Board of Examiners RCS

All requests to the Board of Examiners must be submitted on the appropriate form. Some of these requests can be submitted via an online form, others via a PDF form. Each PDF form comprises three pages. You must fill in the first two pages yourself (apart from the field intended for the Board of Examiners), before sending it to the Board by e-mail: boardofexaminers.rcs rug.nl. In case of an online form, you must select the preferred language first before it opens. Please fill out the entire form. Select 'Theology and Religious Studies' as the faculty. All online requests are processed automatically.

All requests are addressed every first wednesday of the month. Students are requested to submit the forms before the 1st of the month. On the PDF form, filling out Name and Student number is sufficient!

Please note:

For PDF forms: make sure that you download the form before you complete in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Only requests by form (online or PDF) will be processed. Please complete the request brief and to the point! Study results and study programmes are allowed as additional attachments.

If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it free on the Adobe website. The programme also allows you to fill in and save the form before sending it to the Board of Examiners.

• The Board of Examiners will send its decision once your request has been processed. You have 6 weeks from the date of the decision to file an objection with the Central Portal for the Legal Protection of Student Rights (CLRS) via the regulations, complaints and participation page on the Student Portal. You are advised to keep the decision for your own records.

• The secretary of the Board of Examiners is responsible for sending the decision to the Student Administration Office so that it can be entered into Progress and archived in the digital student archive.

You can find the forms below.

Please note: some requests can be submitted via an online form, others only via a PDF form. In case of the latter, please find more information under 'Filing a request to the Board of Examiners'.

1. Replacing a course

In certain situations, you might want to make a change to your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programme, such as replacing a compulsory or elective course unit with a different course unit. You should always consult your study adviser first, and then use the form below to apply to change your programme:

2. Exemption from a course

In certain situations, you may be eligible for exemption from course units in your Bachelor’s degree programme. You might, for example, have already taken a similar course unit as part of a previous university or university of applied sciences degree programme. If so, you must produce proof of having passed this course unit previously in the shape of a certified list of marks. Your request should also include a description and a reading list relating to the course unit you passed elsewhere. You can apply for exemption from a course unit using the form below:

3. University Minor

The third year of the Bachelor’s degree programmes in Theology (excluding PThU track and excluding Greek) and Religious Studies includes 15 ECTS of University Minor space. You can fill this space by opting for one of the standard University Minor packages. If you prefer, you can compile your own package of Minors and submit it to the Board of Examiners for approval. The general rule when compiling your own Minor package is that at least one third of the course units must be at the third-year (Bachelor’s) level and a maximum of one third may be at first-year (Bachelor’s) level.

N.B. You should only submit your Minor package for approval once you have a complete list of 15 ECTS; in other words, do not send in separate requests for each course unit.

Apply for approval for your University Minor package using the form below:

If you want to change a Minor package that has already been approved, you should complete the form below:

4. Study plan for Research Master’s

Students taking a Research Master’s degree devise a study plan for both years of the programme in consultation with their mentor. This study plan must be approved by the Board of Examiners. You can submit your study plan for approval using the form below:

If you want to change a study plan that has already been approved, you should complete the form below:

5. Extra examination for a course

In certain situations, the Board of Examiners may allow an extra examination opportunity. You must apply to the Board of Examiners for an extra opportunity to take an examination for a specific course unit. This regulation only applies to course units, not to theses. You can apply for an extra examination opportunity using the form below:

6. Postponement course examination

In very special cases, the Board of Examiners may give permission to postpone an examination. You can apply to the Board of Examiners to postpone an examination for a specific course unit. You should use the form below to apply for permission to postpone an examination:

7. Admission to a course

In certain situations, the Board of Examiners can grant you admission to a course unit for which you are not eligible according to the admission criteria. You can apply for admission to any such course unit using the form below:

8. External examiner for thesis

Before you start work on your thesis, you can apply to the Board of Examiners to appoint an ‘external examiner’ as co-reader/second thesis assessor. This can be someone from outside the Faculty or University, who does not appear on the list of examiners. Any such requests must be granted before the student draws up a thesis contract with supervisors concerned. You can apply for permission to appoint an ‘external examiner’ using the form below:

9. Provisions / exemptions due to special circumstances

In certain situations, the Board of Examiners can make an exception to the rules or arrange certain special provisions (exemption from compulsory attendance, for example) on the basis of exceptional circumstances. If you think you are eligible, you must first consult your study advisor and/or one of the student counsellors. You can apply for special provisions or exemption due to exceptional circumstances using the form below:

10. Special provisions / exemption due to performance disability

In certain situations, the Board of Examiners can make an exception to the rules or arrange special provisions (extra time for examinations in the case of dyslexia, for example) due to a performance disability. If you think you are eligible, you must first consult your study advisor and/or one of the student counsellors. You can apply for special provisions or exemption due to a performance disability using the form below:

11. Other requests

For any other requests, please use the form below:

• Wednesday 4 September 2024 
• Wednesday 2 October 2024
• Wednesday 6 November 2024
• Wednesday 4 December 2024
• Wednesday  8 January 2025
• Wednesday 5 February 2025
• Wednesday 5 March 2025
• Wednesday 2 April 2025
• Wednesday 7 May 2025
• Wednesday 4 June 2025
• Wednesday 2 July 2025

• The Board of Examiners does not give out advice or information. This includes advice or information about enrolling for course units, admission to a degree programme, compiling the list of course units when applying for your degree certificate, the different options with regard to Minors, etc. You can take any questions relating to these (and other) matters to the study advisors.
• There are no forms for requests relating to fraud, complaints and objections. Requests of this nature should be sent to the Board of Examiners by e-mail: boardofexaminers.rcs rug.nl.

Here you can find the Rules and Regulations of the Theology and Religious studies Board of Examiners for the academic year 2023–2024

Here you can find the Regulations for Cheating and Plagiarism: