Interdisciplinary Honours Programme Building Bridges
If you’d like to team up with fellow students from different faculties to explore current themes, see what’s going on outside of your studies, apply knowledge gained during your studies in practice, and work on your skills and personal development, the Building Bridges Interdisciplinary Honours Programme could be exactly what you’re looking for! Working in small, closely supervised groups, you will choose a special thematic studio and think tank in which you will contemplate, and subsequently form general opinions about, issues such as the US elections, ‘problematic art’, energy transition, and sport and health.
'In my studies, I'm mostly accumulating knowledge, but in Building Bridges I was able to put that knowledge I already had to use immediately.'
'The combination of the programme and my study was easier than I thought beforehand. In addition to the weekly meeting, we were given the flexibility to schedule our own time.'
The Building Bridges programme offers you:
- The opportunity to share knowledge and exchange insights with students from a range of different disciplines
- The chance to learn how to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team
- The opportunity to experience the added value of your studies, as you apply your (specific) knowledge in a multidisciplinary team
- The opportunity to work in an inspiring environment with fellow students who are motivated and wish to achieve more
- The opportunity to conduct independent and specialised research on social issues for an external client
- Plenty of opportunities for personal growth
- The scope to develop and improve your skills
- The chance to expand your network to include fellow students from a range of different academic specialisms
- The opportunity to take an extended foreign study trip and discover how other countries deal with relevant scientific and social issues
Facts & figures
- Duration 1 year, during B2 or B3
- Study load ± 2,5 contact hours per week and ± 3,5 hours flexible
- Start end of September
- Language Dutch and English
- Study costs None
Schedule your time flexibly
You spend on average 6 hours per week on the Honours Programme Building Bridges. Each week, you attend a two-and-a-half-hour meeting. You use the remaining hours to prepare for the meeting, get together with your group or follow a skills module. Around exam weeks, it’s possible to spend fewer hours on the honours programme and you make up these hours in other weeks. This gives you flexibility to schedule your hours yourself.
Programme
Science in Society day
In November there will be a thematic Science in Society day, together with students from all honours programmes, both from faculties and Building Bridges. During this thematic day, applied ethicist Marcel Beckers talks about trust in science, with questions such as: what is trust, and is it an issue that society looks at science more critically? You will then work on this topic yourself.
Thematic studio
In the first semester you will choose a thematic studio that focuses on a topic such as populism and democracy or sustainability. You will be introduced to this topic by a lecturer who is an expert in the field. Together with your supervisors and fellow students, you will explore how different scientific disciplines study this theme. Lastly, you and your fellow students will work on a group assignment that centres on this theme.
Think tank
In the second semester, you will participate in a think tank. Together with a group, you will address a complex, interdisciplinary issue that is being experienced by an external client. Such issues may include the sustainable campus or the importance of mental health. You will get to know the client during a kick-off weekend. For the purpose of the think tank, you will take a short foreign study trip. In consultation with the client, you will ultimately determine the form of the finished product.
Skills
In the first semester, you will choose a separate skills module. During this module, you will focus on specific skills that you subsequently wish to develop, such as storytelling, debating or creative writing.
Personalised guidance
This honours programme was created with you in mind! We will help you to achieve your goals, and try to match your interests as best we can. During the year we will regularly discuss progress with you. The focus is on your own learning objectives, your personal development, and the social projects you work on.
Contact
For more information about the Building Bridges Interdisciplinary Honours Programme, please contact the programme director:
Heleen Loof
heleen.loof [at] ru.nl (heleen[dot]loof[at]ru[dot]nl)