What do current students think of their programme? We asked David Jorge, student from the master's programme of Heritage and Religion, to write a post on our blog.

Hi! My name is David and I am a master’s student in Heritage and Religion. Before coming to this faculty, I followed the Bsc Astronomy at the Faculty of Science and Engineering with a minor in Arts and Religion. This minor allowed me to try for myself courses from Religious Studies, and I instantly loved it. So much so that I decided that upon the completion of my Bsc Astronomy I would follow a PreMaster programme in Religious Studies to be able to attend the master Heritage and Religion. My expectations were that I would deepen my knowledge of the heritage sector. What counts as heritage? How is it created/used/reused? How is it related to religion? What are the links between heritage and community identity? As a matter of fact, the master’s programme matches perfectly with my expectations, and I’m very happy about it. What surprised me the most was the incentive on project-based learning rather than exams. I was really surprised when first looking at the master’s program and seeing that there is not a single exam. All courses have projects which challenge the students to think critically, but also are very creative. We are given a lot of freedom in how we want to express our vision within a course.

So far, I like the freedom given to the students in selecting our project/research topics, and the artistic side of it, best. The group of students following the Heritage track is very small which gives a very friendly and safe environment. Teachers are always available to help us with courses but also with other aspects of the program, such as research and internship. It is a lot of fun.

Currently, I am in the last phase of my Master's, working on both my master thesis and in a research internship. These are my main focus, and I leave my future prospect, post-graduation, largely open. I have always loved to follow opportunities when they present themselves to me, so I have not a clear path ahead of me. However, I do have a strong wish to work in the heritage sector in the Netherlands, and if possible on projects involving community engagement, either in the public field or in research.