Master's thesis

In the Master’s thesis, you demonstrate your command of academic skills by:

• Formulating a scientific research question in the legal field.
• Setting up responsible and scientific research.
• Collecting, classifying, analyzing, and evaluating relevant data.
• Drawing defendable conclusions and proposing solutions.
• Presenting your research, conclusions, and solutions clearly and systematically.

All LLM students receive automatic access to the Faculty’s Master’s thesis page in Brightspace. This page contains all the information about the thesis process, rules, and timelines.

The thesis process includes the following compulsory elements:

• Enrol timely in Ocasys.
• Participate in the Thesis class (offered twice a year, available in the schedule generator).
• Attend the Library instruction (organised by the University Library at the start of the academic year).
  Exception: students who completed their LLB at the UG Faculty of Law are exempt.
• Participate in thesis workshops of the Groningen Centre for Legal Skills (not compulsory, but strongly recommended).
• Attend the introduction meeting for your LLM programme.
• Submit your research plan.
• Complete the research and writing process.
• Hand in a draft version of your Master’s thesis as agreed with your supervisor.
• Submit the final version of your thesis on or before the deadline.

Each LLM has its own thesis coordinator:

For academic questions, your supervisor is your first point of contact. For organisational questions, contact your programme’s thesis coordinator or the Faculty thesis coordinator. For planning issues, consult your study advisers.

The Faculty’s Thesis Regulation provides guidelines for:

• Compulsory elements of the thesis process (e.g., Thesis class, Library instruction, introduction meetings).
• Choosing a topic.
• Thesis supervision.
• Thesis size and scope.
• Assessment criteria.
• Submission procedures.

Contact your thesis coordinator or your study advisers for support.