During the first semester, you will learn anthropological theories and terms so you can study people in their daily lives and write about them. These courses pay attention to people’s resilience, creativity and the various ways they express themselves. In the second semester you will be taught hands-on skills in the use of interviews, surveys, and observation as research techniques, always integrating the visual dimension that has become Leiden’s signature.

These skills will then be applied in a fieldwork workshop, either in Leiden or The Hague. This second semester will consolidate your position as a socially engaged researcher, eager to collate information while not losing sight of people’s concerns and daily lives.

The second year comprises two components. The first of these covers three key courses that will broaden your knowledge of digitalisation, sustainability and diversity by showing how they are connected to politics, economy, the environment, and digital media. It also explores how practical research and having a cultural perspective enable anthropologists to make crucial and original contributions to debates on key issues.

The second component is centred around a month-long fieldwork project in or near the Netherlands. You will learn to analyse your own research data from different perspectives, link it to a societal debate, and present it at a conference in Leiden to which you can invite your research participants.

Year three will give you the freedom to tailor your programme. Next to writing a thesis on a topic of your personal preference, you will follow an elective and a course that will help you choose between continuing your academic studies or entering the professional environment. You could follow a minor in Leiden/The Hague, study for a semester abroad, or do an internship in the Netherlands, Asia or Africa.