Annemieke chose to study our MSc Sustainable Tourism and Society after completing a BSc Global Responsibility and Leadership, both here on Campus. In this post, she answers questions about her experience so far and why she chose to stay in Leeuwarden.

What is your academic background?
I hold a BSc in Global Responsibility and Leadership from Campus Fryslân.

What motivated your choice to study Sustainable Tourism?
I have a wide range of interests, and tourism has always been one of them. Growing up in Ameland, a highly touristic region of the Netherlands, I was always fascinated with the industry. However, I struggled to integrate this interest into my academic journey. I'm also intrigued by fields like neurology and psychology, and I'm open to exploring how these passions could intersect with tourism in the future. 

What led you to select this programme at Campus Fryslân over others?
At first, I wasn't aware that the MSc Cultural Geography programme, focusing on Sustainable Tourism and Society, was available here on Campus! Despite having completed my entire bachelor's degree here and knowing many people, I only found out about it through the central rug.nl website. When I learned about this option, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to explore one of my passions while remaining a part of the close-knit and welcoming community at Campus Fryslân for another year. I've heard that the experience in larger faculties can be quite different, so I felt privileged to keep enjoying what CF has to offer.

How has the workload been for you so far?
Having come from the BSc in GRL, I feel adequately prepared to manage the workload, which I find to be quite comparable. There is clear continuity between what, and how, we learned in our BSc studies and what is offered at the MSc level.

How do you find the classes?
I find them engaging. While some courses might seem a bit of a repetition for me, I understand the necessity to bring all students up to the same level. One great aspect is the programme's openness to feedback from students, which makes you feel actively involved in shaping the learning experience.

What about the interactions with the teaching staff?
Very natural. There's little sense of hierarchy and teachers are approachable and easygoing, just like during my BSc.

What about job prospects? 
Just a week into the MSc programme, I had a conversation with someone from my community who works in tourism about a potential collaboration for my thesis project. They also shared that compared to a few years ago, there are significantly more opportunities in this field now. I've already had firsthand experience confirming this!

Is there anything else you would like to share to help prospective students decide in favor of this MSc programme?
In addition to its interdisciplinary approach and small-scale education, this programme allows you to view the northern provinces, especially Friesland, from a perspective that is unfamiliar to many. By engaging with local realities and exploring data on population, habits, preferences, and more, it offers a unique lens to examine. As I come from this region, I find this to be particularly fascinating.

Questions on what it is like to study Sustainable Tourism & Society at Campus Fryslan? Contact Annemieke a.f.visser.2 student.rug.nl