To obtain a double degree, UCM students have to spend a year in Freiburg, while Freiburg's students spend a year in Maastricht. The programme offers students many benefits: it allows them to select courses from the course catalogue of both colleges, Maastricht students can study for an additional year, and they will obtain a German diploma while students from Freiburg will get a Dutch one. This simplifies the transfer to a master's programme in the other country, it also gives them easier access to the labour market there.  

University College Freiburg is the first Liberal Arts & Sciences programme at a major German research university. UCM was actively involved in the creation of the programme and the current academic director, Ursula Glunk, is a former UM employee. Students and staff visit each other every year and the two colleges organise joint conferences. The Double Degree programme is the crown on this intensive collaboration.