, you must link your eduID to TU Delft. 

Manual-creating an EduID

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Register

  • Register on time! There are limited places available and these are allocated in order of registration. (Exception: selection minors at TU Delft and Erasmus University)
  • Log into eduXchange using your eduID and select 'Leiden University'.
    Exception: students doing a bachelor's in Clinical Technology or Life Science and Technology must select 'TU Delft'. 
  • You may only register for one selection minor. 
  • You may only register for one TU Delft, Erasmus or LDE-minor.
  • If your chosen minor is full, you will be placed on a waiting list. In this case you can register for one more (non-selection) minor at Leiden University. 

Manual - How to register via eduXchange (pdf)

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Registration period

Type of minor University Registration period
Selection minor* TU Delft, Erasmus, LDE, Leiden 2 April 13.00 hours till 15 April 2024
Non-selection minor TU Delft, Erasmus, LDE 15 May 13.00 hours till 31 May 2024
  Leiden 15 May 13.00 hours till 4 July 2024

*A selection minor is a minor with a limited number of places available. Places are allocated by way of a selection procedure. In the description of the minor in EduXchange you can see if it is a selection minor. 

Changes

You can change your registrations till the end of the registration period.

Cancellations

Are you registered for a minor that you will no longer follow? Cancel your registration! This will allow another student to take your place. 

  • For Leiden University minors you can cancel your registration till 1 September via the Enrolled/Drop tile in uSis. 
  • For minors at TU Delft and the Erasmus University, read how to cancel your registration on the websites of TU Delft and Erasmus University Rotterdam.
  • Questions about the content of a minor? Get in touch with the contact person mentioned in the description of the minor.
  • Other questions? Take a look in the FAQ. Can't find the information you need? Contact the Student Affairs Front Office

Not a student of Leiden University? 

This information is intended for bachelor's students at Leiden University. Are you studying at a different university? Take a look at the minors available for students from other universities (of applied sciences).

The Faculty of Humanities offers the following minors:

A minor is a cohesive package of subjects worth 30 study points. Leiden University offers a bounty of different minors. Most of these are accessible to all students; a few minors have admission criteria. In terms of level, minor education is primarily suitable for third-year bachelor’s students. Students can choose to follow a minor programme at Leiden University or at another university or build their own minor.

Why a minor programme?

You may want to choose to follow a minor programme because:

  • you would like to know more about a specific field of expertise that is not part of your Bachelor’s programme
  • you already have some basic knowledge in a specific field, but you would like to know more about this
  • you want to do a specific Master’s programme and you need to have completed this minor to be admissible


You can find the overview of all minor programmes offered at Leiden University in the prospectus in English and in Dutch

Every year in April we have a Minor Market at the Faculty of Humanities where all minor programmes from this Faculty are represented.

Humanities Minors Restrictions

To prevent overlap in courses, there are some restrictions on the Humanities minors relating to a specific area:

  • American Studies (for students who have chosen North America as their area of specialisation)
  • Chinese Economy and Society (for students who have chosen East Asia as their area of specialisation)
  • Latijns-Amerikastudies (for students who have chosen Latin America as their area of specialisation)

Students with these areas of specialisation may follow these minors, but they must replace the courses that overlap with their specialisation with other relevant courses. These replacement courses must be submitted to the Board of Examiners of the Minor in question for approval.

Why build your own minor programme?

  • There is not a specific minor in your field of interest
  • You want to do a specific Master’s programme and you need to have completed some specific courses to be admissible


You may find the overview of the elective choices offered at Leiden University in the prospectus under elective choices or, in Dutch, under keuzevakken.

Minors and entry requirements for a Master's programme

If you need more information about the specific entry requirements for a Master’s programme and the courses you need to have completed to be admissible, please contact the Co-ordinator of Studies from this Master’s programme

You can find contact information and all Master’s programmes offered at Leiden University on the Master's website. 

If you have any questions, please schedule an appointment with your Co-ordinator of Studies.

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