Course units

General

All first year LLB students (propaedeutic students) are registered at the start of the academic year for the so-called Workshops Starting your Academic Career (SYAC). The SYAC workshops are meant to ease the transition from high school to university. The SYAC workshop will deal with several topics with regard to study skills of the first year students. The small size of the group (half your working group) will accommodate getting to know your peers.

Mentors

Students are supervised by mentors (advanced Law students). These mentors will help students get acquainted to all study related subjects Law students will face. The mentor is also, as are the study advisers of the International Office, available for students to pose questions to.

Last update 13-7-2022

General

The Research Colloquium aims to:
a. improve the writing and communication skills;
b. deepen the research skills;
c. add to the academic formation.

Students need to write and present their bachelor theses; they are expected to work independently but under the supervision of their supervisor. Students will formulate an academically relevant research question, set up a research plan, collect, analyse and evaluate relevant information and data, and formulate conclusions based on the research conducted. Research results have to be clearly presented in a research paper and orally presented and defended in front of lecturers and fellow students. Students will be evaluated on their research and presentation skills.

Bachelor concluding course unit

The Research Colloquium is the bachelor-concluding course unit within the LLB programme International and European Law. This course is therefore only open to students who are in the final stages of this LLB programme.

Requirements

You can participate in the Research Colloquium when you have obtained at least 90 ECTS including all first year courses. These credits need to be available in Progress.

The Board of Examiners can deviate from this rule at the request of a student in case of extraordinary circumstances.

For more information, please check Ocasys.

Enrolment

More information about the enrolment procedure can be found here.

Last update: 13-7-2022

General

A seminar is an educational form in which academic and legal skills are being dealt with. It has a research-like set-up. You will be conducting research, do assignments, hold presentations, and write papers. It is a training in academic thinking, which, after a thorough analysis has been made, leads to a (creative) solution of a legal question. This solution should be presented clearly and hold all possible arguments.

Skills

The following academic skills will be trained:
• logical reasoning, arguing, creative thinking, analysing problems, making connections;
• verbal skills: argumentation and formulating;
• communicative skills: communicating, presenting and persuading, listening, reading.

The legal skills include:
• handling a legal perspective;
• adequate usage of the descriptive and prescriptive aspects;
• understanding and applying legal texts;
• finding and applying jurisprudence/case law.

Binding enrolment

Enrolment in a seminar is compulsory and binding.

Enrolment will lead to a result in all cases; this could be a pass or fail grade after full participation in the seminar or a fail grade when you have participated insufficiently/quit the seminar.

The Board of Examiners can deviate from the above at the request of a student, based on special circumstances.

Advice

For more information, please check Ocasys.

Enrolment

The International Office will enrol all LLM students for the compulsory seminar of their programme.

Last update: 13-7-2022

General

Every master programme is concluded by the writing of a Master's thesis. In this Master's thesis, a student should show his/her command of academic skills in such a way that he/she, with the knowledge provided during the programme, is able to:

• formulate a scientific phrasing in the legal field;
• set up a research in a responsible scientific manner;
• assemble, classify, analyse, correlate and value the relevant data;
• draw relevant conclusions on the basis of the conducted research and to formulate defendable solutions;
• reproduce the research, the conclusions and solutions in a clear and orderly manner.

The study load of the Master's thesis is arranged for in the Teaching and Examination Regulations of your programme and can also be found in the Thesis Regulation.

Thesis enrolment and compulsory elements

In order for all students to have all necessary information about writing a Master’s thesis, all students are required to enrol for the Master’s thesis writing process in the semester before they start the actual research. There are two starting moments for the Master’s thesis writing process each academic year. The enrolment and writing periods are as follows:

• Start per 1 February: enrolment in enrolment period block 2 (October/November)
• Start per 1 September: enrolment in enrolment period block 4 (March/April)

The Master’s thesis writing process consists of several elements:

• participate in the Thesis class;
• participate in the Library instruction;
• participate in the introduction meeting per LLM programme;
• participate in the library workshop per programme.

The Thesis class is offered twice a year and can be found in the list of courses available in the schedule generator. At the start of each academic year, the International Office arranges for all students to participate in a library instruction. Only students who have taken their bachelor’s degree at the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen can be exempt from this library instruction.

Students will have to stick to all deadlines in the Thesis writing process to be able to finish their Master’s thesis within the stated time. The time lines per starting moment are set.

Time line starting moment 1 February

Time line starting moment 1 September

The thesis writing process takes careful planning. Feel free to contact a study adviser at the International Office to help you plan.

Please be aware that the LLM Governance and Law in Digital Society has a Thesis Project for 20 ECTS and as such does not follow the timelines mentioned above. Separate information about the Thesis Project will be provided by the Thesis Coordinator of the programme.

Thesis coordinators

Each LLM programme has its own thesis coordinator:

• Energy and Climate Law: Prof. Dr E. Woerdman
• European Law in a Global Context:Prof. Dr R.A. Wessel
• Global Criminal Law: Dr W. Geelhoed
• Governance and Law in Digital Society: Dr B. Brink
• International Commercial Law: to be announced
• International Human Rights Law: Dr A.G. Hallo de Wolf
• Public International Law: Dr A.G. Hallo de Wolf

Thesis Regulations

The Faculty has set Thesis Regulation which amongst others hold guidelines for thesis writing and information about:

• The compulsory elements of the thesis writing process, e.g. Thesis class, Library instruction, introduction meeting per programme, etc.;
• Choosing a topic;
• Thesis supervision;
• The size;
• The assessment;
• The way of handing in the thesis, etc.

Paper

A student can choose to write a paper instead of taking an optional course. All arranged for above is not applicable to such a paper. Please contact a lecturer with a supervision request if you wish to write such a paper. The paper should at least be 3 ECTS and can be 7 ECTS maximum. The Thesis Regulation indicates which articles are applicable to the writing of a paper.

Last update: 13-7-2022

General

Law in Practice is a collective name for all activities, either inside or outside the Faculty, which allow you in some way to put law or legal science in practice, get in touch with the labour market,and practise important skills according to the labour market. This could e.g. be done by taking up an internship, participation in a Law Clinic, participation in Moot Courts, etc. More information can be found on the Careers Services Law website and in Ocasys (bachelor and master).

Awarding credits

Only the course units which appear in the overview in Ocasys (bachelor and master) can be awarded with ECTS.

Rules applied when including Law in Practice course units on your list of courses:

• In order to be awarded ECTS for a Law in Practice course unit, the course unit must have prior approval of the Board of Examiners via de graduation process approval in Progress. You will also have to, if applicable for your specific Law in Practice course unit, fulfil the requirements arranged for in the Internship Regulation.
• Your job cannot be registered as an internship.
• Participation in a Law in Practice module can lead to the awarding of 9 ECTS maximum. These ECTS are always extracurricular though, so on top of the required 180 ECTS of your LLB programme or 60 ECTS of your LLM programme.
• If you are participating in more than one internship or write more than one paper (or a combination thereof), these cannot be dealing with the same topic.
• The same activity cannot be part of several lists of courses.

Contact persons

Overview Faculty contact persons Internships.

Please check Ocasys for the coordinators of the Law in Practice course units.

Last update: 11-01-2023

General

It is recommended to take up an internship during your programme. An internship can help you choose your career path and provides you with relevant work experience which is considered to be very important in job application rounds,

An appropriate moment to take up an internship would e.g. be in the final year of your Bachelor’s degree programme or in your Master’s degree programme. To help you choose an internship and consider the options for your career after your programme, we have made a website which presents you with all information in clear steps:

• Self-analysis
• Exploration internships and labour market
• Decision-making
• Action
• Reflection

These steps will entice you to think about your career options and choices and help you find an internship that is suitable for you..

Faculty internship coordinator / Career Coach

Every programme has an internship coordinator. For general questions about internships you can also contact the Faculty internship coordinator. If you would some help in searching for and/or choosing an appropriate internship, the Faculty’s Career Coach is also available for students.

Internship Regulation

The Faculty has an Internship Regulation which holds amongst others the guidelines with regard to duration of the internship, the internship supervision, the approval of internships, secrecy, and insurances.

Approval and registration of result

All internships are extracurricular. They can however be part of your degree certificate. If you wish the internship to appear on your diploma supplement as extracurricular course unit, you need to have your internship approved by the Board of Examiners. In addition, the programme internship coordinator should approve your internship before its start. After completion of the internship, the internship will be assessed by the programme internship coordinator, based on the internship report and the assessment by the internship provider.

Formal approval

The internship coordinator of your programme needs to approve your internship before it starts. The internship needs to be formally approved. You need to meet the formal demands for the internship and final report, as arranged for in the Internship Regulation. Next to this, you need to apply for approval from the Board of Examiners.

Combination with a paper

An internship and a paper cannot be dealing with the same topic. This also goes for two internships and two papers when taken in two different programmes. Within a programme, an activity can only lead to the award of ECTS once.

Internships in Gradleaders Career Center

The internships which are offered to the Faculty are offered in Gradleaders Career Center. This information can be found on the Student Portal. Please click the tab ‘Career’.

Gradleaders Career Center

The tab 'Career' in the Student Portal offers you an overview of some of the career events and vacancies which can be interesting for you and are offered via the Faculty. In order to allow you to properly search the complete list, we advise you to login to the underlying system in which all this information is stored. You can do so by clicking ‘Student Login’. You can find interesting career events and career activities, job offers, internships, (free) workshops in the field of personal development, networking and the writing of a good CV and cover letter.

GoingGlobal

You will find internships in the Netherlands and abroad in the tab Career on the Student Portal under the heading GoingGlobal.

Last update: 13-7-2022

General

If you are interested in a study period abroad within your programme, you can contact the Faculty’s International OfficeLaw. General information can be found on the webpage. The International Office organises an information session in November for students interested in going abroad as part of their studies.

Registration / Deadline

The deadline for registration depends on your destination. You can find more information on the website. It might still be possible to have a spot assigned to you after the deadline. If you are interested, please contact the International Office.

Which courses

LLB students
The study period abroad in the LLB programme International and European Law is scheduled for the first semester of year 3. LLB students are allowed to take any law course, which is not part of the LLB programme and some non-law courses which are related to the programme (e.g. criminology, international relations, political Science, etc.). Please be aware that at least 25 ECTS out of the 30 ECTS should be law credits. The characterisation of the courses is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners.

LLM students
It is also possible for LLM students to go abroad. This will usually be on top of their programme in Groningen, as an extracurricular addition to the LLM programme. This will lead to a study delay in most cases. Optional courses can be taken abroad, as long as they are within the scope of the programme in question. Other extra-curricular courses can be accepted as long as they are law courses.

Please be aware: the Board of Examiners does not accept any language courses as part of the law degree. Language courses can therefore be taken, but can only appear as extra-curricular courses on the degree certificate.

More information about courses can be found on the website.

Approval of courses

All courses need to be approved by the Board of Examiners. This can be done by filling in the correct online form:

Approval form courses abroad LLB students

Approval form courses abroad LLM students

Approval form courses abroad students of Dutch-taught programmes

Registration of results

Results obtained will be registered in Progress as separate courses, provided that the courses are approved by the Board of Examiners. .

Scholarship

More information about scholarships can be found on the website.

Last update 13-7-2022