South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
Career prospects
With your bachelor’s degree you’re more than a specialist in South and Southeast Asia. Alongside your subject expertise, you’ve developed a broad set of academic skills that give you a strong start to your career. Graduates often find roles where communication, advising, organising and teaching play a central role. There are a surprising number of directions you can take after completing your studies.
Why employers find you interesting
South and Southeast Asian Studies graduates often secure roles that require a high level of education. Within two months of graduation, 62% find a job, and 83% are employed within six months. Research among alumni shows that for 69%, their first job was at higher professional or academic level.
The skills you develop during your studies make you a strong candidate for a wide range of roles in various organisations. Recent graduates report that oral and written communication, problem-solving, independent working and analysing are the skills they use most in their jobs.
Gaining relevant experience alongside your studies strengthens your position. Alumni say that internships – whether abroad or in the Netherlands contributed most to their career start.
Where can you work after graduating?
Your expertise and capabilities open doors in many different sectors. Our alumni work at Dutch and international companies and organisations in such sectors as government and semipublic sector and education.
Source: Job market survey 2025 amongst graduates in Asian Studies. Research by Humanities Career Service
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:
- Advisor sustainability - Omgevingsdienst West-Holland
- Data Privacy Analyst - Cognizant
- Sustainable Data analyst & consultant - Entis