Application graduation

In order to be admitted to graduation, every student must have fulfilled all requirements of the Master’s programme of Political Science.

To graduate you must submit a formal request. Submit the Graduation application form to the Student Services Centre. To make sure your courses and grades are listed correctly on the diploma and diploma supplement, follow the instructions in the webform. 

Examination

The Institute of Political Science expects the highest scholarly effort and achievement from students. Individual courses are examined in the form of written assignments, participation, and/or presentations. Timely completion of degree requirements is expected. The requirements of the programme are met when all courses have been passed successfully and the Master’s thesis has been approved.

Thesis procedure

Students should take into account that their supervisors may take up to three weeks to make an assessment of the final version of the thesis and that supervisors are not available for consultation and assessment through July-August.

For the procedure of writing your thesis, also see the course prospectus of the respective master's programme.

Graduation and receiving your diploma

You can receive your diploma through one of these two procedures:

1. Graduation ceremony
   You can receive your diploma during a graduation ceremony. 

2. Diploma request
   You can pick up your diploma at the Student Services Centre or have your diploma sent to your private address. Please note that the preparation of the diploma will take about 4 – 6 weeks. (For international students only: If you opt for having your diploma posted to you, you do so at your own risk. Leiden University will not be held responsible for items that go missing in the post).

Requirements

• Grades: In order to be admitted to graduation, every student must have fulfilled all requirements of the master programme. This means that all grades, for all courses and thesis, must be known and registered before the end of the academic year (31 August). 
• Thesis: Both supervisors need; a copy;of the final version of the thesis, on paper (hard copy) as well as in digital form. An identical PDF-version of the final thesis must be submitted to the first supervisor as well. This PDF will be uploaded to the publicly accessible Student Repositorium by the Student Services Centre.
• Finances: All financial requirements with the Students Info Centre must be fulfilled. Please use the form on https://leidenuniv.faqtory.nl/questionForm?lang=en or call (+3171 527 8011) to contact the front office for any additional questions.

Also keep in mind that if you do not complete all requirements of the programme by 31 August, you have to re-register and pay for the new academic year which starts on 1 September. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our examination staff at the SSC.

Grading

The Masters-level programmes of Leiden University's Institute of Political Science attract students from a variety of countries. The grading systems of these countries are often quite different from the Dutch system. Given the variety of grading systems, we cannot and do not provide grade translations (just as universities abroad do not provide grades according to the Dutch scale). Grades above 9 are rarely awarded. At Leiden University, the grade of 5.5 does not exist. The Dutch scale should be interpreted as follows:

Cum Laude

Read more about the Cum Laude regulation in the Course and Examination Regulations. Search for article 4.6 in the document 'Rules and Regulations Examination Committee'.

De-registering or changing your registration

If you complete or discontinue your programme at any point during the academic year please make sure you cancel your registration. This is done through Studielink.

Requesting postponement of graduation

If you do not want to graduate yet (e.g. because you are taking additional courses or an internship that you want to be mentioned on your final transcript), you can request postponement of graduation. To do so, please fill out this form.

Conditions of postponement

The maximum duration of postponement you can request is until you have been registered on your study programme for the official programme duration plus one additional year. For Bachelor’s programmes this is 3+1 years, for most Master’s programmes this is 1+1 year. If you are more than a year behind in your studies your request will not be granted.

Official regulations on postponing graduation

The regulations and agreements concerning the postponement of graduation have been laid down by Leiden University Executive Board in the Leiden University Regulations on Postponing Graduation.