Master of Laws in International and European Law (International and Human Rights Law)
The LLM in International and Human Rights Law is an exciting new programme tailored for students seeking to specialize in the field of public international and human rights law. This LLM specialization provides the students with a solid basis in the form of carefully preselected mandatory courses on human rights and migration law as well as subjects on international public law and sustainable development. At the same time, the curriculum leaves room for the students to choose among many elective courses in accordance with their career priorities so as to gain expertise on various contemporary topical issues of international and human rights law.
What
The International and Human Rights Law specialization offers students an advanced degree with significant added value for those aspiring a career in legal practice, in civil service at the national, regional or international level, or in the NGO sector, as well as for those interested in pursuing further academic research.
The catalogue of courses encompasses traditional subdomains of public international law as well as courses on European and American human rights law. In addition, it includes multiple courses focused on environmental protection and sustainable development, alongside courses adopting a distinct multidisciplinary orientation.
As the birthplace of the prestigious Institut de Droit International (°1873), Ghent is the perfect place for a deep dive into the world of international law (in the broadest sense), a domain of ever-growing reach and importance. This LLM specialization builds in particular on the broad expertise within the Ghent Rolin-Jacquemyns International Law Institute (GRILI) as well as the renowned Human Rights Centre (HRC).
For whom
The admission requirements depend on previous degrees (type of degree, country of issue etc.) or additional experience.
Structure
Students need to obtain 60 credits, over a period of two semesters. There is great flexibility in shaping one’s own curriculum. Eighteen credits cover courses specializing in Human Rights Law. Ten more credits are dedicated to the compulsory supporting courses dealing mainly with various legal and political developments in order to broaden the horizons of legal professionals. Students are also required to write a fifteen-credits’ worth LLM Paper in connection with one of the courses on the curriculum.
The remaining credits are filled with elective courses on a variety of topics from the following fields: European Law, Human Rights Law, Economic Law, Environmental Law and Public International Law etc. Students can choose from approximately thirty different courses, all of which are exclusively taught in English. Teaching is generally done interactively, requiring advanced reading and class participation. The programme typically hosts several internationally reputed guest professors with a rotation on a yearly basis. Students can also choose to participate in one of the various moot courts or legal clinic as an official part of their curricula.
Organised social activities are an important part of the LLM-experience, and not all are extracurricular. Curricular activities include guided visits to important EU and international institutions and participation in several colloquia.
> Master's dissertation
The master's dissertation is a requirement for every candidate to obtain a master’s degree. The master's dissertation is an original piece of research work. It aims to develop and strengthen the research capacity skills of the students. The student selects a topic and is given guidance by a promoter or supervisor throughout the academic year.
Labour Market
The programme enables the student to greatly enhance his or her chances when applying for an international legal job.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Knowledge and creativity: students are taught to use legal methods to solve complex problems and to make a contribution to jurisprudential knowledge through research.
- Independence: through confrontation with real and contemporary issues students are challenged to do their own research and analysis.
- Critical thinking: students are taught to appreciate the international context and the relevance of national legal orders and cultures.
- Skills: LLM studies develop their competencies within a diverse, multi-national setting, with emphasis on legal English skills, autonomous legal writing, specific law terminology, presentation, argumentation and negotiation skills.
- Pluralism: LLM studies seek to foster awareness and openness towards the various national and cultural differences both through formal education and through informal experiences.
Strengths
- Intake guidance is essential. The LLM-programmes invest substantially in reaching out to the appropriate candidates and in guiding them towards application and admission. The guidance continues after the start of the academic year. Incoming students participate in an extensive Orientation programme.
- Curriculum flexibility: Ghent law school offers three different LLM programmes that reflect varying career aspirations. Within the framework of your personal position and ambitions, you are able to design the curriculum that best fits your needs.
- Active learning: the LLM-programmes attach great importance to teaching methods that ensure students are not passive absorbers of knowledge. Instead they are encouraged to do independent research and to think critically through class preparation assignments, small papers throughout the semester, essay questions and the like.
- International outlook: the programmes reflect their European and international outreach beyond the subject matters offered. The body of professors and lecturers consists of experts with wide international exposure and experience.
- Stakeholder engagement: a key strength of the study programmes is the strong link and interaction with the professional world and the broad institutional reality of EU and international law, providing students with information about the actual operations and common practices on the ground and preparing them for a professional career.
Weaknesses
- Guarantee that all teachers have the same view on assessment.
- Increase student and alumni involvement in quality assurance and organize focus group interviews on a regular basis with students
- Benchmark the programme profile and outcomes with comparable programmes abroad.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review (peer-learning visit) in 2019. A screening of the Education Monitor by Ghent University’s Education Quality Board is planned in the years 2021-2024.
This information was last updated on 06/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.