General guide to the Bachelor's degree programme
The bachelor's programme of 180 credits consists of a major and a minor, which are structured as follows: 140 credits are spent on the major, the remaining 40 on the minor. Specifically, the programme starts with the first bachelor year (B1, for which a binding study advice (BSA) applies (a minimum of 45 credits obtained at the end of the first academic year). You then continue your bachelors in the second and third year (B2 and B3). In the third year, you also take a minor. The bachelor is concluded with the bachelor diploma.
The major is the core curriculum and the minor consists of relevant courses that help you gain a deeper understanding of the major or that help you expand your knowledge by taking courses offered by different programmes. The major includes several courses that overlap with other programmes, which means you will meet students from different programmes.
After your bachelor’ and regardless of which minor programme you selected, you can always transfer to a master's programme that is a follow up of your bachelor's programme.
The IBC master's programme lasts one year and is concluded with a master's degree. The bachelor's programme also grants access to one or more research masters (2 years). The Master’ programmes are subject to specific admission procedures.
If you choose to follow (part of) a premaster programme as electives in your minor, you may be able to transfer to other master programmes at the Faculty of Arts at Radboud University.
Programme structure
Academic year | Major (expressed in credits) | Minor (expressed in credits) | Total credits |
Bachelor 1 | 60 | 0 | 60 |
Bachelor 2 | 60 | 0 | 60 |
Bachelor 3 | 20 | 40* | 60 |
Master | 60 | 0 | 60 |
*You have the option of studying abroad in the first semester of the third year (B3).
Studying abroad
As part of the IBC programme, students can choose to study abroad by taking courses, conducting research or participating in an internship at a foreign institute of higher education. The period spent abroad, as well as the academic results obtained during that period, will count towards your BA degree in Nijmegen (provided that written agreements have been made in advance with the Examination Board and the study abroad coordinator. These agreements are documented in a Learning Agreement. After returning from your stay abroad, you must submit your academic results to the study abroad coordinator for conversion before 1 September of the same academic year.
All study abroad requests must be submitted to the study abroad coordinator, who will sign the request before submitting it to the Examination Board for approval. If you'd like to follow courses at a foreign institution that has a partnership with a different degree course other than IBC, and if you plan to take these courses as an elective minor in the IBC programme, you must first submit these courses to the study abroad coordinator for approval. The coordinator will then forward your request to the Examination Board.
Studying abroad has many advantages: it improves your language skills, it increases your independence and it broadens your career prospects. Most IBC students choose to study at one of the programme's many partner institutes.
It's not possible to combine a study abroad programme with a distance learning IBC course. For organisational reasons, the exams for IBC courses cannot be offered at a different time, date or location than the ones listed in the schedule.
The IBC programme offers exchange programmes in the language of instruction at the foreign institute. To obtain approval for the courses you plan on following abroad (via the Learning Agreement) and to validate the credits you obtained abroad (when you return, via a Transcript of Records), please contact the coordinator:
Mw. N. Dominguez (N.Dominguez@let.ru.nl )
International Office, Faculty of Arts.
For more information, visit the Faculty of Arts International Office website.