Three new Leiden minors with internships in national security

Published on 16 March 2026

Three new minors at the intersection of security and resilience will launch in September 2026 at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. A distinctive feature is that all three combine academic coursework with a practical placement in the field, within defence, the police, or emergency services.

What if your minor involved not only attending lectures, but also gaining hands-on experience in practice? This is precisely what the three new minors offered by the Institute of Security and Global Affairs are designed to provide. Whether you are interested in understanding how the Netherlands prepares for emerging threats, how the police operate within a complex society, or how citizens and emergency services collaborate during disasters and crises, these programmes offer an integrated perspective.

The timing is deliberate. The Netherlands is facing a rapidly evolving security landscape. Cyberattacks and acts of sabotage demonstrate that national security is no longer an abstract concept. The three minors address the full spectrum of the security chain, from military resilience and crisis management to the day-to-day enforcement of law and public order. They have been developed with an innovative pedagogical approach that combines academic depth, practical experience, and critical reflection. Students not only learn what national security entails, but also what it means to be directly involved in it.

 

Minor in Defence and National Security

The Minor in Defence and National Security explores hybrid threats, geopolitical tensions, and the governance of national security. Students engage with operational dilemmas, leadership, and military ethics. The programme integrates perspectives from security studies, public administration, and law, with a strong emphasis on experiential learning. Through realistic case studies, students develop the ability to analyse moral dilemmas.

In the second block, theory and practice are closely integrated. Following a military assessment, students participate in the National Resilience Training, a ten-week basic military programme during which they temporarily serve within Defence. This training introduces core military skills such as map reading and navigation, tactical movement in the field, military first aid, weapons knowledge, and military disciplinary and criminal law.

The minor provides a structured learning environment in which training, reflective assignments, and coaching sessions contribute to students’ development. Critical reflection on personal role perceptions and moral judgement plays a central role in shaping professional identity within the security domain. Students learn to connect theoretical insights with practical experience and to critically assess what it means to contribute to the protection of the Netherlands. Those who wish may continue as reservists, thereby making a tangible contribution to national security, or conclude the programme with substantial practical experience.

Minor in Crisis Management and Civil Resilience

The Minor in Crisis Management and Civil Resilience examines how societies respond to disasters, cyber incidents, and other crises. Modern societies are inherently vulnerable. Prolonged power outages, overstretched healthcare systems, or the failure of critical infrastructure can lead to significant societal disruption. In such situations, government alone is insufficient.

This minor equips students with an understanding of how crises emerge, who is most affected and why, and how to maintain effective decision-making under pressure. Students draw on insights from crisis management and disaster response, while reflecting on leadership and ethics through disciplines such as political science, anthropology, psychology, and sociology.

In the second block, selected participants undertake the Civil Resilience Training, a practical placement in which they collaborate with fire services, police, medical responders, and defence. While similar systems of trained civilian responders have long existed in the United States, this represents a new initiative in the Netherlands.

Minor in Police Studies

The Minor in Police Studies focuses on the functioning of the police within an increasingly complex society. It addresses questions of how policing balances enforcement, collaboration, and societal expectations. Students examine when and how force may be used, how the police respond to cybercrime, and how issues of diversity and inclusion are navigated. The programme also considers investigative practice, including how serious crimes are solved and how breakthroughs are achieved in long-standing cold cases.

The minor centres on both the daily realities and the major dilemmas faced by the Dutch police, approached through a multidisciplinary lens combining criminology, public administration, law, and security studies. A distinctive component is the course on cold cases, taught jointly by academic staff and experienced detectives.

In the second block, students undertake a placement with the National Police or a related organisation. Opportunities include positions within units focused on supervision, enforcement, investigation, or within municipal enforcement bodies.

Who are these minors for?

All three minors are broadly accessible to university students. No specific prior knowledge is required. They are particularly suited to students of security studies, public administration, political science, criminology, and law, but are equally open to those from other disciplines who wish to connect their studies to a meaningful societal contribution in the field of resilience.

Each minor is selective and has a limited application period. Participation in the practical components of the defence and resilience minors requires Dutch nationality, successful completion of physical and psychological assessments, and a security screening. The Police Studies minor may also require a police screening. These requirements make the programmes demanding, but also highly valuable. Students complete the minors with both academic expertise and practical experience that cannot be acquired in a traditional classroom setting.

Critical perspectives

The launch of the three minors has not gone unnoticed. Within the university, critical voices have also been raised, particularly concerning collaboration between universities and defence. Judith Naeff, Assistant Professor Cultures of the Middle East at Leiden University, expressed concerns on LinkedIn about the boundary between academic education and military recruitment, as well as about financial incentives linked to increased defence spending. Similar concerns have previously been voiced at other universities regarding the expanding role of defence and security actors in society.

Jeroen Wolbers, Director of Education and initiator of the minors, is fully aware of these critiques and welcomes the debate. 'We are proud of these minors, which combine a distinctive theoretical and practical component. This is particularly important at a time when our security is under pressure.' At the same time, he emphasises that the university actively engages with critical perspectives. 'It is important to learn from alternative viewpoints and to maintain space for dialogue. Engaging with one another helps to deepen our understanding of the dilemmas that contemporary security challenges present.'

He continues by underlining the broader educational aim. 'It is essential to equip students with a strong academic and professional foundation, especially as the Dutch security domain is expected to expand significantly in the coming years. Graduates will enter a politically sensitive and rapidly evolving sector, where political and technological developments unfold at pace. Our programmes are therefore designed to educate reflective professionals with an independent and critical mindset. Students must be able to connect academic knowledge with practical experience and to assess ethical dilemmas with care. This is best achieved when learning extends beyond the lecture theatre.'

The overarching objective is for students, through experiential learning, to develop a nuanced understanding of complex security challenges, with attention to context, competing interests, and multiple perspectives. In this way, the university seeks to fulfil its societal responsibility to contribute to the education of future security professionals. The discussion surrounding the introduction of these minors is expected to contribute to that aim in a constructive manner.

Do you want to know more?

The minors will commence in September 2026. They are selective programmes, with applications opening on 1 April. Selection for the National Resilience Training is conducted via the Ministry of Defence application portal, following registration through eduXchange.

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