Europe
Read the stories of our alumni specialized in Europe here.
Alumni dreams #213
The reason for choosing the bachelor International Studies for Shingo Nishioka was mainly because of its broad academic approach, which in a way is very similar to a liberal arts degree. He believes in a broad education while also developing your specialization within that.
In the second and third year of the bachelor Shingo put some extra effort into completing an additional 70ECTS and 30ECTS of courses taught at various faculties at Leiden University, varying from courses in Law, Psychology, History, Politics, Research Methods, and Language.
This allowed him to pursue and complete a Master of Laws in Legal Research in Utrecht (2022), as well as currently finishing a Master of Philosophy in Politics and International Studies at Trinity College in Cambridge. He chose this MPhil to gain a firmer grasp on the political aspect of human rights global governance, while also strengthening his knowledge on social science research methods. At the end of 2023, he will start a PhD in Law at the University of Edinburgh, which he hopes to complete in 2026.
For Shingo, International Studies has been instrumental in gaining experience on how to produce argumentative essays, but also spurring creativity in thinking and adopting various research frameworks to apply in research. As an example, he was able to use knowledge from the cultural studies course when constructing his LLM International Human Rights Law thesis.
"I believe that hard work pays off, and if you are eager to learn and make the most out of the program, then International Studies tutors and staff are keen to help you out. Make sure you research all career routes during your studies, as you’ll be surprised as to what is all possible."
We are looking forward to following your academic journey further Shingo!
Alumni dreams #214
According to India, the vast landscape of courses is what initially drew her to International Studies. Her interest during the bachelor very much laid on politics and conflict, and so she wrote her thesis on the political situation in Northern Ireland.
During the bachelor she enjoyed being a part of the Charity Ball committee, working as a sponsor officer and looking for contributors and objects to bid on in the auction – with Milieudefensie becoming one of the main sponsors.
She was also able to go on an exchange in Lisbon in the first half of her third year. This experience taught her a lot about being independent and looking out for herself.
To stay engaged during the pandemic, after graduating from International Studies India enrolled in an MA in International Relations – global conflict in the Modern Era. After this degree, she applied for an internship at WAVE (Women Against Violence Europe) and ended up moving to Vienna to pursue this further.
When the six-month internship ended, she moved back to the Netherlands and started a traineeship at the municipality of the Hague. Now she been there for over a year, working on the policy team of the organisation Veilig Thuis, which deals with reports of domestic violence and child abuse.
WAVE and her work for Veilig Thuis made India realize that this is really the field for her. As such, she recently started a part time bachelors in Social Work, to be able to work in the field as a social worker.
In this sense, International Studies has been a great steppingstone to explore and find out her passion.
Great to see your hard work in generating a positive social impact, India!