Urban Studies

I teach research methods with a focus on field methods: how do you study the social worlds of the city on site? In the first year courses it’s mainly about methods like observations and interviews. In the second year we’ll progress to more advanced techniques, like social network analysis and spatial analysis.

Because Urban Studies is a broad programme with a foundation in the humanities, it will open up many opportunities. Some students might want to do a (research) master’s programme in Urban Studies after their bachelor’s, others may prefer a more technical master’s.

As part of the curriculum, students are guided to explore the Urban Studies field of practice. In the second year course “Professional Orientation”, students investigate different subsections of the professional field and corresponding roles. This way students get a better understanding of which career possibilities are out there. This is helpful in discovering personal preferences: what do you want to do? Which study and career related decisions do you need to take to get there?

In the third year course “Setting Up Projects”, students work on urban challenges put to them by organisations from the field (government, businesses, NGO’s). An example of a challenge could be finding a solution to parking problems in a densely populated city. At the end of the course, students present their findings to a jury of professionals.

Since a young age, I’ve been intrigued by the built environment and everything around me, I am fascinated by how people keep interacting with buildings. Urban Studies at Leiden University discuss so much more than just buildings, ranging from the social interactions with the environment, from economics to health-related issues, ecological issues, and cultural phenomena that take place in cities. It is exactly what intrigued me as a young child living in different cities from all over the whole world.

To be honest, in the beginning, there was a lot of new information because the year I went to the introductory activities, was the first year running. It was a tricky decision, but I’m so happy that I made the right one and to follow this programme. Everything that was introduced and discussed during introductory events came to flourish in my eyes; in my opinion, it is a great programme.

Urban Studies is linked to a lot of different areas, there is a high level of interdisciplinarity. In the beginning, I found it complex, but throughout the year you can see that all these pieces do seem to fit together: every course, lecture, or workgroup is linked to each other in one way or another. Whether that is professors that work together or the authors of papers you read, they come back in multiple courses across different disciplines: from health to ecology.

My interests within Urban studies developed throughout the year, before studying this programme my interests were chiefly multiculturalism, social engagement, and public affairs, while pursuing this programme my focus shifted to public health. Every time I set any expectations from what I wish to learn just before a course starts, everything is clearly outlined resulting in the fact that my expectations always align with reality.

All courses are given very well in my opinion, it is very academic. You learn about theory a lot, but through group projects, you implement everything you learn. Urban Studies is so complex, but when you engage with everything you learn about, it becomes so much clearer. Then leaving your house into the city, you generally see the world and you can’t unsee what you learned. My favorite course was Determinants of Human Behavior, it is so interesting to dive into theory about what this agglomeration of massive buildings does to our minds and what effects it has on our short-term and long-term health. I can say that this course ignited a fire in me to learn more about urban health.

Professors can give examples of so many different things in different domains. It is quite impressive to listen to. All the academic staff is very proactive, I email them whenever I need help with anything, and everyone is so quick to reply.

The nice thing about Urban studies is that it is a very small programme, which makes for a very tight-knit community where everyone knows each other. We study a lot together, but besides that, we also do a lot of non-study activities together: quizzes, parties, speed dating, and often collaborations with students from other study associations.

I had always been interested in cities and transport, and after attending college in Ireland a year ago (which I wasn’t too thrilled about), I stumbled across the Urban Studies programme on Facebook actually! After attending the online open days, exploring the prospectus, and contacting the student ambassador, I was excited to have found something I could really see myself studying!

My first year, so far, has been very enjoyable! It came with surprises, though mostly good ones. There were some aspects I hadn’t expected, probably because I hadn’t put too much thought into them in the past, like linguistic diversity in urban settings for example. All in all, I expected to get well-rounded education about cities and urban topics, and I got quite that. One element that I was expecting (education in ArcGIS, a geographic software) has only been in one or two lectures this year, but I’m looking forward to the course about it next year. Further, I really enjoy the breadth of topics we deal with pertinent to cities and urban challenges. This breadth of topics we deal with may seem daunting, but there is a lot of internal cohesion, as topics explored in one course will often reappear in another from a different perspective, or a theorist will make appearances in a variety of lectures.

I particularly enjoyed Cultural Diversity in Urban Contexts, and Imagining the City. Cultural Diversity was nice because we dealt with case studies of a variety of different cities from around the world, as well as the specific and unique types of diversity that can be found in each. It felt like one of those courses that really broadens your knowledge. As for Imagining the City, I think it proposed a really interesting approach to how we perceive cities, and how this links with a lot of different philosophical and theoretical approaches. It was also a very fun class to take, with a very enthusiastic lecturer, and the reading was quite literally tailor-made to the course. Introduction to Methodology on the other hand, was somewhat more challenging for me. It was quite laden with specific terminology, and there were weekly assignments too. It was heavy, but luckily only lasted six weeks.

When it comes to teaching, I think I’d be hard pressed to find a lecturer I don’t like. I think the fact that Urban Studies is quite a new programme motivates the teaching staff to go that extra mile to make the course successful. Dr. Kefford is a course favourite, I notice. When it comes to learning, I think the fact that urban studies is quite small scale really makes for a nice community where you really get to know everyone, and everyone is veery willing to help each other out, study together, and meet outside of academic settings. The learning experience is also greatly benefitted by being in the Hague. The Hague is a decently sized city with history of destruction and rebuilding, fluctuating growth, immigration, and dozens of other urban processes. The transport is excellent, with trams all over the city, bike paths going everywhere, and even (part of) a metro line. It’s like studying finance in Switzerland or EU politics in Brussels – it’s a city that acts as a complement to the course.

I had always been interested in the built environment. I used to think this interest was physical, so to speak, but I noticed too that I enjoy thinking of the environment more broadly, socially, and theoretically. I had started reading books on urban issues; issues pertaining to the relationship between people and their urban environment. That’s why I chose urban studies. I found the programme through Leiden University’s website, and had inquired about the programme’s contents with former students! I personally hadn’t attended the open days but the impression I got from the students was great, so I’d recommend everyone who’s considering studying urban studies to ask students about their experiences!

Having been in the programme for almost a year now, I can confidently say it was the right decision for me. Of course there are classes and aspects of the course I like more than others, but I think that’s a good thing. I think that as long as what is considered enjoyable or challenging differs from student to student, we can learn from each other. The diversity of backgrounds and opinions on the subject matter, but also the course structure, makes for fruitful debates and exciting team efforts. For example, I liked the courses ‘Governance of Cities and Citizens’ and the ‘Material City’ (in part because I liked the professors’ teaching) more than some peers, whereas some enjoyed the methodological courses more than I did. As such, the programme has plenty to offer to everyone! Further, this means we get to learn from each other’s opinions, attitudes, and backgrounds a lot, for urban studies is a relatively small programme and we tend to work in teams frequently; very fruitful for our development, I’d say. Personally, I had some troubles getting used to the pace at university, but with the help of my peers I started to see great results quite quickly! This diversity and tight-knit community feeling makes the programme so much more fun as well.

I really like studying in the Hague as well. It’s quite big, has a beach, and though it doesn’t have as much of a student culture as, say, Leiden, there’s plenty to explore. Great city to house the Urban Studies programme. However, if you want to explore beyond the bounds of the city, Leiden and Rotterdam are but 10 and 20 minutes away by train, respectively.