Applying for admission

Applicants with non-Dutch qualifications

After starting your application in Studielink , applicants with non-Dutch qualifications will continue the application process in our Progress Portal.

Please note that for the 2026-2027 admissions round, all applicants with non-Dutch qualifications will have to pay an application fee of €100. More specific details about the application fee can be found here. Application files/documents will only begin being reviewed after the application fee has been received.

After submitting their application in Studielink , an applicant will receive an email with their student number*, instructions on how to set up their UG Student Account and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and instructions to log into the Progress Portal to upload their application documents. These instructions to log into the Progress Portal are included in subsequent emails about the application fee and their UG email account as well. Once logged into the portal, the applicant selects the correct application and is then instructed to upload specific application documents. Once all mandatory application documents have been uploaded in their respective slots, the Admissions Office will be notified that an application is ready to be reviewed. A significant difference compared to the previous system is that the applicant does not have to click ‘submit application’ as a final step in the process, but simply has to upload all mandatory documents in the portal.

*Please note that (re-applying) applicants that already have a student number will also receive an email with instructions to log into the Progress Portal.

If applicants do not receive any notifications, or have questions about your application, please contact the Admissions Office through this form, as something might have gone wrong.

If you are experiening problems with starting your application in Studielink, please contact Student Information and Administration.

As the procedure is a little bit complicated because of our obligation to use Studielink, you can find instruction and more information on the exact application procedure here.

Instructions regarding the matching process can be found here. If ever any questions about the matching procedure, please contact matching.llb rug.nl

Applicants with Dutch qualifications

After starting your application in Studielink, applicants with Dutch qualifications other than the VWO-diploma, can upload their application documents on a special form here. Please note this form can have extra questions/fields appear based on answers to previous questions.

If you are experiening problems with starting your application in Studielink, please contact Student Information and Administration.

In case of questions about your application, please contact our International Office at llb rug.nl.

Are you a HBO student that wants to apply to the International and European Law LLB programme? Please read here.

Instructions regarding the matching process can be found here. If ever any questions about the matching procedure, please contact matching.llb rug.nl

Studying law on a more abstract and conceptual basis will require much more from students, which means that students will need above average talents to succeed in our programme. Applicants can apply for admission if they have completed, or are about to complete, their pre-university education. All applications for admission to the bachelor programme will be assessed on an individual basis. The admission procedure includes evaluating academic credentials, which in most cases are the pre-university secondary school diploma(s) and grade list.

All applicants have to hand in the following documents to assess their admissibility to our LLB programme:

• A pre-university diploma, including transcript of studies;
• The transcript of studies should reflect a GPA (Grade Point Average) equivalent to 7.0/10 (Dutch grading scale);
• Proof of English proficiency;

Applicants are also required to complete our matching activity in order to register and enroll for the programme, if deemed admissible.

It is explained below what these requirements fully entail. You can find out more about the specific documents accepted with regards to the requirements here.

Please note: we cannot provide speculative evaluations or decisions of admissiblity to email questions or questions submitted via our information request form.

1. A secondary/higher education diploma

The pre-university diploma satisfies the entry requirements for admission to LLB programme in Groningen if:

• You hold an International/European Baccalaureate (IB/EB);
• You hold a secondary school or pre-university diploma that is considered by the Admissions Board to be equivalent to the Dutch University Preparatory Certificate (VWO) (this may include country specific education requirements).

Applicants must ensure that they send a certified copy of their degree certificate(s) and certified transcripts of their pre-university records along with their application. If the certificates or transcripts are not in English or Dutch a certified translation into English must also be provided. Applicants who are in their final year of studies may apply by submitting a statement of enrollment with a predicted graduation date and transcripts of subjects passed so far.  

2. GPA

On top of providing the Admissions Board with transcripts and diplomas, students should have an equivalent minimum GPA (Grade Point Average) of 7.0/10 (Dutch grading scale). For applicants with a non-EU/EEA qualification, this minimum GPA is mandatory. Grade Point Average is the average of all the marks of your pre-university education. To note, a score of 6 is a passing grade in the Netherlands. *Please look here to clarify your specific country or diploma qualification requirements.

3. Proficiency in English

Students are exempted from proving proficiency in English if they are a native speaker and have completed secondary education, or have already completed a bachelor programme, in one of the following countries: USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Malta.

Applicants who do not fulfill the aforementioned requirement(s) for exemption must provide adequate evidence of proficiency in English. The following tests are accepted:

• (International) TOEFL (iBT*) score of at least 100, all sections sufficient (so at least 21 on each section) to be sent in through our institutional code 7191
• (Academic) IELTS Academic (British Council’s English Language Test)**: score of at least 7.0, all sections sufficient (so at least 6.0 on each section);
• LanguageCert Academic: score of at least 75 overall, and at least 65 on all sections.
• Pearson PTE Academic: score of at least 71 overall, at least 54 on listenging and speaking, and at least 62 on reading and writing.
• Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE, Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English);
• Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE, Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English)

* TOEFL MyBest Scores are not considered in the Admissions procedure.
** IDP IELTS can be considered as long as its the academic version.

The test scores cannot be older than two years.

Applicants can make a request for exemption from taking one of the English proficiency tests mentioned above under certain conditions:

• IB students: students that obtained their international Baccalaureate diploma from a school of which the sole medium of instruction is English can be exempted from taking an English proficiency test as mentioned above. Alternatively, students that have passed Higher Level English A or B (first language) or Standard Level English A can also be exempted from taking an English proficiency test as mentioned above. If students have passed English B at Standard level, they will have to have scored at least 5 (out of 7) points on English to be considered for exemption. On top of that, their total IB-score should be 35. These students are also allowed to present an English proficiency test score in all cases.
• EB students: students that have obtained their European
  Baccalaureate diploma with English (L1 or L2) can be exempt from taking an English proficiency test as mentioned above.
• GCE students: students that have passed at least three A-levels can be exempted from taking an English proficiency test as mentioned above.
• Maltese Advanced Level students: Applicants who have obtained at least 3 Maltese Advanced levels (A-levels) from the MATSEC examination board.

• South Africa: South African students who have completed a Bachelor’s degree at one of the accredited SA Universities fully taught and assessed in English.

All students should always apply for such exemptions if applicable. However, it is ultimately the Admissions Board who decides on these matters. If unsure whether you meet an exemption as listed above, applicants with non-Dutch qualifications should contact the admissions office directly through this form for clarification.

Details of the TOEFL test can be obtained from ETS on their website. Our TOEFL institution code is 7191. Please mention this on your answer sheet when you are taking the test. Details of the British Council Test are available from the British Council Office in your country or from their website. The test scores cannot be older than two years.

Please note that the English language proficiency tests are not required at the time of application but can be submitted at a later date. Applicants with non-Dutch qualifications should contact the admissions office directly through this form for further information regarding final deadlines for submitting proficiency tests and include your application number and name in your email. Applicants with Dutch qualifications should contact llb rug.nl

4.  Matching activity (online matching class)

For the 2026-2027 admissions intake, there is planned to be multiple rounds for applicants to participate in the matching activity. You can find more information about these rounds here (please check that the information is specifically referring to the 2026-2027 admissions round).

Please note:

• Completing the matching activity is required in order to register and enroll in the programme, when deemed admissible to the programme. Applicants who complete the matching activity but are not admitted to the programme cannot enroll in the programme.
• Applicants may still begin the application process and submit all other required documents before the online matching class is offered.

If ever any question about the matching activity process, please send an email to matching.llb rug.nl for more information.  To note, the admissions office does not administer the matching activity and cannot advise about this process - so please contact the matching email address if questions.

If you are experiening problems with starting your application in Studielink, please contact Student Information and Administration . If you have submitted an application and have further questions about processing, applicants with non-Dutch qualifications should contact the Admissions Officers through this form and applicants with Dutch qualifications should contact the International Office at llb rug.nl . Questions specifically about the online matching class requirement can be sent to matching.llb rug.nl .

The application in Studielink must be initiated before May 1st 2026, and all essential application documents for an admission decision (conditional or full) must be submitted before this date. Please note that the English language proficiency tests are not required at the time of application but can be submitted at a later date. Applicants with non-Dutch qualifications should contact the admissions officers directly through this form for further information regarding final deadlines for submitting proficiency tests. Applicants with Dutch qualifications should contact the International Office at llb rug.nl.

The admission procedure can take up to six weeks. All applicants should take this into consideration when they are dealing with the various scholarship deadlines. The responsibility for making such deadline fully lies with the student.

NB: students, whose participation is dependent upon receipt of a scholarship from any organization, should be aware that they first have to be admitted to the programme before they can apply for a scholarship. The deadlines of scholarship programmes may vary.

If you have submitted an application and have further questions about processing, applicants with non-Dutch qualifications should contact the Admissions Office through this form and applicants with Dutch qualifications should contact the International Office at llb rug.nl .

Due to the number of inquiries we receive about transferring credits into the LLB programme, we have decided to include relevant information for those thinking about doing so.

To note, the structure of the LLB programme in International and European Law is set so that specific courses must be taken to satisfy the requirements for graduation. There are no electives in the course except for those courses students pursue during their exchange period in the 3rd year. What this means, is that to transfer credits from another course at a different institution, that course would have to be similar, if not identical, to a required course in our programme in order to replace your required participation in our course. Also, we use the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) and so the credits you intend to transfer into Groningen need to be similar in value.

As we do not have a formal transfer system in place, we instead work with exemptions for separate courses. This means that an application must still be made during the admissions round and an applicant must still start the programme from the beginning. If admitted, the student can make a request for course exemption(s). If you would like to request exemption(s) from a course(s) in the LLB programme, you will have to send us the following official information:

• the name(s) of the course(s) you have taken and official recognition of completion of the course(s);
• the number of credits that were awarded to each course separately;
• the course description(s) in full, and in English;
• the literature that was used for the course(s);
• the level of the course(s) (in which year it was taught);
• how many hours per week the course(s) took.

If you can provide us with that information, we can evaluate if any exemptions from our courses are possible in the LLB programme.
As a general rule: courses need to be similar in size (number of ECTS), level (research university level) and content.

Before sending in a request for exemption, it is very important to understand that as we are teaching law in English and our own system is Dutch law (we also teach in Dutch) we do not teach substantive and formal national laws, but rather concepts of law, etc. Hence, it is quite unlikely that you have had a similar course at the university/institution from where you are transferring credits from, especially if in another country.

Nevertheless, if you are interested to transfer credits for exemption of a course in the LLB, please contact our Study Advisers at LLB rug.nl with the required information above.