During the BA International Studies you prepare yourself for an (academic) career. Some students already have a very clear idea of their career path. To most students, however, this future picture is not so clear yet. Whatever it is that you are looking for, on this page we would like to give you a hand in mapping your future.

2022 is a major anniversary year. In September 2012 the first students signed up for the BA International Studies in The Hague. The expectation was that the new programme should ideally attract around 250 students a year. Fast forward a decade, and we have seen an annual intake of over 500 for most of that period. The BA International Studies is by far the largest BA programme in the Faculty of Humanities and in Campus The Hague, with a total student cohort of around 1600 as of June 2022. This has been a success story of major proportions.

On 2 September 2022, 300 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With about 1000 people present, including the graduates, the International Studies Graduation Ceremony went ‘back to normal’ after two years of Corona restrictions.

'The kind of knowledge you gain in International Studies can take you anywhere,' says Gaby van de Wal (26, The Hague, The Netherlands), who graduated from the programme in 2018. Her own career path is proof that indeed, an International Studies degree comes with many opportunities.

Organised in four separate sessions throughout the day, and broadcast live online to guests and families who could not join, a total of 260 students received their Bachelor’s Diploma of International Studies on 28 August 2020 at the graduation ceremony in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden.

International Studies offers its students ample opportunity to prepare for their future. You can now find all the information about that on "Mapping your Future" on this website.

One of the webinars recorded during the University’s Online Career week in May, was provided by our International Studies alumna Marliese Vollebregt. In it she gives career tips and advice. She talks about what she did after graduation, how she went about her job search and her current job as a project employee a Dutch NGO: JINC. JINC is a Dutch non-profit organisation, striving for a society in which a child’s background does not determine a child’s future. In her job, Marliese works with children/youth in cooperation with schools and business partners.

As a programme we are constantly trying to improve. The results of the National Students Survey (NSE) pointed out that students would like to see improvement on the preparation for the labour market. To ensure improvement a couple of projects have been set up.