Governance and Global Affairs

Contract teaching

Through the contract education offered by the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs at Leiden University, you can take individual courses at university level. Upon completion, you will receive a microcredential: an officially recognised certificate of further education and training. You can add this to your CV and LinkedIn profile to demonstrate the additional expertise you have gained in a particular field.

Courses offered

In 2025-2026, FGGA offers the following course for obtaining a microcredential:

SDGs, Human Rights and International Law, 2025-2026 – Course Catalogue – Leiden University

Please note: only courses that are marked as ‘available for contract education’ can be taken as a contract student.

More information about the available courses can be found in the course catalogue.

Registration

Do you want to follow the course 'SDGs, Human Rights and International Law, 2025-2026' at Leiden University College (LUC)?

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What is contract teaching and what can you achieve with it?

With contract teaching, you can earn a microcredential. A microcredential is a recognised certificate that allows learners to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and understanding upon successfully completing a course. In other words, a microcredential gives independent value to a smaller unit of study. It also serves as a quality mark for short educational programmes, ensuring that the course meets accreditation-level standards. Both learners and employers can trust that the education provided is of a high and verifiable quality.

Upon completion, you will receive official proof of your achievement—a microcredential. This is only awarded if you have passed the final exam and met any required participation obligations.

The contract teaching offerings at FGGA are aimed at professionals seeking academic enrichment. They do not intend to complete a full (bachelor's) degree or finish it with an academic exam, and they are not enrolled at a university or higher education institution. Interested individuals who do not have the required prior education can also participate in contract teaching. Participants join the regular students in the lecture hall and are expected to make the same effort as the other students.

The size of each course is represented in so-called ECs (European Credits). One EC stands for 28 hours of study. For participating in contract teaching, a fee of €163 per EC is charged. This amount covers the tuition (lectures and tutorials) and the exam (plus any resits). Any study materials that may need to be purchased are not included in the price.

Refund of the course fee is only possible if you cancel at least two weeks before the start of the course. After that, no refund will be given, even in cases of unforeseen events, disappointment, illness, or other circumstances.

To register for a course as a contract student, you must fill in the registration form no later than 28 days before the course starts.
After Leiden University receives the registration form, you will receive an invoice.
Once the Education Service Centre (OSC) has received the payment, you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt.
An account and student number will then be requested. Without a student number, it is not possible to be enrolled in courses, and you will not have the right to participate in courses. Contract students will be enrolled by the OSC for lectures and/or tutorials, the exam, and the resit.

For each course, there is one regular exam (or multiple partial exams) and one retake per academic year. If you do not pass the exam the first time, you are allowed to take the retake exam within the same academic year.

Contract education students can use the (online) library during the duration of the course. Computer use is required, as Brightspace (a digital learning environment) is used in the teaching.

The teaching generally takes place on-site. The up-to-date schedule can be found via uSis en MyTimetable.