On my master's education

The political debate regarding education in the Netherlands loves labeling the quality of (higher) education as being ‘under pressure’. It’s a neat choice of words: by saying that something is ‘under pressure’, you’re implying that it is still working, albeit with difficulty. It requires attention, yes, but there is no reason to assume that we need to have any concerns other than trying to relieve the pressure — no reason at all.

Having pursued my studies from 2017 tot 2024, I am known (in the Netherlands at least) to be part of the “pechgeneratie” (bad luck generation). Generally, the ‘bad luck’ refers to the lack of financial support due to the abolishment of the “basisbeurs” (universal student grants). This was certainly unlucky — and not without its impact on many aspiring students — but I found myself fortunate enough to be able to work next to my studies and to find relatively cheap housing in Leiden.¹ After having completed my bachelor’s degree and master’s degree, I feel more and more that this bad luck, for me at least, refers to the quality of education that I received in those years, especially as a graduate student. In my experience, the Computer Science program at Leiden University was already beyond the state of ‘under pressure’.

Thanks to my semester abroad and many fruitful discussions with friends, I have learned to not extend this view to other programs right away. There are still lots of courses and curricula out there that adequately prepare students for careers in their respective fields. Nevertheless, I have heard stories similar to mine from other students, both within and without Leiden University’s Faculty of Science. It is convenient not to talk — or better yet, not to even think — about the consequences of continuous deterioration of education too much. What impact does it have on students’ understanding of their field? What can and should be expected of someone holding a certain degree? What does it mean for the future development of the field?

In my opinion, based on the courses that I followed, the process of obtaining a degree in Computer Science at Leiden University fails at three levels:

• Failure to transfer intended learning outcomes: Not everything that should be learned is taught.
• Ineffective assessment: Not everything that should be learned is tested.
• Inconsistent study load: Not everything that is taught, is learned by all.

Although the university goes to great lengths to collect feedback from students, this is restricted to evaluations of individual courses. While certainly useful at the course level, bigger patterns are not easily noticed. Thus, after my graduation, I wrote a letter to my program’s director of education, in which I discussed these three points in more detail, with concrete examples from my own experience. Even though I am unhappy with the state of the program, I tried to be constructive in my criticism, giving suggestions for improvement where possible and highlighting positive aspects of the program as well. You can read the letter by clicking the button below, but note that it is written in Dutch.

While I haven’t received a response to my critique, I sincerely hope that readers are willing to engage in a discussion about the actual, current quality of higher education. Although such discussions are taking place more and more regarding primary and secondary education (exposed by analyses of children’s performances), I feel that higher education is still largely left out of the debate.

I am well aware that this topic is much more nuanced than I can cover in a single post or letter. I have had thoughts about this for a long time now, yet every new discussion with a friend gives rise to new perspectives, so feel free to reach out to me if you want to discuss this further — I’m always interested in hearing new thoughts.

About the image:
I made this picture (best viewed on desktop screens) during a hike in the Hansta Nature Reserve of Stockholm, when I was there on an exchange. The education at the KTH was quite different from what I was used to in Leiden, and triggered me to think more about the quality of my program.