International Business Law

If you successfully graduate from this programme your job prospects will simply skyrocket. Why? In the past, the commercial and the sustainability sectors were separate worlds. Nowadays, these domains have rapidly become intertwined. Businesses see climate change threatening profits. They are therefore behaving as problem owners.

Yet there are very few legal experts who have studied the field of law and climate change. Students who complete this Master’s programme have a distinct competitive advantage. This opens the doors for a wide range of employers, including banks, businesses, government authorities and NGOs.

With this degree, you will be qualified for positions specifically related to climate change. However, you will be equally well-equipped for positions with a more general legal profile.

IBL, especially the CCC-track, has been widely covered in the media in recent times. In our view, this illustrates the steadily increasing relevance of our programme, as well as the rapidly expanding working field for business lawyers with expertise in the field of climate change and sustainability.

These are some illustrative sources:

• Mr. Magazine: ‘Over tien jaar heeft ieder groot bedrijf een klimaatjurist in dienst’;
• Trouw: ‘Op bezoek bij de master klimaatrecht’;
• BNR Nieuwsradio: ‘In Amsterdam worden klimaatstudenten opgeleid’
• FD: 'Klimaatrecht is net zo essentieel als het bouwen van windmolens';
• De NieuwsBV, NPO Radio 1: Wie zijn de klimaatjuristen van de toekomst?

"This programme is unique at the moment because it offers a well-rounded and profound insight into climate change law. With the small number of students and pleasant atmosphere, everybody can participate in class. By including other fields, such as psychology, sociology, economics and climate science, the programme offers a perspective on law that can be eye-opening to law students, who often develop a tunnel vision during their time in law school. Participating in this programme made me see the law as a tool and showed me many ways in which it can be used to mitigate climate change.”

     - Martyna Bajer (Climate Change and Corporations)

"What intrigued me in the programme was the currently rarely observed combination of business- and climate change law. The former influences the latter, and it is primordial to look for solutions to climate change issues in business reforms. This is why I believe that this programme is essential for future legal practitioners that want to deal with the ever-increasing threat of climate change. The course has so far taught our rather small, yet very invested and motivated class a lot about the psychological and behavioural aspects of consumers' decision-making processes, but also about the scientific, political, and extensively about the legal international state of affairs concerning the climate change issue.”

     - Daisy Ivanova (Climate Change and Corporations)

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!