Minorities & Multilingualism

Hi everyone! My name is Arombe, I am 19 years old and currently doing my second year of Minorities & Multilingualism (also known as M&M). Alongside studying, I love reading, playing basketball, and baking!

Why Minorities & Multilingualism?

I chose to study Minorities & Multilingualism because as a person who is part of several minority groups, I thought that this programme would help me understand myself and the world better (which it has!). The programme is made up of a mix of local, international, and exchange students, meaning that there is a safe space for everyone from different backgrounds to respectfully and confidently share their perspectives. Generally, we are a small group which is perfect because we make up our own little family - this further provides more opportunities to participate in class. M&M is a programme that tailors to everyone's interests as it is so broad within the respective fields of minorities and multilingualism, which means that there is always something new to learn.

Read more about Arombe and why she chose to study Minorities & Multilingualism in Groningen.

Hey everyone! My name is Marit, I am 18 years old and currently in my first year of Minorities & Multilingualism (also known as M&M). Besides my studies, I work, hang out with friends and love to read.

Why Minorities & Multilingualism?

I have always been interested in minorities in general, and learning languages has always been something I have enjoyed and been good at. What also really intrigued me about M&M is how it is a widely oriented study, so there are many different topics. The study and its courses attract many international and exchange students; it is interesting to meet students from different backgrounds. The study is quite small (and when I mean small, I mean small – we are with nine people this year), which is actually a lot of fun! You know each other very well, you get along very quickly and there is a lot of contact with teachers.

Hey everyone! My name is Alissa, I'm 20 years old, from Germany and currently ain my second year of Minorities & Multilingualism. In addition to my studies, I am an Honours College student and the Secretary of Multi, our programme's study association, which means that I am responsible for all matters related to communication.

Why Minorities & Multilingualism?

M&M is an interdisciplinary programme that offers a unique perspective on important societal matters. Essentially, we learn to become diversity managers - first we need to understand the different dimensions of societal issues, then we are gradually equipped with the tools to solve them. Thanks to the flexible programme structure and small-scale education of M&M, I was able to figure out my personal interests, namely minority rights and multilingual education. There is a lot of room for individual preferences and every fellow student of mine has opted for a different path when choosing their elective courses. Last but not least, I love the open and supportive atmosphere within the programme. Students and lecturers know each other very well and there is room for any question or concern.

I dream of working for an international organization like UNESCO or an EU-institution. Not only would this give me the opportunity to work in an international environment, but I could also make a change in the fields of minority rights and education policy. During the past year, I have also developed a strong interest for international relations. Therefore, I am excited to see in which direction this year will take me and what Master’s programme I will end up joining in a few years.

Zdravo! I am Helena and I am a second year student of Minorities and Multilingualism. I live near Trieste in Italy and I am part of its autochthonous Slovenian community. As such, I am passionate about topics regarding minority groups and other cultural discourses. I am a member of the M&M Programme Committee, as well as a member of the Multi student association. I like listening to people's stories about themselves, as there is infinite variety and creativity in them..

M&M is a programme that depicts at best our postmodern world. It does not only cover topics about minorities and multilingualism, but relates to many other fields of the humanities and social studies. It helps you understand the whys and how’s of today’s society and provides you with the ability to think critically about such topics. We can say that minorities are nowadays a majority, its significance is increasing and we need to be able to address such matters. Being from a minority group myself I want to gain concrete and specific knowledge about minorities and multilingualism in order to apply it to my native context.

As a native Frisian speaker, learning about my mother tongue was one of the reasons I wanted to study M&M and its Frisian track. During my studies, I’ve not only learnt to see Fryslân and the Frisian language in a wider, European context, but I’ve also learnt to see all kinds of matters from completely different perspectives.

To me, this programme is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn to see the world not only from a top-down but also from a bottom-up view. One of the things I like most about studying M&M, is that you get to study a very wide range of topics but are also granted a certain amount of freedom to focus on the topics that are most interesting to you.

You will not only focus on ethnolinguistic minorities such as the Scots, Frisians and Catalans, but you will also focus on societal minorities, on what multilingualism is and how it works and if you want, you can follow a Frisian track to learn more about the Frisian language, history and culture. Maybe even more importantly, Groningen is a very fun city to study in, with a great student life and a very lively, vibrant vibe. It’s almost as if the city were designed to accommodate students. All in all, I think that studying M&M in Groningen truly is a unique experience!

I believe that my background in Minorities and Multilingualism has provided me with broad insight into the interaction between individuals and communities, and has enabled me to engage with such topics critically. While the programme is mainly focused on one topic, it is incredibly open to all fields of social science. In fact, both the programme and the university encourage students to find their own interests through elective courses, a minor, and honours programmes, which paved my way into my further studies.

Currently, I am doing an MA in Ethnic and Migration Studies at Linköpings Universitet in Sweden. In this interdisciplinary programme, I study the meaning of migration in social, legal, bureaucratic, and economic terms. I chose this programme as I appreciated how it combines the humanities, which I am familiar with after completing the BA Minorities and Multilingualism, with the social sciences, which allows me to deepen my knowledge and specialize in the subject. While the programme itself is a good steppingstone into a scientific career because of its close links with the REMESO research institute, I am personally hoping to gain more experience in the field after completing this MA by finding an internship or job at a migration agency or an NGO.

Zit je op het vwo en wil je graag weten hoe dat is, studeren? De opleiding Minorities & Multilingualism (M&M) biedt een webklas aan! Een webklas is een door de RUG gemaakte online cursus voor scholieren uit 5 en 6 vwo. Je kunt in zo'n cursus in tien studielasturen kennismaken met M&M door teksten te lezen, opdrachten te maken en met elkaar en de docent te discussiëren.

Interesse? Meld je dan aan voor de webklas.