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  • Law honours programme (master’s research track)
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• Admissions

Law honours programme (master’s research track)

The Faculty of Law offers a supplementary Law Honours Research Track Programme for its ambitious master’s students. The programme allows master students to, in addition to their regular studies, learn more about conducting academic research. The programme is embedded in the Maastricht Graduate School of Law.

Honours students have the opportunity to specialise in one of the core research fields of the Faculty of Law and write a(n) (extended) master’s thesis on the topic of their choice. The research track enables students to prepare themselves for a future PhD or academic career.

Programme
Meetings/courses for the Law Honours Research Track Programme take place every Wednesday between 16.00-18.00. This honours programme comprises courses related to methodological aspects of legal research such as a course on the foundations of the common law of Europe, on methods of human rights research and on empirical research methods. Next to that, students will learn more about practical research skills such as writing and presentation skills.

Honours students are requested to defend their (extended) master’s thesis within the Graduate School.

Students enrolled in the two-year master’s programme in International Laws can also take part in the honours programme. They can spend their third semester abroad taking courses relevant to their research.

Click here for the programme (pdf).

Study load
Students who have successfully completed the Law Honours Research Track Programme will obtain 18 extra credits with the courses of the Maastricht Graduate School of Law. These extra credits are in addition to the normal study load of 60 credits for the regular master programme. On top of that, students may, in consultation with their supervisor, increase the study load for their master’s thesis with 12 credits. In that case, the thesis should correspond to the size and quality requirements of the first chapter of a PhD dissertation.

Certificate
Students who have successfully completed this honours programme will receive a Law Honours Research Track Programme certificate together with their master’s degree.

Admissions
Each year, a limited number of students may be admitted to the Law Honours Research Track Programme. These students are selected on the basis of their motivation and above-average study results. You can apply for the Law Honours Research Track Programme by submitting a CV, a letter of motivation, an academic transcript and an example of your legal writing (for instance a paper or thesis written at the bachelor’s stage). Applications have to be submitted no later than 11 September 2013 via email:
admissions-law@maastrichtuniversity.nl

After a selection based on the submitted documents, a number of applicants will be invited for a selection interview. These interviews will take place on Wednesday, 18 September 2013 between 16.00-18.00. Invitations for these interviews will be sent no later than 17 September 2013.