Programme

If you did not complete a Law degree at research university level, but want to study an LLM at the UG, you can apply for a pre-LLM. If you have not yet applied, but want to know what your options are, visit our pre-LLM page.

Your programme depends on your previous education and is related to the LLM you wish to attend afterwards. The programme is specifically designed to:

• Bridge the gap in level if you have completed a university of applied science (‘HBO’) Law degree previously

• Bridge the lack of law knowledge if you have completed a non-law research university degree previously

 This is also the reason why the programmes are fixed, without optional courses.

You can find all programmes on Ocasys.

In the pre-LLM, you will fill knowledge gaps in the legal field of your future LLM and related areas. This is also why switching LLMs after a designated pre-LLM is usually not possible.

You will learn to think academically, solve legal issues and develop your legal reasoning. The pace and complexity might be different than in your previous programme. After completion of the pre-LLM, you will be fully prepared for your LLM!

In your pre-LLM, we will offer education mainly through lectures. These lectures can vary from being mostly one-way, to lectures with more interaction, requiring more preparation. Some courses have a working group, but not all. The working groups offered apply the theoretical framework from the lectures to cases. This not only to give you a better understanding of the theoretical framework, but also engages you more with the materials and teaches you to look at the world from a lawyer’s perspective. If you want to take the most out of the lectures and working groups, we strongly recommend that you read the literature for that that week before the lectures.

In the exams you will mainly be presented with case-based legal questions, so that you can demonstrate that you understand the law and also know how to apply it in specific cases. You will encounter few, if any, knowledge-based questions in the exams. In some cases, the examinations will be offered as an open book exam, to mimic the solving of cases in professional practice (so-called authentic assessment).

A research seminar will be part of the curriculum of your pre-LLM. 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. Some assignments might involve groupwork.

The aim of the use of the teaching methods ‘lecture’ and ‘working group’ is to equip you with the skills and mindset you will need in your professional career:

• During the lectures, you will learn how to listen to a comprehensive and sometimes detailed story, from which you can extract the key issues and relevant information. This skill is of great importance when you deal with clients in the future or have to respond to the legal team of your client’s opponent during negotiations.
• In working groups (and the exams), you will be applying course material to cases. In any legal job you will need to apply the law to specific cases, which requires you to identify the facts relevant to that particular case.

The idea is that, as a student, you should be able to work more and more independently the closer you get to the professional world; for this reason, working groups will not be offered for every course.

Some courses will involve group work. This will prepare you for a future career when you will have to work in a team.

Are you curious about which courses are part of your pre-LLM or how the courses are structured? Check out Ocasys below or contact your study adviser for personal advice.