Mentor & masterplanner

At the start of the programme, all admitted students must be registered at Leiden University and in Studielink as an MSc student. Admitted students are invited to group intake sessions with the study adviser Hilde Zwaan. Students with personal circumstances that may need extra attention or facilities (e.g. dyslexia) are advised to make a private appointment, especially when these circumstances may affect their concentration or their ability to study.

More information on how to make an appointment with the study adviser.

Role mentor (versus study adviser; specific questions versus general)

Every student has a staff mentor. The programme helps the students select a mentor in the first semester of their first year. With their mentor, they can discuss specific questions concerning courses or research projects. If they are interested in doing research projects abroad or at a company, their mentor can help with their network to find a suitable lab. In general, students will conduct their major research project under supervision of their mentor. If their research interest changes over time, they can either choose a different mentor or have a different supervisor of their main research project. A list of the potential mentors can be found on the LIC website. All students are free to choose any mentor with the appropriate expertise in the chosen programme/research area; the lists given for ‘LST’, ‘Chemical Biology’ and ‘Energy & Sustainability’ only serve as guidance to students who do not know where to start. When a mentor accepts this role, the student and mentor together will compose a tailor-made study programme.

The study adviser supports the mentor by making sure each student has a mentor and talks to them regularly (at least twice a year). In addition, the study adviser can support students with personal circumstances that affect their study, give advice about scheduling the programme components and mediate in conflicts.

In the academic year 2021-22, all students are also supported by a student mentor in groups of about 12 students. The student mentors are all second-year students from our own MSc programmes, so they are very familiar with the programme and the choices their group members have to make. They will aim to make all students feel welcome at Leiden University and involved with the MSc community in these times with mostly online education.

Masterplanner

Students can create an account by using their ULCN account to log in on our website and add their 'masterplan' to their own profile. The student, staff mentor, study coordinator and study adviser can view the masterplan and monitor the student’s progress.

After creating an account, the website can be used to plan studies, download forms and arrange research project agreements and evaluations online. For questions about the masterplanner, students should contact the study coordinator.

Timeframe master's components

To make a timeframe of your master's components, you can use one of the two documents below (in the excel file you can also keep track of your WORK-2 (WORK to do) activities).

Attachment
Timeframe_Master_template_1.docx
Timeframe_Master_template_2.xlsx