Master specialisation

The one-year master's programme Governance of Migration and Diversity (GMD) integrates knowledge from various disciplines, focusing on how public and private organisations can respond to the opportunities offered and the challenges posed by migration and diversity. It brings together history, sociology, politics, law, international development and urban design as a foundation for better understanding migration and diversity governance.

About the master's programme

How to reconstruct a city centre? What are the opportunities for managing of migration flows, and how can we prevent discrimination and promote interaction and cohesion in culturally diverse societies?

In our globalised and complex network society, these urgent questions need to be answered. To do this, experts who demonstrate analytical skills, connective leadership, entrepreneurial attitudes, and a strong ethical compass are needed to achieve innovative solutions for societal problems. The master's track in Public Administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam focuses on the research, analysis, and management of societal issues.

Migration and diversity are key factors in some of the most fundamental transformations of society today. These transformations do not merely involve migrants. Moreover, they have an impact on society at large. Migration and diversity have become highly politicised issues that play an important role in contemporary politics in many countries. These issues influence many aspects of society, such as education, housing, labour and international relations.

Five departments, each belonging to one of the three universities, provide courses: History and Law at Leiden University, Architecture and the Built Environment at Delft University of Technology, and Sociology, Public Administration, and the International Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Choose one of five tracks

The Governance of Migration and Diversity master programme is part of the LDE (Leiden - Delft - Erasmus) GMD collaboration and consists of five tracks:

1. GMD Sociology track, Erasmus University Rotterdam
2. GMD Public Administration track, Erasmus University Rotterdam
3. GMD History track, Leiden University
4. GMD Development studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam (International Institute of Social Studies)
5. GMD Legal track, Leiden University

Why choose this master's programme?

We offer:

• Knowledge that will help you address governance issues related to migration and diversity from a multidisciplinary perspective.
• A unique interdisciplinary programme, with courses taught by leading scholars from three universities and five academic disciplines.
• A focus on policies, politics and governance at an international, national and local level.
• Education which has a direct link to contemporary issues. Students are trained to contribute to the governance of migration and diversity. 
• Top-level education. The Public Administration programme at Erasmus University Rotterdam is ranked number 1 in the Shanghai Ranking 2024.

All students participate in the general part of the master's programme, which constitutes 50% (30 ECTS) of the courses. The other 50% entails a track-specific programme. 

Note that participating in this master's will involve travel costs between the cities (Leiden, Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam).

After completing the master's, you will obtain a diploma from the discipline and master's track you are enrolled in (Sociology, Public Administration, History, Law or Development Studies), with ‘Governance of Migration of Diversity’ as your specialisation. Please consult the track websites for information on specific tracks, such as admission criteria.

Career opportunities

After completing this specialisation, you can identify and analyse social issues related to migration and diversity. Furthermore, you are able to provide advice on these problems.

During this master's programme you will have:

• Developed a multidisciplinary understanding of migration and diversity from various perspectives, including history, law, development studies, sociology, public administration and urbanism.
• Acquired a methodological understanding to study migration and diversity.
• Learned to better understand the governance implications of migration and diversity at the local (urban), regional, national, European, and international levels.
• Obtained professional skills in designing strategies for managing migration and diversity at the policy level.  

Graduates of this specialisation will be suitable candidates for positions in governmental organisations (policymakers, policy advisors, lobbyists) and civil society organisations (e.g., unions, political parties, research institutes) on the local, national, or international level. 

For example, our graduates currently work as, e.g. integration advisors at local governments or as project assistants at IOM.

*For the joint courses: In total, the PA, SOC, HIS, and LMD tracks have 60 EC, and the DEV track has 88 ECs.
Students from all tracks follow the course GMD. In addition:

• PA track students take the joint courses SMD, PMD, HMD, and LMD. Furthermore, in block 3, they choose between the M&D and the Delft courses.
• SOC track students take SMD, PMD, HMD, and LMD joint courses. They do not take the joint courses in block 3 (M&D, Delft course).
• ISS track students take the joint M&D courses and choose three of the following courses: HMD, PMD, SMD, LMD, or Delft.
• HIS track students take HMD and choose four of the following courses: M&D, PMD, SMD, a Delft course, or LMD.
• LMD track students take HMD, SMD, PMD, and M&D. They do not take the LMD or Delft course.

Coordinators of the programme

LDE Centre GMD

The LDE Centre Governance of Migration and Diversity builds on the existing LDE Master specialisation Governance of Migration and Diversity. The LDE Master specialisation GMD and the cooperation between scholars from all three universities and across disciplines also feed into research collaborations within the LDE Centre GMD. Hence, the research centre will support exchanges amongst teaching staff from the three universities, aimed at gaining efficient use of teaching expertise, and contribute to training the future generation of professionals that will work in the context of today’s highly diverse societies

Hello/goodbye!

At the end of summer, you will join a Welcome Day with the students from your academic year. The day kicks off at the ‘Belvedere Verhalen Huis’ in Rotterdam, where we want to welcome you as students of the new academic year and provide you with some more introductory information. After a light lunch, some of your professors will take you on a ‘migration tour’ through the city, bringing you to locations in Rotterdam related to the city’s migration history. 

In the evening, you can attend the graduation of the GMD master students from the past academic year, to get a taste of our graduation ceremony. 

Open days

Still in doubt about what you would like to study next year? Or do you have some final questions about our programme? Then, visit us at the Master Open Day event at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where we will talk about the GMD - Public Administration and Sociology track. 

For all your questions about the GMD - Migration and Development track at ISS, check the webinar.

And read all about the GMD History track.

Site visits 

As part of the GMD main course of the GMD, each year, the students visit several sites of actors who actively deal with governance issues in migration and diversity. Each of the track coordinators organises their own visit, tapping into their expertise and network to provide unique insight into the practice of their field. In previous years, we visited:

• Imam Malik Islamic Centre Leiden. The Centre introduced us to the historical context of Islam in the Netherlands and showcased several community activities and projects in which the Mosque is involved.
• The National Expertise Centre Honour-Based Violence in The Hague. Here we spoke with researchers from the Centre and the director of SPIOR (Platform for Islamic Organisations in Rijnmond) about their work and collaborations with Muslim communities on honour-based violence, forced marriages and sexuality.
• Special Envoy for Migration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They introduced us to migration management issues from the perspective of the Dutch government and allowed us to learn about the priorities of Dutch migration policies.
• The European Parliament and European Commission in Brussels. The students learned about the dilemmas of the EU's politics and policy on migration and diversity. We met with the senior advocacy officer at the European Network Against Racism, with the research director of Migration Policy Group and a Policy Advisor in the European Parliament for Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld. They explained the challenges of their advocacy work and the political struggles they are facing in fundamental rights, asylum and migration.

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