Renewed Minor Portfolio for 2027 – 2028
The Faculty Board has decided to introduce a renewed and future proof minor portfolio starting in the 2027 – 2028 academic year. With this updated package, the Faculty aims to offer an attractive and academically strong selection of minors that aligns with current themes, societal developments, labour market orientation, and the Faculty’s broad range of expertise.
The decision was made following recommendations from the Minor Selection Committee and subsequent discussions with programme directors, the director of LUCDH, and the programme manager of the BA in International Studies. These discussions carefully considered teaching quality, cost efficiency, student numbers, and available staffing.
Overview of the changes
From the 2027 – 2028 academic year onward, a total of 28 minors will be offered. The renewed portfolio includes several new minors to strengthen key themes and areas of expertise. This ensures the portfolio remains up to date and better aligned with international and societal issues. Together, the minors will accommodate approximately 1,500 students, matching expected demand while creating additional flexibility for highly subscribed programmes. Five minors will require (partial) adjustments, for example through increased use of shared or open‑course teaching formats.
Four minors will be discontinued in 2027 – 2028. This decision is based on declining student numbers, substantive overlap with other programmes, and the desire to keep the portfolio more compact and efficient. The following four minors will be phased out:
- Cultural Memory of War and Conflict
- Ecology, Migration and Tolerance
- Islam: Religion and Society
- Theatre, Film and TV Series
The Chinese Economy and Society minor will also not return in the renewed portfolio. Instead, the Asian Studies minor has been submitted and will be included.
The Faculty of Humanities Minor Portfolio 2027–2028 provides a complete overview.
Background to the recalibration
In assessing the minor portfolio, 31 minor proposals were submitted to the Selection Committee. In addition, the Environmental Humanities minor was added later to ensure continued visibility of this theme in the curriculum after the termination of the MA in Environmental Humanities.
Although the new portfolio is slightly larger than the intended range of 20 to 25 minors, the available capacity does not introduce additional cost risks. Some programmes deliberately set a higher enrolment cap to prevent students from ending up on waiting lists unnecessarily.
Regular recalibration
The minor portfolio as established by the Faculty Board will be submitted this autumn to the Executive Board, which will make a final decision on the university-wide minor portfolio following the advice of the University Minor Committee.
The minor portfolio is reviewed every two years. The next evaluation will take place in 2029 – 2030, at which time student numbers, academic relevance, and educational efficiency will again be assessed.