International Business Law is a full-time, one-year graduate programme in law (LLM) with two specialisations.
Business law for a better world
Which specialisation do you choose?
Find out what the different possibilities are within the master's programme
General Background
As well as following compulsory and optional courses, you will complete the IBL Master's programme by researching and writing a Master's thesis. You will select the topic of the Master's thesis in cooperation with a supervisor who is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law. The topic of the Master's thesis must relate to one of the subjects taught during the academic year. A Master's thesis requires between eight and ten weeks of research and writing.
If you need an extra challenge, the programme offers the possibility to take part in extra-curricular activities. You may participate in international moot court competitions, law clinics, a faculty-based research track, editorial work with the student law journal and internships. Students usually find their own internships at an international company or law firm located in the Netherlands, although some companies approach the programme board, who publishes the offers on the educational digital platform just for you. You may obtain 6 or 12 extra credits for the respective activity, which will be printed on a diploma supplement.
International classroom
The IBL Master’s programme is designed as an international and dynamic graduate programme. The relatively small number of international students in the class guarantees a highly interactive character of the courses. Students as well as lecturers coming from different countries and different legal and educational cultures strongly contribute to the special and a truly global character of the IBL Master’s programme. It all offers a unique intellectual atmosphere for group discussions, presentation of views on legal matters and exchange of ideas.
Although the IBL Master’s programme is an internationally oriented programme which attracts students from all over the world, it is also very attractive to Dutch students. First of all, together with a Dutch bachelor’s in law the IBL Master’s degree provides for so-called ‘civiel effect’. Moreover, given the far-reaching internationalization of businesses nowadays, it is crucial for a lawyer or an in-house legal counsel to be able to work in English and understand lawyers and legal systems elsewhere in the world. You’ll start building your personal network as soon as you start IBL!
Change your future with the International Business Law programme
Students who successfully completed the IBL Master's programme have a wide range of career choices. They can work as professional business lawyers, in-house legal counsels for companies, government officials, corporate executives, legal professionals for an international (intergovernmental) organization or NGO, legal researchers, and more.
Our alumni have jobs at, e.g., multinational companies, international law firms, banks, and international accounting companies in their home countries or in the Netherlands. Others pursue a career as a legal counsel in government institutions or international organizations. Some alumni choose to further develop their academic legal research skills by enrolling into a PhD programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam or elsewhere.
The Master's degree International Business Law, when combined with a Dutch academic Bachelor of Laws degree, fulfils the requirements for civiel effect.
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