Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (MA)

Career prospects

What our graduates do

Your master will qualify you for roles in almost every sector of the employment market. Many of our graduates work for government and semi-government organisations, education, research institutes, information services, IT, cultural institutes, financial institutions, communications, marketing, business services and welfare services.

Examples of the diverse roles of our graduates include:

• Senior assistant at the European Union
• Consultant in information management
• PhD candidate at various universities
• History teacher at a secondary school
• Public educational work at a Dutch museum
• Project manager at a text agency
• Heritage researcher of Indonesia for a Dutch museum
• Archive clerk at a Dutch archive
• Communication and organisation officer for a Dutch political party
• Digital education officer at a museum
• Policy advisor at a Dutch Ministry
• Research assistent at a Spanish university
• Editor at a publishing house
• Web journalist at a multimedia publishing house

Your qualifications

The MA in History offers outstanding preparation for students seeking a profession that requires in-depth knowledge of history and strong academic skills, with a focus on analytical and writing skills.

Teaching qualification

If you are interested in a career in teaching, you may be eligible to follow a teacher-training master's at the ICLON Graduate School of Education once you have graduated from the master programme in History. You must speak fluent Dutch and there are other, additional entry requirements.

Alice Eaton

Graduated in Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (MA History)

"I decided to study Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence because I am very interested in migration and the history of migratory movements. I wrote my BA dissertation about the movement of Dutch East-Indians to the Netherlands, the research for which introduced me to Leiden and then made me think a master's in this field would be a fascinating subject to study and Leiden was the best place for me."

“I currently work as an International Conversion Adviser at UWE Bristol. I work with a diverse team to provide information to students and help to make them feel welcomed and supported by the university prior to their arrival. This process goes from the initial enquiry right up to the final enrolment.“

Analyzing as an essential skill

“A large part of my MA was reading texts from different sources and analyzing it to gain an answer. Much of what I do in my job is the same: I analyze industry reports, information from regional offices and student feedback to see what trends are rising within higher education, and what we can do to meet these trends as well as improve our services. Being able to critique my own work is essential, because higher education is constantly evolving and I need to be able to adapt to these changing circumstances in order to make the student experience as positive as possible. This was a skill I learned during my time at Leiden, as was the need to make the university experience for international students as seamless and positive as possible.”

Nathan Levy

Graduated in Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (MA History)

"The Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence MA-track led me to consider my current employment by providing high-quality and engaging teaching on the subject of migration, and the opportunity to conduct research under the supervision of leading migration historians such as Marlou Schrover. Moreover, in following the Governance of Migration and Diversity sub-specialisation, I was exposed to multidisciplinary perspectives which helped me secure a PhD position at Erasmus University after I graduated."

In which sector do students find jobs?

The graphs below are based on alumni data from the MA (Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence) 2016-2020.

• 25 % Government and semi-government organisations
• 20 % Education
• 15 % Research
• 10 % Communication and marketing
• 5 % IT
• 5 % Welfare and health
• 5 % Industry
• 5 % Consultancy
• 5 % Information management
• 5 % Business services

Career preparation

Find out how this programme exactly prepares you for your future career and check our career preparation activities.