Universiteit Leiden

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English Language and Culture (BA)

Career prospects

You’ve completed your degree – you’re now a graduate in English Language and Culture. What’s next? The possibilities are wide open! Many graduates go on to roles that focus on education, advising or communication. What do you enjoy doing? Your options may be broader than you expect.

Why employers find you interesting

With a degree in English Language and Culture, you have a strong starting position on the job market. In addition to in-depth knowledge of the English-language culture, history and the English language and its varieties, you’ve developed academic skills that are highly valued across many sectors.

Alumni report that they benefit most from skills such as oral and written communication as well as independent and solution-oriented working. An internship either in The Netherlands or abroad alongside your studies can further strengthen your profile.

Research among alumni shows that 71% of graduates found a job within two months of graduating, and 89% within six months. For 65%, their first job was at higher professional or academic level.

Annamika Singh

Graduated in English Language and Culture

Annamika Singh

“It was always my ambition to find a job abroad, but I didn’t expect to find one so quickly. London is so competitive; you really need something that makes you stand out from the crowd. Having worked as a student assistant at the faculty during the programme certainly helped me, along with being bilingual and, of course, my master’s degree. And that’s not something everyone in the UK can say; a university education there is a lot more expensive.”

Where can you work after graduating?

After completing your degree, you can work in a wide range of sectors, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Your knowledge of the most-spoken language in the world and your versatile skill set open doors to diverse fields, from government or semi-government and education to financial services and research.

  • 36 % Education
  • 13 % Communication and marketing
  • 7 % Government and semipublic sector
  • 5 % Financial services
  • 5 % Research
  • 5 % Publishing/book sector
  • 4 % IT Services
  • 4 % Arts and Culture
  • 4 % Media and journalism
  • 17 % Other

Source: Career Survey 2025 among graduates of the BA English Language and Culture. Career Service Humanities.

Many graduates continue with a master’s degree after their bachelor’s. Further study pays off: those with a master’s degree are more likely to secure higher-level positions.

Graduates at work

A glimpse of workplaces where recent graduates have started their careers:

 

  • English teacher at different institutions
  • Leiden International Film Festival
  • PhD candidate at various universities
  • Red Bee Media
  • Tweede Kamer (Dutch House of Representatives)
  • Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs