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. 

Concepts and ideas

“One of the main reasons why I decided to study History at Erasmus University Rotterdam were the classes. I loved the fact that the study itself was very transversal. We focused on modern history, on politics, culture, economics… Rather than having to memorise numbers and names, the programme focused on concepts and ideas. I felt that this made the study very interesting. Another aspect that drew me to Erasmus was the internship that we could do as part of our studies. As a non-EU student, opportunities to work and gain experience are scarce, so being able to use the skills I learned as a history student (research, writing, critical thinking) and apply them in a real-world example was invaluable.

I did my internship at EUROCLIO, a small non-profit organisation that focuses on history education as a tool for conflict prevention. I provided support with project management, report writing, event organisation, outreach, and communication. I wouldn’t have been able to do the internship without my study programme.”

Finding out my future career path

“Alongside the internship, I did a lot of volunteer work at my university. My first year, I joined Erasmus Debating Society. I was not only involved in debating but was also involved behind the scenes. I had the opportunity to organise tournaments and as secretary of the society, I focused on internal communication and liaising between our society and stakeholders. This volunteer work complemented well with studying history, as the skills you learn as a history student can be applied to debating, and vice versa: my writing and critical thinking abilities improved greatly! It was through the volunteer work and the internship that I realised I would like to work in project management and communication. The internship led to a job in Belgrade, working for a small non-profit as a communication coordinator, after which I applied for my current position as project and strategy assistant at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

In my role as project and strategy assistant, I support the change management and internal communication activities of the team in Geneva, while providing trainings on the use of information management tools and procedures.”

Have fun

“Take the time to be a part of study groups or societies. Studying is important but remember that your time at university is short. Your faculty association is a great place to network, to meet people, but also to have fun.”  

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.