About NICA’s educational program

NICA is a national research school dedicated to the academic study of contemporary culture from an interdisciplinary, theoretical, and political perspective. The school offers graduate courses and other events for research master students and PhD-candidates. Presently based at the Leiden University, the school welcomes the participation and membership of ResMA students, PhD-candidates and senior scholars of all Dutch universities. NICA’s educational programme offers:

• a research-intensive, interactive, and highly interdisciplinary program with state of the arts topics and speakers, and great international appeal;
• a good opportunity to get to know researchers in all stages of their careers, as well as fellow ResMA students and PhD-candidates working at other universities in the field cultural analysis across the Netherlands, as well as abroad;
• an internationally renowned institutional affiliation (see: ‘How to become a member’)
• our support for the realization of your ideas for workshops, master classes and other events (see: ‘Organize an activity’).

Educational program

NICA’s educational program can be found here. The program generally consists of two kinds of activities:

1. NICA hosts up to 5 or 6 core courses per academic year. Core courses are content courses that cover a range of topics within the field of cultural analysis and are organized and taught by scholars from one or more of the affiliated universities. With these courses, students can pursue their thematic interests, sharpen their methodological toolkit, and/or broaden their expertise. They are also great places to network and meet other scholars working in the field. Core courses may be intensive (one or two weeks), or take place over the course of a semester. They may also be a summer school. The courses are open to ResMA students, and the numbers permitting, PhD-candidates, and are generally credited 5 or 6 ECTS. The courses have the character of a course, including reading lists, participation requirements, and designated assignments. For this year’s program, see ‘core courses’.
2. In addition to the core courses, NICA offers, supports and collaborates in a good number of other activities and events, of various kinds, including reading groups, masterclasses, seminars and conferences, that are generally open to scholars in all stages of their careers, including ResMA students, PhD-candidates, academic staff, and other interested parties. Like the core courses, these activities are organized and moderated by colleagues from our various partnering universities. They are often collaborations between universities, national research schools and/or international partners. ResMA students (and PhD-candidates) can obtain ECTS for most of these events, as they are part of NICA’s educational program. Participation may include, besides attendance, some readings and one or more (preparatory) assignment.

On our website, we also publish events and activities that NICA recommends to its community (see ‘NICA recommends’). For such activities and events, no ECTS can be earned through NICA. We nonetheless want to bring these to your attention as they seem inspiring to the NICA community.

How to register?

Registration for the core courses always runs through the NICA platform, and requires filling out the online form embedded in the page for the course. For other activities, you can generally enrol by sending an email to the organisers. Please make sure to carefully read the event-announcement on our website, as it always contains information about registration procedures (eligibility, requirements, additional documents) and the contact details of the organizers. In some cases, you may be asked to submit an additional motivation letter and/or CV. Often, there is a maximum number of participants that can enrol in a specific course, event or activity. If an event is fully booked, you may be referred to a waiting list and receive word as soon as a spot becomes available.

Obtaining your credits

Upon completing a NICA course or event, you will receive a certificate by the NICA-office, stating the number of credits and, where applicable, a grade. You can subsequently submit this certificate at the Examination Board of your university of the local graduate school in order to be formally allocated the ECTS (which runs through your local university).

Something Missing? Organize an activity!

If you are a ResMA-student, a PhD-candidate or staff member formally enrolled at, affiliated to, or working at one of the Dutch universities and a(n aspiring) NICA member and wish to organize an activity for our community, see: ‘Organize an activity’. Please note that the educational programme is open to ResMA students and PhD-candidates affiliated to any of the national research schools.

How to become a member

All ResMa students are required to formally join one of the national research schools by becoming a member. For PhD candidates, membership is recommended. If you are a ResMA-student, a PhD-candidate or staff member formally enrolled at, affiliated to, or working at one of the Dutch universities and wish to become a member, see the ‘How to become a member’.