Earning additional credits towards the Master’s degree

The CP-Delta: Your path to the Masters degree

The legal guidelines for earning a Master’s degree require you to demonstrate that you have earned a total of 300 credit points during your Bachelor and Masters degree programmes. Students sometimes carry only 180 or 210 from their Bachelor degree and then earn 60 or 90 credit points in their professional Masters programme. In some cases, a credit point gap emerges, the so-called CP-delta. This requires students to earn additional credit points before submitting their Master’s thesis.

There are two ways to make up your CP shortfall at the Professional School:

Further information regarding CP-delta: the learning agreement

The classes you want to take to make up your CP shortfall need to be agreed with the programme director beforehand in writing (in a “learning agreement”). The learning agreement can be modified over the course of the degree if both parties agree.

Additional CP or CP on the basis of recognised competencies/qualifications do not affect your final grade.

Recognition of professional qualifications

As well as taking additional classes, you can have your professional qualifications recognised (in the form of a general bridging module). You can acquire up to 30 ECTS in this way. We do not charge for the recognition procedure, which involves two steps:

  • Application for recognition
  • Structured interview

You can apply for recognition while studying and not just before the start of your course.

Important: Please check the recognition guidelines for your chosen Masters programme. The continuing education Masters programmes include Governance and Human Rights, Manufacturing Management, Performance Management, Prevention and Health Promotion, Social Management and Sustainability Management. The professional programmes are Auditing, Construction Law, Competition and Regulation, Corporate and Business Law, Sustainability Law, Tax Law and Business Engineering.

Taking classes to acquire additional CP

Alongside the modules on your programme, you can take general Professional School options and options from other programmes to acquire a total of 300 CP. A description of the current courses and modules that are open to you on your programme and other programmes and at the Professional School can be found in our CP guidelines. Below is also a list of the general options for making up your CP shortfall.

  • Expanded Masters thesis (up to 15 CP)
  • Project work (up to 10 CP)
  • Additional course work (either 5 or 10 CP each)
  • Case Studies (5 CPs each)
  • Certificate programme (up to 35 CPs)

Expanded Masters thesis (up to 15 CP)

By expanding your Masters thesis, you can earn up to an additional 15 CP on account of the increased workload. This requires that the questions raised in the thesis be significantly more complex, which can be demonstrated through a wider and deeper theoretical and/or empirical analysis of the topic.

All questions regard the scope, research time frame, fees, and registration can be answered by the coordinator for the respective degree programme.

Project work (up to 10 CP)

The conceptualization, execution and critical reflection on a practical project or knowledge transfer, as a part of the student’s policies or activities within an organization are carried out and evaluated.

Possible formats include:

  • the conceptualization and implementation of a presentation at a commercial convention and/or an academic conference, including a critical evaluation of the event
  • the development of a case study with a critical evaluation of both the development process, as well as the use of case study methodologies in research and teaching

For all questions related to working on such a project, please contact the coordinator for the respective degree programme.

Additional course work (either 5 or 10 CP each)

By taking additional classes in the Professional School’s course offerings and completing the course requirements, you can earn additional CPs. The number of additional CPs, which one can earn, are outlined in the module handbook of the respective degree programme or will be determined by the instructors according to the ECTS-CP guidelines.

In order to earning additional CPs, you can:

  • complete additional elective courses (classes or modules) in the respective Master’s degree program;
  • complete individual courses or modules from the expanded professional Master’s degree programme, so long as the academic unit offering the programme arranges separate course requirements and there is sufficient student space in the course or module;
  • complete additional courses, modules, or excursions, which are at the level of the degree programme, offered by the Professional School, or are offered specifically for professional students as part of Leuphana University’s regularly scheduled curriculum.

You can receive additional information from Kathrin Becher. If you are interested in elective courses in your own or another degree programme, please contact the coordinator for the respective degree programme.

Case Studies (5 CPs each)

In order to fill the CP-delta, you can also work on a case study. Case studies involve detailed descriptions of complex, authentic management situations, that represent the decisions, challenges, opportunities, or problems faced by a person within an organisation. The case study focuses on a specific critical situation in this organisation and considers how it appears to this key individual. It shows clearly the type of challenges this person faces, what possible actions are available to them, what information is available to them, the time pressure they face, and how they experience the situation. 

Case studies include a lively, richly facetted description that illuminates the experiences, behaviors, as well as the situational pressures and conditions.
You will work directly with a real-life, business situation, where you can apply and try out your theoretical knowledge. Well-known regional firms and organisations, including many small and medium-sized companies, have made case studies available, allowing you to profit by gaining insight into their decision-making processes: you can help by making concrete suggestions for solving very real difficulties on site.

Certificate programme (up to 35 CPs)

If you have a CP-delta of 15 CPs or more, then it is worth considering completing a certificate programme. Through the various certificate programmes you can earn between 25 and 35 CPs. The certificate programme can be completed parallel to the Masters degree programme. If there are any curricular conflicts, please contact Kathrin Becher.

Contact & Advising

Dr. Kathrin Susann Becher
Universitätsallee 1, C40.117
21335 Lüneburg
Fon +49.4131.677-1193
kathrin.becher@leuphana.de