Student review [#19584]
for Archaeology
at Leiden University
Leiden, The Netherlands
At the beginning of my studies, I had a completely different perspective of what entailed being an archaeologist, and although the reality is much different, I love it. This Bachelor’s program is oriented to give you the basis for further specializations. It is very international oriented, and the faculty has a broad network. They englobe many aspects of the field such as Digital Archaeology, Bioarchaeology, Material Studies, Heritage, Field Work (excavations), and World Archaeology. It depends on you what type of path you want to follow, either a more theoretical one or perhaps something related to Natural Sciences, like Bioarchaeology. This is not history, so although you are going to learn about it, the main focus is on artifacts or what we archaeologists call material culture. So have this in mind before applying. Your goal is to interpret data from these archaeological remains, either in the lab by analyzing bones, botanical remains, pottery, or flint by instance, or by gathering historical accounts or geographical information.
The faculty is not in the center of Leiden as most faculties are; the Van Steenis building is located in the Bioscience Park in Leiden, thus a bit farther away. Professors are very knowledgeable in their field of studies, and the best part is that there is not much formality regarding their approaches; this means you will study in a relaxed atmosphere. This, however, doesn’t mean that they are not strict regarding your performance and the quality of your assignments.
I would recommend studying for the bachelor’s but following a master’s in the near future, as the bachelor’s program provides only fundamental training. Moreover, if you would like to stay in the Netherlands, start learning Dutch!
Here, most if not all jobs related to Archaeology and Heritage are only offered for those who speak Dutch fluently. There are plenty of jobs, but mostly they are not announced on websites so the way to get those jobs is to network with professors and other academics/professionals. This means that you should work on your networking skills.