Organised in three separate sessions throughout the day, and broadcast live online to guests and families who could not join, over 200 students received their Bachelor’s Diploma of International Studies on 3 September 2021 at the graduation ceremony in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden.

Aisha Hassan came to the Netherlands when she was two months old. Her mother had fled Somalia and made a new home here. Aisha doesn't remember much about that time, but her mother’s stories about Somalia ignited a lifelong interest in developing countries. ‘Her stories have always fascinated me.’

Sometimes student life merges rather smoothly into a working adult life. This is the case for Boris Kowalski. At International Studies, he chose Russian as his language and Eurasia as his region of specialisation, he obtained his Master’s degree at Oxford in Russian and Eurasian studies, ended up in Ukraine during the presidential elections and now he works at a think tank in Poland, where he can put into practice everything he has learned. ‘The region’s internal contradictions appeal to me the most.’

When I started as chair of the International Studies programme last year, I bought a brand new paper notebook. With a nice strong cover, over one hundred empty pages were waiting to be filled with a large promise of inspired notes, ideas and observations. Now, nearing the end of my first year as chair, I have indeed filled all its pages with a huge diversity of scribbles.

International Studies has quite some new tutors for this year! We’re very happy to welcome them in our team. Want to find out who they are? Below, they introduce themselves and share what challenges they think will be coming up. But of course, they already have plans for the solutions as well…

Meet Rose Rorije - career advisor and internship coordinator - and together with Atse Fokkens she takes care of the career service for International Studies. That means, she gives you a hand in checking what your options are right now when looking for an interesting job after graduation. She can also help you with searching and applying for an internship. And how to arrange it according to the faculty’s procedure. In this mini interview she'll tell a bit more about herself:

International Studies has quite some new tutorial lecturers for this year! We’re very happy to welcome them in our team. Want to find out who they are and what they are looking forward to in the year to come?

During the first semester first year students of International Studies are required to pick an area and a language to specialize in. After starting the programme with a broad range of introductory core courses, students will follow area courses and language training in the second semester and the subsequent two years.