Definitions of educational formats & levels of courses

Lectures

Lectures are sessions during which the lecturer speaks and the students mainly listen to the lecturer. Depending on the nature of the course, the inclination of the lecturer and the programme phase, a lecture can be characterized as:

• showing the main issues;
• providing insight in the structure of the course;
• discussion of bottlenecks;
• focusing on current issues in the field of expertise;
• showing links between theory and practice;
• providing insight in methods of problem solving.

Working groups

Working groups aim at supporting the lectures. They also serve to teach skills. Students are expected to take a proactive stance in working groups. This would e.g. mean:

• to prepare assignments which will be discussed during the working groups;
• to act actively and in a participating manner during a working group session.

It is always advisable to attend working groups. Some courses however have a compulsory attendance. Please check the course information in Ocasys carefully. For some courses not meeting the compulsory attendance requirements have consequences for examination participation. Some courses also have the possibility to earn a bonus.

The number of students in a working group is usually 25 to 30.

Practicals

Practicals have a practical approach: you will practice skills and carry out assignments. Assessment usually takes place at the end of the practical in the form of an assignment. The lecturers only have a guiding and supporting role.

Seminars

A seminar is a way to impart both academic and legal skills. It has a research approach. Students will undertake research, carry out assignments, give presentations and write papers.

It is a training in academic reasoning, in which, after a proper analysis has taken place, a (creative) solution for a legal question is clearly presented with arguments.


The following academic skills will be trained:

• logical reasoning, arguing, creative thinking, analysing problems, making links;
• verbal skills: arguing and formulating;
• communicative skills: communicating, presenting and persuading, listening, reading.

Legal skills include:

• employ a legal perspective;
• adequate usage of descriptive and prescriptive aspects;
• understanding and applying legal texts;
• finding and applying jurisprudence.

A seminar includes these activities:

• selection of relevant literature;
• developing a research question;
• to make a written and an oral presentation of the findings plus a defence thereof or a discussion about it;
• to comment on the findings of fellow students;
• if possible, a joint final publication, preferably on the internet.

Law in Practice

Law in Practice is a generic name for all activities that offer you the option to apply law or legal science in practice, get acquainted with the labour market and to practice skills that are deemed important when working as a law. These Law in Practice options can be conducted either within the Faculty or outside the Faculty. This can include internships, legal aid work in Law Clinics, joining Moot Courts, Masterclasses, etc. More information about Law in Practice can be found on the Career Services Law page, in Ocasys (at both bachelor and master-level) and in the item ‘Law in Practice’ in this Law Knoweldgebase.

Definitions of levels of courses

1^st year

Indicates that the course can only be taken in the Bachelor’s programme and the course belongs to the 1^styear.

Accessible for:
Students registered in the first yearof a Bachelor’s degree programme or students who are enrolled in a pre-Master programme or special admission programme.

BA

Indicates that the course can only be taken or recognised in the Bachelor’s degree programme. The course belongs to the 2^nd or 3^rd year.

Accessible for:

1. Students registered in the2^nd or 3^rd year of a Bachelor’s degree programme and/or

2. Students who are registered in a pre-Master programme or special admission programme.

M

Indicates that the course can only be taken in the Master’s degree programme.

Accessible for:

Students enrolled for a Master’s degree programme

External/minor

Indicates that the course is open to students from other faculties.

Last update on 08-07-2025