Graduation

The diploma and the diploma supplement contain personal details such as your name and place of birth as registered in OSIRIS. So make sure your details are up-to-date.

Please check in OSIRIS whether you are enrolled for the correct Master’s programme, for example in your Study Progress Overview.

Every last working day of the month the Board of Examiners sends you a graduation notification via email.

An example:

You have completed your thesis in early June and on 14 June you see that the grade has been registered in OSIRIS. Since this is your last grade all results for the LLM are now registered in OSIRIS and your Study Progress Overview indicates that you have fulfilled all requirements of the LLM. The Board of Examiners will then establish that you are eligible to graduate on 30 June 2020 and after the Board gives its final approval your official graduation date is 30 June 2020.

The graduation procedure is completed digitally. It is therefore of great importance to check your university email, even on vacation. If you know you will have no internet connection, please make sure someone else completes the procedure for you by filling out the graduation form. Please note that the rules and deadlines about graduation are strict.

Every last working day of the month the Board of Examiners checks whether students have fulfilled all requirements of the LLM. This is the case if on the first page of the Study Progress Overview all programme details are followed by a ‘yes’.

No notification?

Do you think you have fulfilled the requirements on the date of notification of graduation but didn’t you receive an email? Please immediately inform the Board of Examiners before 13.00 hours via BoardofExaminers.Law@uu.nl.

Your graduation date is the last working day of the month in which the Board of Examiners sends you an email informing you about your study progress (see schedule verification date/graduation date). The Board of Examiners will check whether you have fulfilled the requirements of the programme. If so, the Board of Examiners will register the date of graduation in OSIRIS. The Board always checks whether you are eligible for a degree classification. The official rules for the classification ‘cum laude’ can be found in the Education and Examination Regulation for the LLM (OER). Moreover, the Board of Examiners determines whether you fulfill the requirements for an issuance of the certificate of ‘civiel effect'.

No later than the end of the month following your graduation date, the Board of Examiners will send a confirmation to your student email address which states your graduation date and confirms whether you will collect your diploma or attend the graduation ceremony.

If you want to graduate please return the graduation form within two weeks, unless the email stated a shorter period (sometimes as short as 24 hours). Your options are to collect your diploma at the Student Information Desk Law or to participate in the following official graduation ceremony of your Master’s programme.

Please note: if you would like to pursue one of the programmes of European Law after another, you have to request postponement of graduation for the first programme from the Board of Examiners until the second programme is completed as well. See for more information ‘Postponement of graduation’.

Collect diploma

Please indicate on the graduation form that you wish to collect your diploma. As soon as you receive an email that your diploma is ready you can collect it at the Student Information Desk Law. 
Pick up your diploma only after you have received a message from the exam administration that your diploma is ready, if you have not received a message, your diploma is not yet ready. Do not forget to bring your ID.

If someone else is to pick up your diploma you have to let us know in advance by sending an email to (studiepunt.rechten@uu.nl) with the name of the person who's picking up your diploma.

International students

If you are an international student that no longer lives in the Netherlands, you can have your diploma sent to your home address abroad. We provide this service by means of a courier, since we issue diploma’s only once and using a courier is more secure than the regular postal services. If you are interested in this service, please contact us at BoardofExaminers.Law@uu.nl so we can inform you about the specifics of the arrangement.

Graduation ceremony

If you want to participate in the graduation ceremony, you are required to answer a number of questions on the graduation form (which includes, for example, a summary of your thesis). You are welcome to invite family and friends to the ceremony though numbers may be limited due to the capacity of the room and safety regulations.

Schedule for the master's graduation ceremonies

Graduation ceremonies usually take place in the Aula of the Academiegebouw. Please note that a graduation ceremony might be cancelled when there are not enough graduates.

If you want to postpone your graduation, you must submit a request for deferment to the Board of Examiners within 14 days of the graduation notification email.

In 2023-2024 you can apply for a postponement if you meet the following criteria:

• you will fulfill an administrative position that is eligible for an administrative grant from Utrecht University
• you will start a second programme (European Law, European Criminal Justice in a Global Context, Law and Technology in Europe) within the degree programme of European Law (postponement of graduation for the first programme is needed until also the graduation requirements for the second programme have been met).
• you will be completing an internship in a subsequent academic year (for this purpose, postponement of graduation is needed until the month of September) or course abroad;
• you will start another Master’s degree programme at another university in the Netherlands and do not want to pay the institutional tuition fee. Please note the Board of Examiners can decide on postponement of graduation but not on matters regarding tuition fee. If you do not have the Dutch nationality, please inquire about tuition fees before making any plans. Postponement of the graduation is needed up to and including the month in which the second Master’s degree programme starts.
• you will take supplementary courses to meet the requirements of 'civil effect' .

Please note you can graduate within the same academic year without disenrolment as a student at Utrecht University, which means in that situation it is not necessary to postpone your graduation for e.g. an internship that requires enrollment as a student but is no part of your Master’s.

If you have several reasons to postpone your exam, notify the Board of Examiners in time. Reversal of graduation is not possible. Please note that postponing the examination date is only possible for the duration of one academic year at the longest.

Would you like to pursue one of the other Master’s programmes of European Law? Pay attention to the following:

The Master’s programmes European Law, European Criminal Justice in a Global Context, Law and Technology in Europe and Law and Sustainability in Europe of Utrecht University all are registered under one degree programme European Law (CROHO-code 60602). If you would like to pursue one of these programmes after another, you have to request postponement of graduation for the first programme from the Board of Examiners until the second programme is completed as well. You have to submit a request for postponing your graduation for the first programme while being enrolled for the first programme. You postpone the graduation for the first programme until also the graduation requirements for the second programme have been met. 

It is not possible to obtain a diploma in one of these programmes after having graduated already in a programme of European Law. It is only possible to graduate once in a programme registered under the CROHO-code of European Law.

Granted

The Board of Examiners will send you a notification of approval also informing you about the deferred graduation date. You have to stay enrolled until the deferred graduation date. On this date you will receive a new graduation notification by email.
Please note that you have to be enrolled as a student at Utrecht University on the deferred graduation date.

Rejected

The Board of Examiners will notify you if your request for deferment is rejected. You will graduate on the date mentioned in the original graduation notification.

When you have not requested postponement or filled out the online form within two weeks, the Board of Examiners will automatically process your graduation. Attending the graduation ceremony will no longer be possible. You will graduate and receive a message when your diploma is ready to be collected at the Student Information Desk Law.

If you wish to end your studies following the completion of your study programme, you can disenrol from the university the month after the graduation date. Please note that on the graduation date you have to be registered at Utrecht University as a student! You do not have to be enrolled as a student on the date of the graduation ceremony.

For more information about (dis)enrolment or (ending) the study grant from DUO, see Student Services.