Elective Course Migration, Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism

Year 2 of the MERM-program includes an Elective course that each student should design themselves in cooperation with the coordinator and according to the specific needs of each individual student. The aim of the electives is to provide useful additional expertise and work experience for MERM-students. The electives should contribute to broadening students expertise in selected fields of Migration, Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism. Students can use the electives to build up field-specific knowledge, theoretical expertise, and/or statistical expertise for the master’s thesis project, thus complementing what they have learned in other MERM-courses.

The assessment of the Elective course depends on the content chosen by the students. Courses of other (research) master programmes and summer/winter schools are assessed by course coordinators in line with their relevant course outlines and learning goals. Internships are assessed with an internship evaluation form that captures the student’s tasks and performance during the internship and provides an assessment of the research and/or professional skills the student acquired during the internship.

 

Students meet with the coordinator to plan their Elective course and they keep the coordinator updated about the components after completing them (e.g. internships, summer schools, courses of other research master programs). Because the elective course is tailored to individual needs, the specific content differs for each student, depending on whether they choose to do an internship and where, follow a summer (or winter) school and which one, and which additional course (if any) they follow. Before starting their elective course, students need to have approval from the coordinator and therefore discuss their options in individual meetings. After completing (a part of) their elective course, students hand in  appropriate documentation (grades assigned in a summer school or course, evaluation by an internship supervisor) and complete a reflection report.