Questions

Answer

Which minor did you do?

I did personal minor with few courses from Faculty of Economics and Business and then especially Faculty of Spatial Sciences.

What made you choose this minor?

I have been looking into options for masters in spatial planning/geography or economics, but I was not fully sure if it’s the right fit for me, so I decided to take some courses to see how I will vibe with it. Besides, I was bit sick of how theoretical IRIO is, so I wanted to try out something more practical. Next to that, I wanted to pursue some extracurricular activities and do a part-time board year next to following a minor and this option work for me really well timewise. It took a bit of pressure from me by giving me options in selecting courses and generally having more flexibility.

What were the subjects you had in your minor?

Trade Policy and Economic Integration

Global Development Studies

Economic Geography

Planning Dynamics

Governance Dynamics

Geography, Planning and the EU

What was your hardest experience during the minor course?

Generally, all the courses I took have completely different approach to science and teaching in general. Wrapping my head around the fact that I don’t have to use theory of IR for anything I do was quite challenging! Besides, all assignments I did were assessed completely differently than assignments and essays in IR, so it was quite difficult to understand the assessment methods in each course. Moreover, I had a bit of FOMO as people in the courses knew each other from the programme or a study association of the respective programme and had more knowledge in the respective field from other courses from their programme. But do not worry – I met at least one fellow IR student in each of my courses. IR students are simply everywhere.

What was the best experience during the minor course?

For me personally doing field work assignment at Spatial Sciences courses! I had the opportunity to actually go somewhere, do some surveys, apply the findings to the contents of the course and then present it during poster market to the Faculty staff, but also to people from municipalities (they actually listened to us, took notes on our ideas and asked questions!). I felt like I finally did something tangible in my studies!

Did the course meet your expectations? Yes, why/ No, why not

For sure!

Which other minor did you consider?

I considered doing Global Development Studies minor, but at the end I decided to make my own set of courses that I was interested in.

Do you think that your minor will be useful for your future career? Yes, why / No, why not

I would definitely say so! It made me realise in which direction I would like to go in my master and how do I want to use the IR background in my future.

What would you say to future IRIO students who consider this minor?

It is definitely worth considering it if you want to find a specific field of expertise in IR or simply explore other disciplines and approaches, meet new people and get out of the IR bubble!

If your minor was in Dutch, how was it to study in Dutch again after years of studying in English?

N/A

If you did a personal minor, was it difficult to get permission to do it? Which steps need to be done?

I had to ask for permission several times as I changed the couses over the semester. The most important thing is to be in touch with IRIO study advisors about it and if in doubt about any courses, reaching out to study advisors at the respective faculties and programmes where you want to take the minor courses is also a good idea.

Ratings: Rate from 1 to 10

Was the minor doable? (1 very hard <-->10 very easy)

7

Was the workload less/the same/or more than the IRIO programme? (1 much less workload <--> a lot more workload)

5

How much would you recommend to do this minor? (1 not at all <--> 10 100% yes)

10