European Studies - English - 4 years - Full-time
European Studies takes an international and multi-lingual approach to private business and public policy, teaching research, communications skills and foreign languages from a practical perspective with a real career context. Our programme is also flexible and allows you to customise your own curriculum based on your own interests and career goals.
Structure of European Studies - English - 4 years - Full-time
Lectures
20hours per week
Self-study
20hours per week
Projects
10hours per week
Study credits
60in year one
Year 1
The first year is the foundation (propaedeutic) year
Your first year at European Studies is about getting to know Europe and yourself a little better. You’ll study politics, business and culture as well as Europe’s government agencies, international organisations, non-profits and private businesses – your potential employers.
You’ll also learn the fundamentals of management and marketing within those organisations. Along the way, you’ll sharpen your professional skills and work on research and critical thinking. You’ll get comfortable with public speaking, study intercultural communication and work on your foreign languages and English.
After this introduction, you’ll have the chance to make some choices to customise your curriculum starting in Year 2. You can choose to put more focus on business or on public policy, and you can follow elective courses on a variety of political, cultural or business-related topics.
It’s a challenge, but you’ll have help from a mentor who will help you strengthen your study skills and track your progress. You’ll also have access to tutoring and language support.
You’ll also have a lot of opportunities for extra-curricular learning and you’ll have a good time with field trips, clubs and parties put on by our study association.
Timetable
Year 2
Dive deeper
In the second year of European Studies, you’ll take everything to the next level, developing a deeper understanding of international business and public policy while doubling down on your professional skills and foreign languages. You will still have guidance and supervision, but you’ll also be given more independence and take on more complex challenges. Year 2 focuses on the tools you need to operate in the public and private sector organisations you learned about in Year 1. You’ll explore the decision-making processes used by governments, non-profits and companies and develop the skills to influence those decisions.
From Year 2 onwards, you follow a partly individualised programme. You’ll study public and private policy making processes, but depending on how you have chosen to customise your curriculum, you either place more focus on practical politics or business strategies. You’ll also have the chance to give your CV an extra edge by exploring electives to gather expertise on a range of topics related to business, politics or culture.
Throughout the year, you’ll also begin looking towards the future, as you get ready to go on exchange. You’ll get to specify several countries of interest and once assigned a destination, you will also get to choose your own courses, giving you another opportunity to customise your curriculum around your own career goals.
Year 3
Exchange and exploration
Year 3 of European Studies starts with one of the high points of the European Studies programme: a 5-month exchange to one of over 100 partner institutions all over the world. While mandatory for Dutch students, the study abroad experience, supported by the Erasmus Plus programme, is optional for internationals. While on exchange, or staying in The Hague, you will follow courses of your own choosing, giving you another opportunity to explore topics of interest and build a unique CV that is fully tailored to your own career goals. Choose wisely.
The second half of Year 3 kicks your professional development into high gear, with advanced courses on European Law and important 21st century issues that will help you to better prepare to navigate the landscape of contemporary Europe and its job market. Skills development and foreign language learning will also continue and you’ll wrap up the year with a big project, competing in a multicultural team whilst doing applied research for external assignment providers. These organisations will ‘hire’ you to provide practical advice that they can use in public policy situations or business plans. After all of this, you should be ready to enter the final phase of your studies.
As you progress through the programme, you’ll have more and more independence to do your work, but you’ll also face increasing challenges, so be sure to stay on top of your study progress.
Year 4
Professionalisation & Graduation
In Year 4, it’s time to get ready to start your career or to apply for a master. There are a few final courses, but you’ll spend most of your time on your internship at an international employer and a final research project showcasing everything you’ve learned.
You’ll have options for your internship. You can try to prove yourself in public service at a local, regional, national or international governmental organisation or at a non-profit. If you’re more business-minded, you can explore entrepreneurship at a small, large or global businesses. Wherever you work, you will likely be involved in doing research, producing policy advice, marketing, (social media) communications, event planning and other tasks. You could be assisting refugees with the Dutch legal system, or promoting lingerie on Instagram. You can do an internship abroad, but as the International City of Peace and Justice, The Hague also has a lot to offer. If you’re lucky, you’ll be offered a job. That happens to one in three of our interns.
But before you take that job, you’ll have to complete a final research project to finish your studies. The topic and the type of research will be up to you. Using your career goals as a guideline, you can choose to write a theoretical dissertation analysing European issues and public policy problems, or you can conduct applied research for an employer to provide them with practical analysis and advice, producing a marketing or export plan, for example.Testimonials
Deeping my knowledge
Maria Tanhuanpää
"I wanted to deepen my knowledge on different factors in Business. The minor Strategic Choices ended up being just right for me. I gained knowledge of financial & cost accounting, as well as strategic management. The best aspect for me was an interactive simulation game, in which every student had to run their own start-up company and expand globally, whilst competing against each other. We don’t do much math at ES, but the teachers made the accounting parts do-able and very interesting. I would recommend this minor to everyone who’s interested in strategical side of businesses. I’m sure the skills and knowledge I gained from this course will go in use in the future!"
Specializing in different cultures
Maria Tanhuanpää
"I’ve also done electives like Multi-cultural Consumer Behaviour & American Studies because I wanted to specialize more in business and different cultures. I chose these two because I am interested in different cultures and marketing. Multicultural Consumer Behavior was great. I learned a lot about how cultural aspects can affect marketing communication and how big corporations adapt to foreign markets. American Studies was really interesting as we learned about American history, customs and culture. Both of the classes were lectures, but the teachers were keen to encourage discussion and questions."
Minors and Electives
Shape your degree
European Studies offers you the chance to customise your curriculum with electives and minors. From Year 2 onward, you can follow elective courses on a variety of cultural, political or business-related topics. Examples include American Studies, Global Development Issues and Multi-Cultural Consumer Behaviour.
Later on, you choose minors, intensive packages of courses on subjects relevant to your interests. You can explore social entrepreneurship, study sustainability, sharpen specific skills, discuss cultural differences, peruse the possibilities of political ideologies, investigate international and human rights law and more depending on your interests and goals. Examples include Campaigning and Lobbying in the EU, Export Management, International Law, Language and Culture minors about different countries and much, much more.
ES also allows students to earn credits for extra-curricular activities of their own choosing, including projects like Zukunft Deutschland and Futur France, which explore the culture of nearby countries. You can also get hands-on experience in marketing by joining the Student Public Relations Team or in event planning as part of our study association HEBOS; working as a language partner for someone who needs help learning your native language and much, much more.
Working methods
Lectures, seminars, study visits, self-study, group activities and project work
Our curriculum has been recognised for excellence in internationalisation because it’s designed for a diverse student body and uses diverse methods. You can expect a mix of theoretical lectures and interactive workshops, as well as different types of assessment, from multiple-choice tests to essays, research reports, presentations, proposals and other professional products as well as simulations of real-life situations and projects. Some assignments involve group work and come with coaching on effective teamwork, but others will facilitate individual achievement.
Because we’re a university of applied sciences, our programme is practical. You will learn some theory, but the main goal is to put theory into practice and apply your knowledge and skills to something you need to be able to do in your career.
Whenever possible, we also like to take the learning outside the classroom, with field trips – including regular trips to Brussels – and a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.
Contact the study
For questions about European Studies, contact the programme directly.
For questions about admission requirements, enrolment procedures or related matters, please contact the Enrolment Office,
Find and follow European Studies on Social Media
European Studies is very active on Social Media, where you can find a lot of information about the programme and get the chance to meet people and ask them questions. Questions are answered 365 Days a year.
You can find European Studies on:
Assistance during your studies
Study coaching and advice
European Studies is committed to helping every student succeed. In addition to having a mentor who supervises your class and provides personal coaching, you will have access to a vast support network that includes confidential advisors, counsellors and a team of school psychologists. So if you run into any problems – whether they’re academic or personal – you can get the help you need.
The Hague University of Applied Sciences also offers personalised support for students with special needs. If you have any special medical or psychological needs, our team is ready to make the necessary arrangements to make sure that you have every opportunity to succeed. Ask your mentor for details.
Collect ECTS
Binding Study Advice (BSA)
To continue your degree programme after the first year, you need to earn 50 of the 60 credits (ECTS). Some degree programmes also set other requirements to pass onto the second year of the course. This could, for example, be a specific subject that you must pass and that counts towards the 50 credits. We call this a qualitative requirement. If you meet the credit requirements as well as the qualitative requirement where applicable, you will receive a positive binding study advice (BSA) from the Examination Board at the end of your first year.
If you earn less than 50 credits and do not meet the qualitative requirements where applicable, you will receive a binding negative study advice and will have to leave the degree programme. This is why this advice is called a Binding Negative Study Advice (NBSA).
Your academic progress may be affected by personal circumstances such as illness or the professional practice of a sport. It is important that you inform the Examination Board immediately of any personal circumstances that might apply to you. The Board can take these into account when issuing its study advice.
Read all the rules for the binding study advice in Chapter 7 of the Programme and Examination Regulations (PER) for your degree programme.