Back in 2016, I came to Groningen to study the bachelor’s degree in International Relations and International Organisation (IRIO) and throughout my bachelors degree, especially in the last year and a half, I often got the question “so what will you do after your bachelor’s degree?”. It triggered me to start looking around at master’s degrees, both in the Netherlands and outside. I started talking to classmates, who were talking about doing their master’s degree in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia or a little closer to home, Leiden or Utrecht. I looked at all of those options, I emailed different schools around the country to get more information, but eventually decided to stay in Groningen to study IRIO: European Integration. 

Study-related choices 

As I had a half year of study delay, I finished my bachelor’s degree in January 2020 which meant that I would either need to find a way to fill my time and wait to start my master’s in September; or choose a master’s degree with a February intake. The IRIO master’s programme has both a September and February intake, which was great in my case. Throughout my bachelor’s, I had realised that the European Union and European integration interested me greatly, and the IRIO master’s programme has a track titled ‘European Integration’ (one of the six possible tracks) that made my decision pretty simple. I could start directly after my bachelors, and I  specialize in the field that has interested me the most during my bachelor’s degree. Because I had done the bachelor’s degree at the UG as well, I had direct admission to the master’s degree so enrolling for my master’s was literally just clicking the “enrol” button on Studielink. Unlike other universities, I didn’t have to have a specific minimum grade, no pre-masters, and no selection procedure. This made enrolling much less stressful and more exciting. 

Social related choices 

Throughout the three and a half years I did my bachelor’s degree programme, I created a great network of friends, acquired a few hobbies, joined a board, and developed a routine. While a lot of people say they want to escape their bubble and go out into the ‘real world’, I wasn’t ready for that step yet. I love the social bubble I’ve created in Groningen as I know what to expect and it’s comfortable. With the stress and new challenges of a master’s degree, I am glad I’m not in a new city frantically trying to make new friends and find a new routine while balancing the workload. I didn’t want to risk my last year or two of student life with something that might be ‘better’ or ‘more interesting’, only to be longing back to my Groningen days. My idea was that I have the rest of my career to live in new cities and meet new people. 

Financial related choices

Not unimportant - finances also added weight to my decision to stay in Groningen. Why choose to do a master’s degree in another Dutch city, which is likely the same as one I can do in Groningen, but pay 500 euro extra for a student house? Groningen is still one of the cheaper student destinations in the Netherlands. Furthermore, I never really considered going abroad for my master’s because generally, most costs are much higher than they are in Groningen. 

The master’s degree: so far 

The first block of my master’s degree is almost over, and I’m very happy with my choice. Asmo’s blog 7 Signs You’re A Master’s Student is definitely true, it’s a lot different to the bachelor’s degree as it is more challenging and more specific. My time in Groningen is coming to an end (just a few more months) and it still seems like it’s all going too fast! Diving right into my master’s three days after receiving the notification that I had successfully passed my bachelor’s was a shock, but I’m happy I stayed in the flow of studying and didn’t take a half-year break to wait till September. 

In the end: choosing where to do your master’s and what to do is an extremely subjective decision. While I love the ‘Groningen bubble’, I know that some people feel it is too small after three years and want to go elsewhere. I wrote this blog to hopefully motivate people who feel the same as me (comfortable, not ready to leave) that it is okay to stay in the same city as where you did your bachelor’s. It doesn’t make you any less interesting or exciting - choose the programme you want to do….where you want to be.