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Q&A English masters

How is the curriculum structured?
You take two courses per term: two tutorial groups and two lectures per week. How this is structured varies per block. Days and times vary. Schedules are announced two weeks in advance.Is the level of the master programme much different from bachelor's?

How many hours of lecture do you have during a period?
You have a total of 8 contact hours per week: 2 x 2 hours of lecture and 2 x 2 hours of working group (PBL)

How many hours should you study per week?
The advice is to study 32 hours per week. This combined with the 8 contact hours per week (lecture and working group) makes 40 hours per week, just like a regular full-time job so basically.

How many hours of teaching do you have per week? How many contact hours are there per week and how are these spread over the week? On 1 day/multiple days?
The 8 teaching hours are spread over 4 x 2 hours, and the timetables are only released two weeks in advance. So you can't tell at the moment how the hours are distributed per week, but in the 'worst' case, you have to attend 4 days although this doesn't happen often. Usually the hours are allocated efficiently, but we cannot guarantee that. Taking classes online is unfortunately not possible.

Is the master programme actually achievable in one year?
Yes, the master's is structured to be successfully completed within one year. So it is feasible to complete the master's in one year, but many students choose to set aside more time for the thesis and/or internship or by adding extra electives to their programme, causing some study delay. It is, of course, up to you to make that choice.

What is the way of examination?
Examinations are taken collectively by laptop, for which you need to be physically present. In general, these are open questions that require argumentation of the answers.

Information on the pre-master: why and how is it completed?
Not directly admissible to this master's degree? Then we offer the possibility of the pre-master: a preparation programme that bridges the gap between your previous education and the master's programme:

  • For graduates of a university of applied sciences (HBO) or research university (WO) bachelor
  • Starts in September 
  • 1 year programme – 60 ECTS
  • You participate in the Bachelor European Law School
  • Apply before 1 June 2024 for EU/EEA or Switzerland applicants, or 1 May 2024 for non-EU/EEA applicants
  • Gives access to this master’s programme provided at least 50 ECTS have been obtained, including the bachelor essay and master specific course(s)
  • Statutory low tuition fee € 2,530 (excluding materials)

What are the internship opportunities? Is an internship a standard element of the curriculum?
It is possible to do an internship of two consecutive months for 12ECTS or of one month for 6 ECTS (period 3 or 6). For the Dutch-speaking masters, an internship abroad does not match and an internship in the Netherlands is recommended. A student can always contact our faculty's internship coordinator for more information.

Is it advisable to look for a room in Maastricht or is online education also offered?
All courses are offered on-campus, taking classes and working groups online is not possible. The advice is therefore to live near the faculty.

Do you have any tips for searching for a room?
Start looking for a room on time (April/May). There are several Facebook groups such as Rooms/Kamer Zimmer in Maastricht, available rooms are posted on here almost daily. In addition, register with Housing Maastricht. For a one-time fee of €35, you get access to a wide range of rooms. Please note that some student rooms require a one- or two-year membership. So don't wait too long to register. A room costs on average € 600 per month.

Will I get civil effect with this master's programme?
Civil effect only refers to national law - Dutch law in our case. It is always the Order of Advocates of a particular country that grants you civil effect and you get it after completing a BA and MA in Law. If you have not completed a pre-master's programme that is directly linked to our Master's and you are doing a pre-master's programme, then civil effect is only granted to students with a Bachelor's degree in Law, provided they have completed the full pre-master's programme (60ECTS) and completed the Master's programme. Bachelor ELS and Master ELS do not give a civil effect. Bachelor Law and Master ELS combined does, because you study Dutch law in the bachelor and can join the Dutch Order of Advocates (after an internship, of course).

Is there a February entry?
There is no more February intake, all programmes start in September.

Is there a big difference in difficulty between HBO, pre-master and master?
Yes, this is due to several reasons. HBO and University are difficult to compare. HBO is more practical. At HBO you are taken by the hand more, at University a much more independent approach is expected. The latter is especially noticeable in the considerable amount of literature and the degree of self-study. HBO also has a more traditional teaching style (lecturer tells, student listens) while UM uses Problem-Based Learning (PBL), which takes some getting used to.

As for the difference between HBO and pre-master's: this is not so big, especially because you follow second- and third-year Bachelor courses and it is often repetition.

Can the master programmes be combined with a 32-hour job? Is it possible to follow the master's programme part-time?
For our master programmes, there is no official part-time option, but what you can do is 'spread out' the master programme over two years yourself. You then pay full-time tuition fees for two years, but you can organise those two years yourself, so to speak, and combine this master's with another master or job.

Is it possible to combine two master's programmes?
Yes this is possible, see also the answer above.

If I do two master's, what about tuition fees?
As long as you have not yet graduated from one of the two master's programmes, you will only pay one statutory tuition fee for the two master's programmes together per academic year.

Are classes compulsory?
Attending classes is not compulsory but we really do recommend taking the lectures and tutorials for completing the master successfully.