International Bachelor History

Exploring multiple disciplines 

When I began my studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam, I initially enrolled in the double-degree programme in Business Administration and Law. However, I have always enjoyed writing and critical thinking, and I found that I missed engaging in independent research. For this reason, I decided to continue studying Law on a part-time basis and switch from Business Administration to International History. Combining your studies with another part-time study programme is something I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to explore multiple disciplines. 

International relations focus

Within the History programme, I chose to specialise in international relations. Studying historical developments through a global lens has greatly enriched my knowledge of contemporary political dynamics and helped me develop a deeper understanding of international affairs. For example, I am currently writing my thesis on Euroscepticism in the UK, a topic that has allowed me to explore the historical roots of present-day political sentiments in Europe.

International learning environment

One of the aspects that I value most about the programme is its diverse and international learning environment. Working alongside students from all over the world encourages an exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives, making tutorials and group projects much more interesting and insightful.

Discovering IB History 

When I started looking for my bachelor’s, I was sure I wanted to do something with an international background. To my surprise, the International Bachelor of History here at Erasmus was one of the best-rated Universities for this programme. As a Rotterdam-based high school student, I visited the university with my high school and liked the campus. Still, I didn’t think there were any programmes here for me, as the university was renowned for its management and economic studies. When I started to look into the university and attended a student for a day, I was sold immediately.

Global History 

As a high school student, I was interested in history and often was one of the best in my class. However, when the first course started, it became apparent that this was completely different. In the first course, Global History, we didn't take such an extended look at European history, which was often taught in high school. Instead, we would look at history from all over the world, learning about societies that I had never heard of. 

An engaging learning environment

Erasmus's teaching style also impacted my decision to study here. As a first-year student, I attended three tutorials and one weekly lecture. The lecture outlines the main ideas and learning goals for the week, while the tutorials involve discussing the course content with fellow students. This helped me better understand the course content, develop my debating skills, and gain valuable insights from my fellow students. 

Small-scale Tutorials

Going into my university studies, I wanted to be surrounded by an atmosphere that allows me to not just learn new material but build a stronger connection to myself as well as others in and outside the classroom. IBHistory has consistently provided me with this opportunity, surrounding me with students from a wide range of backgrounds, and a course structure that encouraged and strengthened my independent thinking and collaboration.

As an IBHistory student, small, 20-student tutorials offer a great opportunity to engage with the course. Given the size of the class, I found it easy to settle in with my new environment studying abroad and connecting with my fellow students as well as teachers. The coursework incentivized me to give my opinions in class and learn from those around me, while also having ample opportunity to speak directly to the tutors if I was ever unsure about anything. 

First-Year Structure

IBHistory’s first year is structured in a unique and effective way, doing only one course at a time, in five-week blocks. This had several advantages for me as a student, as the workload was not overwhelming or daunting, but rather gave me the chance to better study the material and feel prepared. The five-week blocks felt just enough to have the chance to go in-depth with topics and discussions, while consistently offering fresh topics and new learning opportunities. 

Thematic Approach at EUR

Between each course, I learned to approach historical topics thematically. Rather than a collection of individual dates and events, as I was used to in High School, IBHistory taught me to see the bigger trends and historical debates around a topic. This meant I could place how historical events occurred from multiple perspectives, how they impacted different communities in the long run, and why it is important for historians to continue academic debates. There are also many chances to learn history ‘from-below’, challenging the common historical narratives that many of us know against those of the oppressed and silenced. 

Concepten en ideeën

"Een van de belangrijkste redenen waarom ik besloot Geschiedenis te gaan studeren aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam waren de colleges. We richtten ons op de moderne geschiedenis, op politiek, cultuur, economie... In plaats van jaartallen en namen te moeten onthouden, richtte het programma zich op concepten en ideeën. Ik vond dat dit de studie zeer interessant maakte. Een ander aspect dat mij aantrok in de studie aan de EUR was de stage die we konden lopen als onderdeel van onze studie. Als internationale student zijn de mogelijkheden om te werken en ervaring op te doen schaars, dus de mogelijkheid om de vaardigheden die ik als student geschiedenis heb geleerd (onderzoek, schrijven, kritisch denken) te gebruiken en toe te passen in de praktijk, was van onschatbare waarde.

Ik liep tijdens mijn studie stage bij EUROCLIO, een kleine non-profitorganisatie die zich richt op geschiedenisonderwijs als instrument voor conflictpreventie. Ik bood ondersteuning bij projectmanagement, het schrijven van rapporten, de organisatie van evenementen, outreach en communicatie. Zonder mijn studie had ik deze stage niet kunnen doen."

Mijn toekomstige carrièrepad ontdekken

"Naast de stage deed ik veel vrijwilligerswerk op de universiteit. Zo werd ik in mijn eerste jaar lid van de Erasmus Debating Society. Ik was niet alleen betrokken bij het debatteren, maar ook bij de organisatie achter de schermen. Als secretaris van de vereniging hield ik me bezig met interne communicatie en contacten tussen onze vereniging en belanghebbenden. Dit vrijwilligerswerk sloot goed aan bij de studie geschiedenis, want de vaardigheden die je als geschiedenisstudent leert, kun je ook toepassen bij het debatteren, en andersom: mijn schrijfvaardigheden en kritisch denkvermogen gingen er sterk op vooruit!

Door het vrijwilligerswerk en de stage besefte ik dat ik graag in projectmanagement en -communicatie wilde werken. De stage leidde tot mijn eerste baan in Belgrado, waar ik voor een kleine non-profit organisatie werkte als communicatiecoördinator. Daarna solliciteerde ik naar mijn huidige functie als project- en strategiemedewerker bij het Internationaal Comité van het Rode Kruis (ICRC).

In mijn dagelijkse werkzaamheden ondersteun ik het veranderingsmanagement en de interne communicatieactiviteiten van het team in Genève en geef ik trainingen over het gebruik van informatiemanagementtools en -procedures."

Plezier maken

"Neem de tijd om deel uit te maken van studiegroepen of studieverenigingen. Studeren is belangrijk, maar vergeet niet dat je tijd op de universiteit kort is. Je faculteitsvereniging is een geweldige plek om te netwerken, mensen te ontmoeten, maar ook om plezier te maken."

After trying two other bachelors in the social science field, I was really looking for something that would combine my interests for the social sciences with something that would add more to my studies. The International Bachelor History ended up being exactly what I was looking for.

Social Sciences

History had always been an interest of mine, and something that I had always been relatively good at. My interest in social sciences also fit in perfectly with the bachelor, especially in the second year where I was able to pick a specialisation that focusses more on social and cultural history.

International Perspective

Besides the inclusion of social sciences, the International Bachelor History also added an interesting new international perspective to my studies. Learning from peers from different cultures really challenged my views and knowledge and helped me learn beyond the factual information of the course. Especially with something as diverse as history, the views and experiences of my peers were the most interesting thing to me. The bachelor is quite small, which adds a very social aspect to it. It took little to no time for me to make friends and create a social circle at Erasmus, which was very exciting for me.

Biggest struggle

My biggest struggle with the bachelor was figuring out how to actually study. Coming from a background in different bachelors, the switch to something like History was quite hard. Learning how to study for exams and how to write historical papers was something that took some time for me. With some trial and error, I have now managed to figure out how to study efficiently in this field.

I love stories. Stories are not simply tales we tell each other to entertain. Stories can guide your morals and teach you things, help you answer questions and understand the world around you. Stories immortalize people and things. If we stop telling each other these tales, we forget the things they can teach us. Now there are many stories that deserve to be and should be told but aren’t. They are either forgotten or haven’t been found yet. This is what studying history, at least to me, is. It is finding and telling the stories of the past that have not been told yet, although this is not what I thought when I started my study.

When I started this study, I was afraid my peers would have a head start on me. I hadn’t studied history in high school, and so, lacked a lot of knowledge that the others would have. Luckily, I quickly found out that this was not necessary. While it is very nice to be very knowledgeable about history, this bachelor is focused on doing research, and finding the history yourself. You don’t get told the stories; you learn how to find them and be critical of what you find.