Law (Research Master)

Research Master in Law: Independent and critical academic research
Research is important for academic, social, and educational purposes. Moreover, doing research is fascinating and gives people the opportunity to immerse themselves in social issues. The Research Master in Law trains the best students to carry out legal research, thereby enabling them to contribute to solving today’s social problems.

Tilburg University
Tilburg University, founded in 1927, is a fully accredited government-financed university with over 10,000 students, including about 400 international students. Its campus, designed with a compact architectural concept in mind, is set in gently undulating, park-like grounds on a forest edge. Cultural venues and sports opportunities make Tilburg an attractive place to be, with excellent transport links to other European capitals. The university community, therefore, offers you every opportunity to achieve your goals intellectually, professionally, or socially. The university accommodates six faculties: Economics and Business Administration, Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Arts, Philosophy, and Theology. In addition to these faculties, it has a number of well-established research institutes and graduate schools.

Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law was established in 1963, and approximately 2,700 students are enrolled in its law programmes. The Faculty has more than 300 staff members. There are approximately 40 professors, 25 senior lectures, and 150 lecturers and other academic staff. The Faculty Office employs 70 support staff and deals with the general administration, management, and organisation of the teaching and research processes. In both research and education, the Faculty enjoys a strong reputation. The latest SSRN Ranking rated research at Tilburg University as second in Europe, after Cambridge University. For many years now the national Elsevier ranking has rated both research and education either first or second in the Netherlands.

The Research Master in Law is aimed at talented and motivated students wishing to become proficient in legal research by following a top-quality degree programme. For students who have a Bachelor's degree or an undergraduate degree, the programme lasts two years. In addition to obtaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of legal methods, students will also have the opportunity to specialise in one or more legal areas.
Besides the regular two-year Research Master's programme, there is an abridged one-year programme. This programme is intended for students with a Master's degree or a graduate degree. This programme focuses primarily on acquiring research skills.

The Research Master's programme is not only challenging but also very intensive. Every year, a maximum of 25 talented and motivated students with strong analytical skills and good academic record are admitted to the programme.

The programme has five types of courses:

Domain courses (48 ECTS, only for students who apply for the two-year programme)
Through the domain courses, you specialise in one or more fields of law. You normally take these courses together with students from other Master of Law programmes. You compose this package in consultation with your mentor. Methodical courses (18 ECTS)
In these courses, the methods and techniques of academic (legal) research are studied. Through these courses, you develop will the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out high-quality research.

Context courses (12 ECTS)
These courses will stimulate the reflection on jurisprudence and the interdisciplinary study of law.

Theme courses (12 ECTS)
The themes addressed in these courses are related to the specialist areas of the Tilburg Faculty's research centers. As a result, you will personally meet the Faculty researchers and have the opportunity to take a close look at the Faculty’s research projects.

Independent research (30 ECTS)
The programme also offers great potential for independent research. You will be supervised by a researcher experienced in your field of interest.

Each application is assessed individually by the programme coordinator and the admission committee of the Faculty.

In assessing the applications, the following considerations are decisive:

• Candidates must have a university-level degree in law.
• Candidates must have a strong academic record as evidenced, among other things, by their academic results. Candidates are strongly advised to provide evidence of their standing within their class: top 20%, next 20%, average, etc.
• Strong motivation.
• Candidates must evidence a good command of English (with TOEFL or IELTS results or equivalent).
  The minimum score for IELTS is 6.5 (with no component less than 6.0), and TOEFL 577 (233 computer-based test and 90 Internet-based test).
  The TOEFL Institutional Code for Tilburg University is 9860.
  If you are an English native speaker or an EEA citizen who has studied in an English undergraduate programme, an English proficiency test is not required.

Students can apply for admission at any time. If they apply before the dates mentioned below, they will be able to start their studies in September 2008.

• 15 April for all non-EEA applicants requiring a visa*
• 15 May for non-EEA applicants not requiring a visa*
• 15 May for EEA applicants

The Research Master in Law is the first stage of training for young researchers. Students who complete the programme can conduct research at various organisations including universities, government bodies, social and international organisations, and in business and industry.

If, during the programme, a student shows that he/she has the ambition to write a doctoral thesis after completion of the training, this possibility will be investigated. This mainly depends on the student's performance during the programme. If performance is good to outstanding, the student may be appointed as a research assistant for one day a week during the second half of the programme. During this period, the student works on a proposal for a doctoral thesis. If the proposal is good and there are sufficient financial resources, the student may be eligible for a three-year contract as a doctoral researcher.