International Business Law: Climate Change and Sustainability
Corporate law is changing. Economic, climatic and societal upheaval is forcing businesses to develop a sense of context in the world. Tomorrow's business lawyers must develop a flexible and open approach to legal problems. That can even include reconsidering the efficacy of the law itself.
VU Amsterdam does not offer a single International Business Law programme. We offer three very clear legal identities covered by separate Master’s programmes. Each of these International Business Law programmes open up a wide range of specific career opportunities in an international environment.
Each programme has an outspoken and up-to-date approach to today's corporate law. They are focussed on what is going on right now. Finance and Behavior; Transactions and Trade; and finally, VU Amsterdam is proud to be the first university in Europe to offer a specific International Business Law degree that combines an all-round Master's in Business Law, with a specific focus on some of the most complex legal challenges of our day: Climate Change & Sustainability.
The VU campus is located in the heart of the Amsterdam business district Zuidas, the beating heart of the Nederlands’ legal community. The university has well-established relationships with many internationally operating companies based there. Many of the courses are also taught by academics who are also practicing lawyers. This network can provide great career opportunities for our International Business Master’s graduates.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
International Business Law is a full-time, one-year graduate programme in law (LLM). It is taught in English and consists of several compulsory courses and optional courses that explore different fields of international business law.
The courses are taught by both legal practitioners and academics. Many lecturers at the Law School of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam also work in practice as lawyers or as business counsels. The curriculum is structured to form a comprehensive programme. The initial mandatory courses provide you with a general legal foundation, and the following courses develop your knowledge in more specific areas of law.
You will complete the IBL Master's programme by writing and defending 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 Law School. 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.
Some students opt for a student internship at an international company or law firm located in the Netherlands. Normally, such internship is extracurricular (i.e. no ECTS credits are awarded).
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 cultures strongly contribute to a 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 that are enriched by diverse national perspectives.
Although the IBL Master’s programme is an internationally oriented programme which attracts students from all over the world, this programme is also very attractive to Dutch students. First of all, together with a Dutch bachelor in law degree the IBL Master’s degree provides for the so called civiel effect. Moreover, seen the far-reaching internationalization of businesses nowadays, it is crucial for a lawyer or an in-house legal counsel to draft various legal documents in English, as well as to understand the legal systems of other countries and other international developments in (European) law.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
The improvement of legal academic skills constitutes an important goal of the IBL Master’s programme.
The courses require writing several papers and preparing oral presentations, which will improve your performance and will help you to communicate effectively in (international) business relations. In addition, you will develop skills to anticipate, analyse and address legal problems that may arise in practice. The IBL Master’s programme is designed to offer you the opportunity to acquire both theoretical and practical legal skills.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
Admission
You can apply with an academic Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) or equivalent.
If you do not have such a degree, but you have a sound academic background and considerable experience in the field of law, and you can substantiate this, then you can also apply.
If you have a degree from a University of Applied Sciences, you need a completed relevant premaster to apply. The faculty does not offer a pre-master for this master.
We use the UK Naric comparison system and the Nuffic comparison and validation programmes to assess your application.
Proof of sufficient proficiency in English
VU Amsterdam requires all international applicants to take an English test and to submit their score as part of the application. Exceptions are made for students who have completed their secondary or academic education in the Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, New Zealand or Australia or who have obtained an international Baccalaureate or European Baccalaureate diploma or have earned a Bachelor's or Master's degree in an accredited English-taught programme in the EU.
You must have passed the test no longer than two years before you start the IBL programme, the following minimum scores apply for this master:
The proof of English proficiency can be submitted after the application deadline, but must have been received by the faculty before the start of the programme. Without an English proficiency test score which meets the specifications mentioned above, or a waiver, you cannot start the programme.
Admission
You can apply with a Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB).
If you do not have such a degree, but you have a sound academic background and considerable experience in the field of law, and you can substantiate this, then you can also apply.
VU premaster
The faculty does not offer a pre-master for this master.
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
More information on this programme? Visit the website!
T | +31 20 59 89898 | |
E | international@vu.nl |
Amsterdam
Law
Master of Laws
English
winter semester - September
Full-time
Duration of study: 1 year
Tuition fees EU: 2168 EUR / year
Tuition fees Non EU: 16630 EUR / year
Amsterdam
Law
Master of Laws
English
winter semester - September
Full-time
Duration of study: 1 year
Tuition fees EU: 2168 EUR / year
Tuition fees Non EU: 16630 EUR / year
Masters portal for Germany: www.master-and-more.de
Masters portal for Austria: www.master-and-more.at