Global Citizenship

The courses in the Global Citizenship component (25 EC) offer you various options to develop your cross-cultural communication skills, reflection skills, and increase your appreciation for cultural and social diversity. This can be done by learning another language or by studying the literature, art, or linguistics of a certain region. Both paths aim to increase the understanding of and communication with people from other cultures.

Introduction to Area Studies (5 EC)

The course in Introduction to Area Studies is compulsory. All scholarly work in the social sciences and humanities necessarily focuses on one or more socio-historic areas, such as Europe, the USA, China, Iran, or elsewhere. This course explores the various dynamics of interaction between the location of a scholar and the location of her subject matter. It seeks to encourage the student to consider the status of knowledge produced in different fields and places, and to think creatively about how these might be related to one another in constructive ways. 

Language (10 EC per course)

You can complete this section of the curriculum by studying a language other than English or your mother tongue. The languages on offer are the official languages of the United Nations (besides English): Chinese, Arabic, Frenchand Spanish, as well as Dutch. Japanese and Russian will be added when the college is more developed. Language courses are offered as semester courses for 10 EC in order to avoid disruptions in the learning process.

Global Culture (5 EC per course)

The Global Culture courses are chosen and designed to introduce you to various aspects of cultures (other than your own). This includes literature, art, linguistics and media study. All courses share a common goal: you not only learn about the topic of the course, but also about the culture it represents. The courses include all regions of the world.