Erasmus School of Law
Erasmus School of Law

Application for the EDLE programme starting October 2026

Application deadline: 15 February 2026, 23:59 ECT

The European Doctorate in Law & Economics is one of the largest doctorate programmes in the field. It is a joint doctoral programme by four of the leading European universities: the Universities of Bologna, Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Rennes. EDLE is a structured programme in the economic analysis of law on a doctoral level. Therefore, previous knowledge in the field of Law & Economics is required.

Admission to the programme is open to applicants with a diploma or a bachelor and master degree in law or economics or a relevant field, or an equivalent university degree (second cycle qualification). Applicants have to comply with partner universities’ requirements for admission to doctoral studies.

The application for the European Doctorate in Law and Economics (EDLE), academic year 2026/2027 is now open. You can start your application by using below application form.

For more information visit our EDLE website

Sign up

Personal information

Documents

Use the documents below to create your CV.
CV template
CV instruction
One file only.
10 MB limit.
Allowed types: docx, pdf.

Applicants who expect to graduate before mid-July of the year of their application can also apply for admission. They can be conditionally admitted to the programme under the deferring condition that we ultimately receive the official copy of the diploma by July 20th of the year of their application (e.g. applicants for 2026 who will graduate by July 2026 can apply for the EDLE programme starting in October 2026).

All applicants are admitted conditionally on the legal validity of their second-cycle degree.

All selected candidates shall hand in legalized copies of their diplomas and transcripts.

Please scan the transcripts and send them as a PDF file. Maximum size: 500 KB
Please name the file: “[family name]_[forename]TRANS.pdf” (e.g. young_neilTRANS.pdf)


One file only.
5 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.

In the letter of motivation, applicants are expected to explain why they are interested in Law and Economics in general and the EDLE programme in particular. Please use this Template to write a research proposal for the PhD project.
Suggestions for (but not limited to) Research Topics can be found here: Bologna, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Rennes, Prague. 

Please send the letter of motivation and the research proposal as two separate PDF files. Maximum size: 500 KB each.
Please name the file: [family name]_[forename]MOT.pdf (e.g. young_neilMOT.pdf) resp. [family name]_[forename]RESPROP.pdf.


Maximum 2 files.
5 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.

Only applicants who studied for a period of at least 2.5 years of higher education in the following countries do not need to submit the certificate: UK, USA, Canada (except for Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa. All other applicants have to submit a certificate of English proficiency.

Accepted certificates include:
– Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English: Grades A, B
– Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English: Grades A, B, C
– IELTS (academic module): minimum score of 7
– TOEFL (International, not institutional) internetbased: minimum score 95

Please note that expired certificates can be accepted as well if they have not been expired for more than three years.

Please scan the certificate and send it as a PDF file. Maximum size: 500 KB
Please name the file: “[family name]_[forename]ENG.pdf” (e.g. young_neilENG.pdf).


One file only.
5 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.
Please note that we need the paper itself, and not just a link.
Please send them as PDF files. Maximum total size: 1000 KB.
Please name the file: “[family name]_[forename]AC1.pdf” and “[family name]_[forename]AC2.pdf](e.g. young_neilAC1.pdf and young_neilAC2.pdf).
Maximum 2 files.
10 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.
Recommendation letters need to be submitted anonymously. The applicant can request a recommendation letter from his/her referee and the referee should use our form and template to write a recommendation letter for the applicant. 
Maximum 2 files.
10 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.

Erasmus School of Law handles your information confidentially. Your data will only be used for logistical purposes of this process. After the application process has taken place, all data will be deleted, unless you constented on the research option. You can find more information in our privacy statement.

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