Colonial and Global History (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 Colonial and Global History 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.

Merle van Lier

Graduated in Colonial and Global History (Research MA History)

I am currently affiliated with Het Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam as a Prof. J.C.M. Warnsinck fellow. Here I am conducting research on early modern Dutch maps and atlases from the collection for six months. In the meantime, I am getting an extensive look behind the scenes of this beautiful museum and working together with other fellows and colleagues from the Collection Development and Research department.

My research at the museum builds on my master's thesis. I am continuing where I left off and where I did not have the space/time for in my thesis. The research skills and background knowledge that I learned during my studies are therefore very useful. I also built up a professional network during my studies that I can now make good use of.

I really enjoy doing research. I found one year too short to complete a master's degree. The ResMA lasts two years and has given me the space to delve deeper and develop my academic skills even more. That also turned out to be the ideal preparation for my fellowship!

For students considering this master's, I would say check the study guide! The content of the subjects says much more about the education that is offered than the names of the specialisations. With the help of the study guide you know much better what to expect.

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.