Programme

The Research Master program distinguishes itself from other master’s programmes with its small-scale character. The majority of our courses are only available for the research master’s students, fostering an environment with individual attention and active participation. The intensive nature of the program is also reflected in the Research internship, in which you collaborate on scientific research together with a supervising professor.

The curriculum within the English Research Master can be divided into: domain courses, methodological courses, theoretical courses and courses in which you practice research.

The methodological courses offer an introduction to the main methods in legal research. These are for example Introduction to Empirical Legal Research, Comparative Legal Research and Law as a Research Area.

The theoretical courses reflect on the meaning of the law. This is discussed in courses like Legal Cultures and Fundamental Legal Concepts.

During Research Seminars Digital Society and EU Regulatory Private Law and throughout the research internship, the students actively engage in the research process. They are tasked with formulating a well-defined research question, constructing a robust conceptual framework, collecting and analyzing data, and proficiently presenting their findings through both written reports and oral presentations.

All these courses are supplemented by six domain courses, which provide the depth in a specific area of law that you find interesting. From all regular masters you choose the courses in the area of law in which you want to specialize. You can choose courses from the existing master programmes: European Law School, Tax Law, International and European Law, Dutch Law, Notarial Law, Law and Governance and IT Law. However, you can also choose to take courses from different masters or at another legal faculty in the Netherlands or abroad. The condition is that your domain courses form a coherent programme. About the coherence of the chosen domain courses a reflection (domain portfolio) should be written.

Study Abroad?

• Study abroad is optional
• For an average of 20 weeks
• Maximum 30 EC

Part of the domain courses can also be taken abroad. Approval for this must be requested from the examination board in advance. The Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen has exchange agreements with more than 50 universities worldwide.

Programme

All courses are 6 ECTS unless otherwise indicated.

'Domain' refers to a course from a regular master's program. You will be asked to compile a 'domain portfolio' on the chosen courses, reflecting on the relationship between the domain courses and the research question that arises from them.