Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (research) (MA)

Career prospects

What our graduates do

Our graduates end up working in a diverse range of positions, examples include:

• PhD candidate at a university in England
• PhD candidate at a Dutch university
• Assistant publisher at a large publishing house
• Online content specialist at a PR company
• Project officer for video and audio-visual collections at a provincial archive
• Policy officer at a city council
• Researcher and teaching staff member at Leiden University
• Communications advisor at a consultancy firm
• Coordinating strategy advisor at a ministry of security and justice

Your qualifications

As a graduate of the research master's specialisation in Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence at Leiden University, you will be qualified to work as a junior academic researcher – either in a semi-academic position or at a university. You will be able to solve complex academic problems independently, critically and creatively, and report on these results with clarity both in writing and verbally.

If you are interested in a career outside of academics you will discover that the depth and scope of the research master in History allows you to successfully venture on a career in education, administration, heritage, journalism, business, and many more.

Teacher qualification

Are you interested in pursuing a career in education? Then you may apply for the Dutch-taught teacher-training MA at the ICLON Graduate School of Education after graduating from the master’s programme. To be admitted, you need to have a master’s degree in the relevant discipline. Fluency in Dutch is mandatory and additional entry requirements may apply.

Gijs Dreijer

Graduated in Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (Research MA History)

“I have just finished my Research MA with a thesis on the establishment of the Ostend Company, an eighteenth-century chartered company in what is nowadays Belgium, working with archival sources in three different countries. I also did an internship at the Huygens Institute for Dutch History, where I worked on the resolutions of the States General, the early modern Dutch Parliament. As a result of the internship, I was offered a job as a junior researcher in the same project for several months in the summer: a very nice opportunity to develop my research skills even more!”

Looking back with great pleasure

“In October 2017, I will start as a PhD candidate at the University of Exeter, in a large comparative research project on European economic and legal history. The skills developed over the past two years in the Research MA have certainly added very much to my profile in applying for a PhD position: applying theoretical frameworks on difficult problems, a strong focus on difficult primary sources and presenting at conferences and symposia are examples of those skills. I can honestly say  I look back with great pleasure at my time in Leiden in this Research MA!”

The graphs below are based on alumni data from the Research Master History 2016-2020.

In which sector do students find jobs?

• 50 % Research
• 25 % Government and semi-government organisations
• 12 % Consultancy
• 6 % Financial institutions
• 6 % Culture, sports and recreation
• 1 % Other

Career preparation

Find out how this programme exactly prepares you for your future career and check our career preparation activities.