Students from Maastricht University graduate automatically. You do not have to submit a request to graduate. As soon as you have obtained the required ECTS and have satisfied any other examination requirements, you will automatically receive a message from us that you will graduate.
Please note: automatic graduation is not the same as automatic deregistration! Below you will find more more information about deregistration.
Conditions of graduation
The Board of Examiners determines monthly whether a student graduates, taking into account the following:• Have you met all the requirements of the bachelor or (Research/Forensic) master programme by the end of the month in which you have handed in your last work?
• Are you registered as a student for that month? All students who wish to graduate need a valid certificate of enrolment.
• Have you paid all tuition fees up to and including the month of graduation?
If you have fulfilled all the above conditions you will automatically graduate from your bachelor or (Research/Forensic) master programme. In the case that supervisors submit assessments later, graduation occurs retrospectively (i.e., on the last day of the month in which the last work was handed in).
Graduation is possible every last day of the month.
1. First Notification of Graduation
The Board of Examiners will send a “First Notification Graduation” e-mail to those who have obtained:
- Bachelor: 150 out of 180 ECTS
- Master in Psychology: 25 out of 60 ECTS
- Research Master : 100 out of 120 ECTS
- Forensic Master: 100 out of 120 ECTS
- Master Mental Health: 25 out of 60 ECTS
- IJMWROP: 100 out of 120 ECTS
This notification contains a number of very important instructions. It is therefore essential that you read this e-mail carefully and act accordingly. It is your responsibility to make sure that all study parts of the programme are correctly registered. If, for example, results are missing or the number of credits is incorrect, you will not be notified that you are about to graduate, because the minimum number of ECTS has not been registered as obtained. This means that the Board of Examiners will not consider you a graduation candidate, even though you are actually able and wish to graduate!
Please note: This first notification is an official requirement in the automatic graduation procedure, but you already have to have taken action even before receiving this first notification. See points 2 and 8 below.
2. Before finishing your studies (i.e., before taking the last exam or before handing in the last work), please check the following:
• The registration of your study results in SAP
You can check your study results via the Student Portal:
1. Login to the Student Portal;
2. Follow ‘My Study’;
3. Click on ‘Courses’;
4. Click on ‘Academic Work’
5. Check your credits and grades, and the titles of papers, theses, internships, etc.
If you find any mistakes or omissions in the registration of your results, please report these errors as soon as possible to the Exam Administration ( http://www.askpsy.nl/contact).
Please note: If a new transcript (list of exam subjects) has to be made due to unreported mistakes, the costs for this transcript will be charged to you.
• The registration of your personal data
You can check your personal data via Studielink:
1. Login to Studielink;
2. Follow ‘My Details’ and check them.
Your official personal data that will be listed on your diploma documents are derived directly from Studielink. Therefore, make sure that these data are listed correctly.
Please note: Incorrect personal data in Studielink will lead to an incorrect diploma. The costs of a new diploma (including supplement and transcript) will be charged to you. If there are mistakes in the registration of your personal details, please contact the Board of Examiners via Ask Psychology.
3. Determination of the graduation date
The graduation date is always set as the last day of the month in which the student has handed in the last work and in which all requirements regarding results, registration and payment (see above) are met. The Board of Examiners can only establish the result of the exam and set the graduation date after all subjects of the programme are registered as passed in SLM, and after the correct registration for the programme and payment of all tuition fees is confirmed by the responsible departments (SSC and finance ). Note that the graduation date (as listed on the diploma documents) is not the same as the date of the graduation ceremony.
Example: if you upload your last work via "Collent" on 20 July , and your supervisors grade your thesis by 10 August, your graduation date will be set to 31 July if you meet all other requirements to graduate. Graduation thus takes place retrospectively.
4. Request to postpone the graduation
Students will automatically graduate after they have fulfilled all requirements of their study programme. Therefore, it is normally not possible to postpone your graduation. In highly exceptional cases, you can submit a 'request to postpone graduation' to the Board of Examiners. Please ensure that you submit this request on time. In other words: before you submit your last assignment or complete your last test. For questions about postponing your graduation, please contact the Board of Examiners.
While planning your studies, please take into account that the circumstances under which the Board of Examiners will grant such a request for postponement are very limited.
5. Graduation with honours
The Board of Examiners will check whether a student qualifies to graduate with an honours judicium, (Summa) Cum Laude or With Distinction, depending on the programme. The criteria for the iudicum can be found in the respective Education and Examination Regulations of the year the student started with the Bachelor or (Research/Forensic) Master programme. See Distinctions >>
6. When will you receive your diploma?
See Collecting your diploma for details.
7. Assessment of your diploma abroad
If you go abroad, the recognition of your educational documents is a major issue. For assessment, many countries will only accept legalized documents. Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO), section Diploma-recognition & Legalization, legalizes Dutch educational documents on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. For more information please visit the website of DUO-IB-Groep.
8. What to keep in mind when you have (almost) graduated ?
If you are (almost) at the end of your studies, it is important to arrange the following things at the right moment:
1. Deregistration via Studielink;
2. Stop your student finance and student travel product;
3. See whether you will be reimbursed any excess tuition fees;
4. Are you moving away from Maastricht? Then please inform the municipality.
8.1 Deregistration via Studielink
Students are not automatically deregistered after their graduation (except for the months June, July or August). If they do not terminate their registration as a student at the UM themselves, they will remain registered at the Central Student Administration until the end of the academic year (31 August). So, immediately after submitting your final work you should deregister via Studielink. File a request for termination of registration via Studielink:
1. Login to your Studielink account;
2. Go to 'mijn inschrijvingen';
3. Select the study programme from which you wish to deregister;
4. Fill out ‘graduation’ as reason for this termination.
5. The Student Services Centre (SSC) of UM will process this deregistration once your graduation has been processed by the Board of Examiners.
This may seem strange, because you do not know at this point whether you will actually pass this last exam and graduate. But it is very important to deregister at the right time. The Board of Examiners establishes your graduation date as the last day of the month in which you meet all the programme requirements, are correctly registered and have paid your tuition fees. If you are still registered for the programme after you graduate, this is considered a registration for a second programme (after all, you have already obtained a degree), and you will have to pay the high tuition fee for that month.
Example: You submit your last work/thesis/take your last exam on 7 March. Your graduation date will be 31 March. You decide not to deregister on 7 March, because you do not know if you will pass your last exam/thesis. On 15 April you receive the confirmation of your graduation and you deregister via Studielink. You are then deregistered as of 1 May, whereas you graduated on 31 March. This implies that for the month April you owe the high tuition fee.
If you fail your last exam: In case you fail your last exam or do not receive a passing grade for your last work, then you can cancel your deregistration request via the Student Services Centre (SSC) (study@maastrichtuniversity.nl). You then remain registered for the programme until the end of the academic year and can participate in resits without further consequences for your tuition fees.
Graduation on 30 June or 31 July: If you graduate on 30 June or 31 July, there is an exception to the tuition rules. According to the UM Registration Decree you will have to pay tuition fees for the months July and August. If you wish to remain registered after obtaining your degree, for reasons of a Dutch study grant or student travel card, you may do so (until 31 August of the same year). In that case you will not owe the high tuition fee.
Graduation in June, July or August: If you graduate in June, July or August then you do not need to deregister.
8.2 Stop your student finance and student travel product
If you don’t do this in time, you might have to pay the high tuition fee or be fined for use of your student travel card when you are no longer allowed to! Carefully read the following information.
The UM will NOT accept any claims for the (financial) consequences if you do not deregister in time or do not terminate your Dutch study grant and student travel card in time.As long as you are registered for a programme, you may be entitled to a Dutch study grant and the student travel card. Deregistration via Studielink doesn’t mean that your Dutch study grant is terminated. You have to arrange this separately yourself. As soon as you have submitted your deregistration request via Studielink, you should also discontinue the Dutch student grant and the student travel card. The latter should be done at the latest on the fifth working day of the month in which you are no longer entitled to the Dutch student grant.
• Discontinue your Dutch student grant via Duo > log on
• Discontinue your student travel card via Duo > log on, ‘mijn gegevens’ and then ‘reizen’
If you don’t terminate your student travel card in time you will have to pay a fine. All information on Dutch student grant and student travel card can be found on the DUO website.
8.3 See whether you will be reimbursed any excess tuition fees
If you disenrol, either temporarily or permanently because you have graduated, you may be reimbursed a portion of the tuition fees you have paid. For every month of the academic year for which you are no longer enroled, you receive 1/12 of your tuition fee back. If you are enroled as an external student and decide to disenrol, your exam fees will not be reimbursed. Did you pay in instalments? In this case, the direct debits will be discontinued.
Did you disenrol as of 1 July or 1 August? You are not entitled to reimbursement of the tuition fees paid for these months; to this end we refer you to UM’s Enrolment Provisions. Alternatively, you can choose not to disenrol for the months of July and August.
Questions about the reimbursement of tuition fees?
Send an email to: tuitionfeepayment@maastrichtuniversity.nl
8.4. Are you moving away from Maastricht? Then please inform the municipality
Everyone who is moving out of Maastricht will need to deregister from the Municipality of Maastricht. You can deregister online; you will only need your DigiD (if you do not have DigiD you can register for a DigiD online). If you are moving out of Maastricht, but within The Netherlands you will have to inform the council where you are going to live. You will be automatically unsubscribed from the Municipality of Maastricht.
Moving abroad?
If you are relocating from Maastricht to another country, it is important to inform the municipality. You can do this starting from one month prior to your move. This requirement applies even if you are moving abroad for a period of at least 8 months, irrespective of whether you maintain your house rental agreement. Reporting your relocation is free of charge.
Deregistering is important! If you do not, this could cause problems for your roommates or the person that moves into your room after you leave.
Moving within Maastricht?
You also need to notify the council if you are moving within the same council area. This can be done free of charge directly online.
If you are relocating within Maastricht), please register your new address with the municipality (of Maastricht).