You can update and adjust your masterplan as often as you like during your studies. Before graduation, you have to hand in your final, definitive masterplan with all the components you followed. The Board of Examiners will check your masterplan against the rules in the OER appendix. This page details how to prepare your masterplan for graduation.
After completion of the MSc programme students will receive their diploma. However, graduation requires some planning, starting at least two months before the desired graduation date! It is the student's own responsibility to keep track of all their grades (courses and research projects) and make sure everything is registered correctly in uSis and MyStudyMap.
MSc programme degrees are handed out at the graduation ceremony. Graduation ceremonies are scheduled on the first Tuesday of almost every month. The ceremony lasts about 30 minutes per student and is held in the Faculty room at the Academiegebouw. The student can invite their family and friends. The ceremony comprises a 5-10 minute presentation by the student about their major research project and a short questioning by the graduation committee, after which the student will receive the official documents and signs the graduation book of the faculty. After the ceremony, the student can sign their name in the 'zweetkamertje', as is the tradition for students finishing their studies at Leiden University.
You should start your graduation request at least 6 weeks before your certification date. So a proposed certification date of X means starting your graduation procedure before X - 6 weeks and handing in your final grades no later than X. In the table below you can find the corresponding first possible ceremony option for this date.
| Final grade in by: | Certification date: | Start procedure no later than: | First possible ceremony date: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 2023 | 31 Oct 2023 | 19 Sep 2023 | 5 Dec 2023 |
| 30 Nov 2023 | 30 Nov 2023 | 19 Oct 2023 | 6 Feb 2024 |
| 22 Dec 2023 | 22 Dec 2023 | 17 Nov 2023 | 6 Feb 2024 |
| 31 Jan 2024 | 31 Jan 2024 | 20 Dec 2023 | 5 Mar 2024 |
| 29 Feb 2024 | 29 Feb 2024 | 18 Jan 2024 | 2 Apr 2024 |
| 29 Mar 2024 | 29 Mar 2024 | 16 Feb 2024 | 7 May 2024 |
| 30 Apr 2024 | 30 Apr 2024 | 19 Mar 2024 | 4 Jun 2024 |
Are you interested in the MSc Chemistry or MSc Life Science & Technology programme?
Find out more about the programmes, career prospects & how to apply.
