The two and a half year extracurricular evening programme of (30 EC) is followed next to your regular Bachelor's degree programme. The programme starts in the second semester of year 1 of your Bachelor's degree programme and continues until the end of year 3. The programme consists of a faculty component (depending part) 15 EC and the other half is outside your own faculty (broadening part) 15 EC.

In order to be able to make a contribution in terms of resolving scientific and societal problems and themes, you will need more than a thorough knowledge of your own subject area. In the broadening part (15 EC), you will engage with unknown territories and students from other disciplines, and experience interdisciplinary approaches of learning. The learning will happen in many ways through students' collaboration in the courses, where students will help each other and exchange their (disciplinary) knowledge and views. For example, you will explore topics from different disciplinary angles and learn how to work on creative/collaborative solutions for challenges. Meanwhile you and your fellow students will learn how to provide constructive peer feedback. This interdisciplinary learning experience will help foster an environment where you can be both learner and educator.

All students take part in a Broadening Module provided by another faculty than your own, which is followed by a Summer School and an Atelier. The core of these units is a current, socially relevant theme within the discipline concerned. This topical theme forms the basis for introducing the basic concepts and research methods of the relevant discipline. Through collaborative learning with students from other faculties and disciplines, you will also experience how to approach such a challenge relevant to science or society from different perspectives and develop your own approach to it, with vision and an eye to the future. At the same time, you might develop a range of professional skills. Examples of these broadening course units for the current Bachelor’s Honours students can be found on Ocasys under ‘Honours College’.

The aim of the Broadening Part

In the Broadening Part, honours students learn together, in small multidisciplinary groups, how to approach a problem relevant to science or society from different perspectives and develop their own approach to it, with vision and an eye to the future. At the same time, you develop a range of professional life skills, and by providing and receiving feedback attention is paid to the development of your personal skills in a multidisciplinary setting.

What is it?

The Honours Festival is the final activity of the Broadening Part of the Honours College programme that students do before they graduate. The Broadening Part is organized to teach Honours students to approach current scientific and societal problems from different interdisciplinary perspectives and to translate this into a vision for the future. The Broadening Part consists of a deepening knowledge component, a skills component (academic writing, effective collaboration, debating) and a component focused on personal development (self-knowledge and reflection). For the Honours Festival, the students have prepared all kinds of activities in which they will present the results of their research projects. Are you interested in what honours students do? Find out at the Honours Festival held on 25 June 2025 in the Academy Building!

Programme

The Honours Festival will start at 14:00 hours (2:00 p.m.) with speeches from various speakers. In the afternoon, you can expect a wide range of interesting and interactive activities. The subjects of the activities vary from sustainability, happiness and so much more. In addition, you can take a look around in the Academy Building and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea in the festival lounge.

After these activities, the festive speeches will start at 17:00 hours (5:00 p.m.) for invited guests, in the Aula of the Academy Building which were streamed in the Senaatskamer and Heymanszaal. Afterwards, the Honours College Medal will be presented by the honours faculty coordinators to their 'own' honours students in the various faculty rooms of the Academy Building.

The Honours College Medal will be awarded to all honours students who have completed, or are expected to complete, the Honours Programme by August 31, 2025 (the deepening as well as the broadening part of the Honours Programme). After the ceremony, there is a photo opportunity on the stairs of the Academy Building, and there are drinks afterwards.

We hope you will have a great day and join us in celebrating the success of the Goodall Cohort 2022-2023!

Background information Honours Festival

Since 2012, the Honours Festival has been taking place in the Academy Building in Groningen. The festival will try to explain current societal issues in a clear and enjoyable manner. Students of the Honours College finish their Honours Programme with the activities they present during the festival. The event shows how students and professors cooperate and how this results in a memorable afternoon.

You will participate in the Deepening Part (15 EC) of the Honours Programme within your own faculty. Eleven faculties of the University of Groningen have each drawn up their own programmes for this component, especially for honours students. The maximum number of students per course is 25. The programme for your faculty can also be found on Ocasys, under ‘Honours College’.

Learning to work at and across borders

The Honours College offers you a two and a half year extracurricular programme (30 EC) consisting of a deepening and broadening part. It is a multifaceted and supportive environment to excel academically, develop practical and professional skills, and prepare you for success in interdisciplinary professional settings.

Here's a breakdown of the key elements of the programme:

Interdisciplinary nature: the programme combines a deepening part (15 EC) within your own faculty and a Broadening part (15 EC) outside your own faculty. This interdisciplinary approach exposes you to a diverse range of perspectives and subjects, enriching your educational experience.

Deepening part: the deepening part involves faculty-specific training with your fellow faculty honours students. Each faculty designs its own layout. This tailored approach allows you to delve even more into subject matters relevant to your own faculty. You can find more information about the content and set-up of the deepening Honours College part of your faculty on Ocasys.

Broadening part: The broadening part encourages you to explore societal and scientific challenges from different, other than your own, disciplinary angles and perspectives. Working with students from various faculties enhances the richness of your learning experience. It focuses on interdisciplinary teamwork and finding your role herein, which aligns with the increasingly interconnected nature of real-world challenges. You will experience the importance of the professional skills needed to work effectively in a diverse, interdisciplinary team. You will be encouraged to integrate perspectives from various disciplines which will enhance your comprehensive understanding of complex issues, your creative problem-solving abilities and your broad view.

Professional life skills: modules about professional life skills related to interdisciplinary team work are offered to you and your fellow students. This includes skills such as communication, effective teamwork, adaptability, creativity and problem-solving—attributes. Learning to provide and receive feedback by your peers (fellow students) in interdisciplinary challenges is part of the programme as well.

Hands-on classes and activities: the incorporation of hands-on classes and activities indicate a practical and applied approach to learning and hopefully enhances your understanding and also helps you develop useful skills that are relevant to your academic and professional pursuits. This also calls for other forms of testing than the usual written exams.

Small group setting: an intimate learning environment, capped at 25 students to promote meaningful interaction among participants. This setting is conducive to fostering close relationships, collaborative learning, and active engagement in discussion and hands-on activities. Students, along with the lecturer, are responsible for making the module valuable to all.

Test bed: this programme is also a useful testing ground for educational innovations within the university. It encourages both lecturers and students to push the boundaries and provides the freedom to work together to co-develop courses, work on research, and multidisciplinary projects. By doing so, this creates a unique platform for lecturers to experiment with teaching approaches and topics and use the experience and disciplinary knowledge the Honours students bring to class. In these multidisciplinary challenges the group process is as equal or even more important than the suggested approach/end product. To get insight in the group process, peer feedback/ assessment is essential to clarify the contribution, role and growth of the individual student. These approaches enable both lecturers and students to learn with and from each other, by the sharing and deepening of knowledge and also thinking outside of the box.

Evening sessions: classes run in the evenings (Monday through Thursday), allowing you to pursue it alongside your regular Bachelor's degree programme. Please note: the weeks with honours classes may not be the same as class and exam weeks in your faculty.

No extra tuition fees: this inclusivity encourages a diverse group of talented individuals to apply.

The Broadening Part has a total workload of 15 EC. It consists of a training of competences and acquisition of professional life skills (5 EC) and one Broadening Module (5 EC) outside your own faculty, followed by a Summer school and Atelier (5 EC). The topic and classes for these broadening courses are offered by all faculties.

Year 1

After enrollment, two general events are programmed: one Welcoming Ceremony (an opportunity for new students to get to know each other and engage with fellow students), and one Professional Life Skills Introduction event where students will engage in experiences with group work (i.e. working on different challenges).

Year 2

Students work on professional life skills training (communication, collaboration, creativity) and develop the interdisciplinary mindset (i.e. online activities to further prepare students to work in interdisciplinary teams, engage with new and unknown matters) which you can apply in the future contexts of the Broadening Part of the programme. The interdisciplinary components mentioned above are addressed in various ways and in various parts of the broadening modules which will be taught by lecturers from different faculties, and they will be linked to the challenges addressed in the Summer School between year 2 and year 3. Different disciplines and multicultural groups of students will spend time together studying a topical social issue. This will be done at locations within or outside the Netherlands.

Year 3

Students will continue working on their topic in the Atelier. Here groups of students work together on their creative solution for a challenge, learn from each other (i.e. cultural and disciplinary view, concepts and approach), and provide and receive peer feedback. The programme concludes with the Honours Festival. This is a public event at which all Honours students share their findings and knowledge to a wide-ranging audience in an interactive way, and engage in a debate about their work with a diverse audience.

Overall, the Honours Programme stands out for its commitment to interdisciplinary learning, hands-on activities, and the integration of both deepening and broadening components.

The small scale of lectures, the study booths, the study association and an Honours College magazine provide a real Honours community!

Honours College Social Association (HCSA)

The Honours College also has a study association: the Honours College Social Association (HCSA). They organize interesting trips and have a monthly get-together so that honours students can get to know each other in an informal setting. Also, HCSA organizes an introduction period for honours students, with all kinds of activities. The introduction usually starts just after the official opening of the programme.

Honours Review

In addition to the study association, the Honours College has an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed magazine called the 'Honours Review'. Published annually, it combines high-quality journalistic-scientific articles with original designs by the Minerva Art Academy Groningen. It provides a platform for the intellectual and creative talents of Honours College students, and offers them an opportunity to publish their research and ideas to a wider audience.

What do you do as an Honours College student? A small selection of projects carried out by or in collaboration with students of the Honours College:

Honours students analyzed the Alberda Sundial through a cross-disciplinary approach

Students from the Honours College’s Mukwege cohort had the opportunity to study the Alberda Sundial, a fascinating historical three-meter high artifact! The students analyzed the sundial from a cross-disciplinary learning perspective in their Interdisciplinary Mindset honours course - part of the Broadening Part of the Honours Programme, with each of these disciplines offering them unique insights into the sundial’s significance. Read more here.

Honours Festival 2024: a documentary from team Down and Dementia from the Johnson cohort 2021-2022

Diversity and debate have a positive impact on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic

How governments approach the Covid-19 crisis is not only interesting from the political science viewpoint; it also has wide-reaching implications for global health. Political regimes find themselves on a continuum between the democratic and the authoritarian ends. What is the significance of the variety of leadership such regimes bring during the Covid-19 crisis? dr. Nicolle Zeegers, lecturer of Political Science, asked the first-year international Honours students from the Faculty of Law to write an essay on this topic, accompanied by a video'clip as a modern touch. You can read the blogpost about the students findings here.

Summer School: Sustainable Islands

Honours students discover leadership qualities at FC Groningen’s talent event

Four Honours College students have been selected to take part in a “Talents first” event to develop leadership talent through pre-match inspiration and co-creation sessions.

Students and Noorderbrug clients present a photo exhibition about their worlds

University of Groningen Honours students worked on the ‘Laten Zien’ (‘Show Your World’) photo exhibition as part of their Human Geography and Urban and Regional Planning programme. The project brought together students from both the UG and the Minerva Art Academy, and clients from De Noorderbrug. Together, they went on a journey of exploration into each other’s worlds.

Blog Entrepreneurship: "A blend of creative entrepreneurs"

‘Imagine you crashed on Mars with a spaceship and you only have a teddy bear, a bottle of perfume and a razor at hand to return to mother earth. What would you do?’ It is one of the many wondrous questions that the second year students were confronted with during the Entrepreneurship-evenement of the Honours College in cooperation with TalentWeb Groningen.

A hanging garden

Lisette Stevens, Menno Stellingwerff and Malenthe Teunis, three Honours College students, won this summer's Green Mind Award. This is the biennial University of Groningen award for the best idea to make the university more sustainable. The students came up with the plan in the Honours College Leadership Lab. Their idea is to make a hanging garden and a roof garden for the University Library, thus creating a green oasis in the built-up city centre. Read more about the hanging garden!

Conducting your own research

‘Generatie Crisis ’ (Crisis Generation) explores this generation’s perceptions of the crisis

Report by Sebastiaan Scheffer for the local TV channel 'OOG TV' on the first Honours Festival of the Honours College, including pictures of poster presentations and interviews with both an honours student and the Dean. This is an excellent example of the commitment shown by Honours College students, based on the approach of combining initiative, interdisciplinary perspective and independence.