Majors & Minors

Coordinator: prof. Anne Beaulieu

The changing climate is one of the biggest threats to development and impacts the most vulnerable peoples and ecosystems on the planet. The aim of this major is to connect complex issues to an understanding of Earth System Science, Environmental Science, Energy Transition, and Science and Technology Studies.

Learn about the Earth System and climate change and environmental degradation; the dynamics of energy systems at different scales; and the current challenges for biodiversity & sustainability. You will also learn about interactions between SDGs, about how to connect interdisciplinary scientific knowledge relevant to global challenges, about the role of data science & socio-political dimensions of sustainability, and about transition theory.

Coordinator: dr. Josefine Geiger

Human behaviour is one of the leading causes of global challenges, and these challenges in turn affect individual and collective well-being. Learn to understand the (human-driven) antecedents of global challenges and how to reflect on the interaction between individual and contextual factors that affect behaviour, and the real opportunities for decision-making (e.g. cultural, social, and institutional influences).

In addition, we will equip you with the necessary tools (theories, methods, approaches) to develop solutions and interventions addressing the SDGs, to help improve collective and individual well-being.

Coordinator: dr. Elise Rouméas

Solving global challenges requires adequate policy frameworks with accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The aim of this major is to help you develop the knowledge and tools to understand and research the complex systems of power, democracy, institutions, societal change, economics and policy.

In addition, you will gain insight into their mutual connection and relation to the other GRL tracks, and in relation to your own place within these systems.

Internship at the Municipality of Leeuwarden

Ellis Mourits

During my minor, I got the chance to do an internship at the municipality of Leeuwarden with the main task of organising the Week of the Circular Economy in Friesland. This was done in collaboration with other organisations in the province. My tasks included planning and leading meetings, keeping an overview of the events being organised, drafting project ideas and promoting events. All together, we set up over 20 events and reached an estimated 1200 people during the Week of the Circular Economy. As I worked together with a very diverse group of people and organisations, I got a good understanding of the different roles that organisations in the province have with regard to circularity, in particular the role of Frisian municipalities and provincie Fryslân. Moreover, I practiced and developed organising, planning and communication skills.

For me personally, I became quite aware that there are still a lot of things that need to be done to transition from a linear to a circular economy. Embedding circularity in governments and educational institutions is an enormous challenge and happens step by step. This sounds a bit negative and has been kind of a reality check compared to the big ideas and visions that we bring forward in our studies. However, it is also motivating. During the internship, I got to know a large group of people that are busy with a similar mission in this region. Beforehand I only knew roughly what was going on in Friesland, but I did not know that there were so many opportunities. I also did not know that I could actually join them and bring a valuable contribution with my motivation, effort and knowledge about sustainability. This has definitely opened up my eyes and was overall a great experience!

Exchange to the University of Coimbra in Portugal

Ester Alda Bragadottir

My name is Ester Alda and I have been living in Coimbra in Portugal this semester. Due to Covid-19 I was the only third-year student going on an exchange this semester, which has been an experience that I will be forever grateful for. Living in Portugal for around five months, and studying at one of Europe’s oldest universities, has been a total adventure from the beginning to the end.

I moved into a student residence, on a floor with six other Erasmus students, in a house called “the Yellow house” which I thought sounded great. I saw from the start how lively the city is, full of students, although I have been told that this year has been very far from its usual life, understandably. I was able to take a Portuguese A1 course, alongside politics and economics courses. Those courses were enjoyable and I learned a lot. Some of the classes were, however, quite different from what I am used to at UCF, and sometimes I missed the interdisciplinary approach to the subjects at hand.

Before moving I had heard that the Portuguese are very friendly and relaxed, which I agree entirely with after having stayed here. By mid-October, I was already quite familiar with the city, had made great friends, and was enjoying the University. Then I, and my housemates ended up being at the wrong place at the wrong time and we managed to catch the famous Covid-19. Three weeks inside the Yellow house followed, where we relaxed and recovered. The fresh air was even fresher after that quarantine and since then life has been quite stable here in Coimbra.

During my stay, I have been able to go to the beach, go hiking, join strikes, and I have visited the major cities, enjoyed the sun, and briefly got to know the Portuguese life, and I have loved every minute of it. I have made new friends for a lifetime, and my horizons have widened. I will be back in Portugal, hopefully, many times and I will miss this beautiful country. I am well aware of the privilege it has been for me to go on an exchange during a pandemic, and I cannot express how thankful I am for this experience. Nevertheless, I am also extremely excited to return to the Netherlands and finish the program with my great friends at UCF.

Minor in Development Studies at the University of Groningen

Helena Nielsen

Given the Corona situation, I also had to stay in the Netherlands for my minor and, instead of doing an exchange, stayed at the University of Groningen.

The Development Studies program is an interfaculty minor, meaning, the courses are offered by different UG faculties, providing a holistic perspective on this complex subject. I was interested to learn more about development work, its history, ethical implications, and the power dynamics that play into it. Who has the right to define what development means, and how do our perceptions of the term change given the reality of climate change? I was also excited to take part in the program’s summer school that is conducted every year in Tanzania and where you can observe how the theory plays out in practice.

During the six-month program I took the following courses:

• Environment & Development
• Ethnicity, Culture, Politics
• Climate Change, End Times and Sustainable Futures
• Global Development Studies
• Topical Themes in Development
• Reading Seminar: Key Debates in Development Studies

All of the courses were very interesting and offered a good mix of theoretical and applied knowledge. In the Reading Seminar we had insightful discussions in small groups similar to the set up at UCF, while we received weekly coachings in Topical Themes to write our own development studies research paper. My favourite course was the ‘Climate Change, End Times and Sustainable Futures’, which taught me a lot about cultural conceptualisations of climate change and their historical roots in religious texts or indigenous narratives. We also learned about eco-anxiety, and I got to write an essay about the reception of apocalyptic themes in movies about natural disasters.

While I enjoyed the contents of the program, the biggest benefit to the program was living in Groningen. The city is the definition of a vibrant student city and I loved experiencing the ‘big UG’ life there, making use of all the university facilities, but also the cafés, restaurants and events. The somewhat lighter workload (compared to UCF) allowed ample time to do so :)

Minor Global Affairs aan Campus Den Haag, Universiteit Leiden

Marc Flessa

Soms sluit er in het leven een deur en gaat er een andere open, en dat is precies wat er met mij gebeurde met betrekking tot mijn minor. Mijn oorspronkelijke plan was om mijn minor in het buitenland te volgen, aan de Australian National University in Canberra. Ik beschouwde het als een unieke kans om diepgaande persoonlijke en academische ervaring op te doen. Ik was enorm enthousiast. Maar net als voor zoveel andere studenten gooide de COVID-19-pandemie roet in het eten. Ik kan niet ontkennen dat ik er kapot van was.

Uiteindelijk besloot ik mijn minor in Nederland te volgen. Het programma dat ik koos heet Global Affairs en wordt aangeboden door de Universiteit Leiden op hun campus in Den Haag. Gezien mijn langdurige fascinatie voor internationale politiek was ik ervan overtuigd dat dit programma mijn reguliere studie enorm zou verrijken. Uiteindelijk deed het veel meer dan dat. Ondanks alle omstandigheden heeft mijn minor een buitengewone invloed gehad op mijn (academische) carrière en ontwikkeling. Vakken als Geo-Economics of Humanitarian Intervention and Peacebuilding waren zeer interessant en boeiend. Bovendien konden de docenten en gastdocenten met al hun professionele en academische ervaring niet alleen de inhoud van de onderwerpen uitstekend overbrengen, maar ook laten zien wat internationale politiek in de praktijk betekent. Verder heeft mijn studietijd aan een andere academische instelling ook bijgedragen aan de verdere ontwikkeling en verfijning van mijn academische (schrijf)vaardigheden. Ik durf te zeggen dat deze ervaring zeker bepalend is geweest voor mijn toekomstige academische carrière. Mijn wens om verder te studeren en te werken op dit gebied is gebaseerd op de ervaringen die ik tijdens mijn minor heb opgedaan. In de praktijk ga ik een masteropleiding Internationale Betrekkingen volgen.

Kortom, mijn studieperiode in Den Haag met de minor Global Affairs, die voortkwam uit een gemiste kans, was academisch gezien een uitdagende, maar ook zeer boeiende en invloedrijke ervaring. Achteraf gezien zou Australië zeker geweldig zijn geweest, maar wat mijn academische en professionele ontwikkeling betreft, had ik geen betere keuze kunnen maken dan Global Affairs te studeren.