French Literature and Culture (MA)

Career preparation

Our goal is to prepare you for your future career.

Prepare your future career with the Literary Studies Career Colloquium

As from 2019-20, the Literary Studies Career Colloquium enables you to actively prepare your future career by providing you with information and inspiration. This programme, specially tailored for Literary Studies students, consists of a series of meetings over the year on your personal profile, academic and practical skills. It includes two career events where you can meet professionals and alumni, in order to clarify your personal career prospects and start building your network.

Knowledge and Skills

With the skills and knowledge you have gained during your master’s programme at Leiden University you will be able to work in a range of professional and academic careers. These include highly sought after skills such as:

to think critically;
the ability to write well;
to organise your work and meet tight deadlines;
to convey meaning precisely;
to research and thoroughly analyse literary and academical texts;
to critically use literary and cultural theory.

The master’s programme in Literary Studies at Leiden University aims to equip you with these important skills and knowledge that will help you thrive in your future career. Your specialised knowledge is complemented by a strong, critical-thinking approach to problem-solving that can be applied to even the most complex conceptual problem.

Relevant professional skills and experience

Every student is encouraged to apply what they learn in a professional, practical or foreign situation in preparation for their future career. This might include studying abroad, working as an intern at an organisation in the Netherlands or abroad, or getting involved in extracurricular activities. These experiences are valued by recruiters, as are strong communication skills. In class, every student is invited to participate in discussions, learning how to confidently articulate their ideas.

Internships

Some of our students choose to do an internship during their study. Internships are a great way to gain firsthand experience in your area of interest before you decide on making it a career.

In recent years students from the master’s programme in Literary Studies have been doing internships at the following organisations:

Royal Library The Hague, Koopman Collection
Dutch Embassy in Paris/ Cultural Section
Royal Brill Editions, Leiden

Humanities Career Service

The Literary Studies Career Colloquium is organized in close collaboration with the Career Service of the Faculty of Humanities. The staff of the Humanities Career Service can help you identify both the career that is right for you, and the necessary steps to get you there. Its team provides all Leiden University humanities students with professional advice and guidance in career issues, varying from internships and career planning to job applications. Humanities Career Service also organizes regular workshops on topics such as effective interview skills and creating a successful CV.

Online Career Week

The first Online Career Week was organised in May 2020. Every day there were 2 events that students could sign up for.

For example, there was a Q&A with interns. Three interns working for respectively Philips, the Dutch Mission to the UN, and the World Economic Forum provided the participants with information on their internships, the application processes and working from home. In addition, a live webinar CV writing took place, and students were able to schedule an appointment with a career counselor for personal advice.