Religious Studies and Islam & Arabic team up to offer new degree programme

Last autumn, the Faculty of Humanities announced that the two programmes would be axed, along with four others. Very few students were joining these programmes as their main subjects each year. Faced with the need to apply major austerity measures, the faculty board then decided to terminate the programmes altogether. 

Shortly before the turn of the year, an alternative proposal was on the table: setting up a new programme combining the expertise of both Religious Studies and Islam & Arabic. 

A new programme
The talks about this idea have been successful. According to an update on the budget cuts, the faculty board is withdrawing its intention to renounce the Croho label for Religious Studies. Islam & Arabic will lose its Croho label. Croho stands for Central Register of Higher Education Programmes in Dutch. It is a register of all recognised degree programmes offered by higher education institutions in the Netherlands

A new programme will be put together soon. It will also get a new name. Students may be able to join the remodelled programme as early as September 2026. "We are relieved," says Birgit Meyer, Professor of Religious Studies. "Fortunately, we were able to convince the faculty board of our arguments."

One of the ways Meyer drew attention to the importance of Religious Studies was an op-ed on DUB. One of her key arguments was that courses from the Religious Studies programme are popular among students from other programmes. "We felt quite disrespected," she said. The professor is aware that fewer Religious Studies courses would be offered in a joint set-up, "but this is the best outcome given the circumstances."

"We welcome this merger, of course," says Professor of Arabic & Islam Christian Lange in an email. At the same time, the professor wonders if, a few years from now, the university will “still be happy” with the decision to deny Islam & Arabic a dedicated programme. "I still can't  understand why a programme with an average of 40 students per course, a teaching team that excels in research, and the only truly non-white profile at UU, is being closed down."

No merger
According to Thomas Vaessens, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, the change of course does not mean that the faculty is abandoning the idea that all programmes should have a minimum intake of 25 first-year students yearly. The new programme will also have to comply with this rule, therefore. "But we are confident that Religious Studies and Arabic & Islam will come up with an attractive profile."

Vaessensstresses the programmes are not "merging" per se. "We are working with the programmes that attract too few students to see how their content can be preserved and made accessible to a larger group. When it comes to Religious Studies, that means keeping the name of the programme for now but broadening the content. This is a solution that meets the purpose of our transition plan".

Adjusted plans in Leiden 
 According to accounts within the faculty, the English and Celtic programmes are also likely to announce a joint programme shortly. Celtic is also losing its independent status because of the cutbacks.

In addition, the group drafting a new Bachelor's offer for the faculty is still studying the possibility of a new programme combining the current French, German and Italian programmes, which are also threatened with dissolution.

This week, Leiden University updated the austerity plan for its Humanities faculty. Among other things, it states that the French and German programmes will retain their independence, contrary to previous statements.