Hello everyone!

I am a german postgraduate and currently applying for a LLM programme at NZ law schools but I still dont know which one I should choose. Whats the difference between Auckland, Waikato and Wellington except the size of the universities and the course offer? I have no idea which differences in reputation or difficulty of the courses (especially for german students) or the care for international students there might be. The prospects from the universities are not really helpful in deciding that matter, because every school claims to be the best, of course.

If anyone could tell me something about that - or at least where I could possibly find such infos that would be really great!

best regards to you! michael

PS: if you find any grammar errors, please just keep it :)

I don't know about law school in New Zealand. However, I studyed English Language at Waikato University for 9 months.
I would like to tell you that the Waikato University at Hamilton campus is suitable for study. Nevertheless, if you want to live in the big city, it is not a good idea to study there.

Michael

To be honest, I am not all that familiar with law schools in New Zealnd. However, I would say that the two better universities in New Zeland are Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington.

If I were you, I would make the choice simply on location -- in which case Wellington is the place to be. First, the city itself is beautiful and modern with a waterfront, a great museum celebrating Maori culture and nice cafes. Second, the law school is housed in a spectacular historic government building so it "feels" like you belong to a slice of New Zealand history.

I also think that Victoria University of Wellington has a pretty good reputation. Its law journal, for example, is pretty highly regarded in Australia.

Sorry, this is mostly impressions rather than first hand experience, but I hope it helps!:)

xxx Laura

Has anyonme got any further info on law schools in New Zealand? I have a friend who's interested in doing his LLB in NZ.

Laura, why do you say Wellington is the place to be? Isn't it colder and a much smaller city than Auckland? And isn't the Auckland Law School more prestigious?

Any info would be appreciated.

Hi,
I am a New Zealand citizen and study law (LLB) at Victoria University, Wellington. I have mates studying law in Auckland, Waikato, Victoria (Wellington), Christchurch (Canterbury University) and Dunedin (Otago University). The LLB in New Zealand is fairly standard across the universities, especially in the first 2-3 years. I can only base my opinions on the LLM on the faculty that teach the LLB but hope they are of value anyway.

Auckland is the biggest city in New Zealand and the University is very big by NZ standards. It has a lot of international students and is considered the commercial center of NZ. The University seems to do very well in rankings but this is probably because of its strong science faculty and it's size. The law faculty tends to have a commercial specialty, that's it's reputation at least. It is regarded as one of the best, if not the best, law school in NZ. I find the city doesn't have as much "soul" as other cities in New Zealand.

Waikato has a small law faculty with particular expertise in Treaty of Waitangi law (NZ law based on the founding treaty of NZ). It is not regarded as one of the top law schools but if you have a particular interest in Maori culture/issues then it would definitely be the pick. Hamilton is a provincial city that doesn't have a reputation as being a place for students.

Victoria University is situated in Wellington, the Capital of New Zealand. I have some bias but It is regarded along with Auckland as the best law school in the country. It benefits from guest speaker which include former politicians and judges. The law school building was the original Government buildings and is supposed to be the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere. Wellington City is the culture capital of New Zealand and whilst not a "student city" benefits from it's international community. The school is opposite the Supreme Court, which is next to the High Court of Wellington, about 100m from the Court of Appeal and Across the road from the Beehive (NZ government buildings).

Canterbury University law isn't highly regarded as the University's reputation lies in engineering, although I have friends that swear it is the best school in the country. They would be in the minority though.

Otago University is in Dunedin a true "student city". It's known for it's student antics and partying but is also a surprisingly good university. Dunedin is very provincial though and has hardly any law firms so the law school doesn't attract guest lecturers or other top law lecturers. Having said that it has some good lecturers and is the hardest school to get into because of the number of students that do law there.

If you're worried about weather, Auckland or Waikato probably have the best. Wellington is known for it's wind, Christchurch it's frost and Dunedin is often bitterly cold in the winter.

I hope that was of some help!

Thanks for the chocful of info, cameroon85.

Hello ppl.....

I am from india, planning on doing LLM from New Zealand with specialization in Corporate Law.

Can anybody give me some idea about Victoria college in wellington and auckland university about doing LLM and what are the job opportunities there for after doing LLM?

Hi I am currently studying at Waikato Law; I am on the student council WULSA, for the Law School so I would add to what has been said about Waikato as follows: not only is the law school at Waikato top in its field for Treaty and indigenous rights, but we are also head above all others in New Zealand for Environmental Law. Al Gilespie, one of our professors, does work for the UN in this area, and we have on staff Margaret Wilson, former Attorney General and Speaker of the House. There would be great opportunity to specialise in commercial/coporate law at Waikato; we have students doing LLM studies in all areas. Hamilton is also a great place to live, as the third largest city in the North Island and the suburb the Uni is in embraces the student community. Affordable housing in walking distance, as well as all the ammenities in walking distance. The big part of the city is 5 minutes in the car.

I lived in AKL; I looked at uni there. also looked into victoria. AKL: I have studied in the US at two uni's- I do not like being a faceless number with little or no access to professors.
Victoria: Socratic method- not a condusive learning method in my experience.

Waikato: lecturers easily accessible, tutors even more so; small group teachings compliment lectures, at least one lecturer in any area I've ever needed. lecturers doing heaps of research, lots of opportunity to get on research projects.

I chose Waikato over the others b/c there is a board moderating the legal education so all similar in quality but the smaller environment means much more focused attention from lecturers- a huge bonus. and big city convienences with small town prices- easy on the student budget- ALK and Vic super-super expensive living!

hope that helps- and our int'l community within the law school and uni-wide is huge- i have friends from all over the world now!
cheers- erika

There seems to be a bit of discussion here about LLB degrees and University reputations. The reality is that at the LLM level, New Zealand universities are a lot more differentiated than at the LLB level. All six New Zealand law schools offer an LLM (or equivalent) by thesis, and most also offer course-based and/or multiple research-paper based LLMs:

· Otago University in Dunedin (http://www.otago.ac.nz/courses/qualifications/llm.html) only offers an LLM by thesis. The annual number of LLM students is very low. The main reason LLM students go to Otago is to write their thesis under the supervision of a particular professor (and Otago has quite a few leading law professors: http://www.otago.ac.nz/law/staff/index.html).

· Auckland University (http://www.law.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/for/future-postgraduates/fp-study-options/fp-programmes/fp-master-of-laws) has, by far, the largest LLM student body in New Zealand. Auckland offers either a taught LLM or an LLM by thesis. Auckland is the only New Zealand University to offer a full range of LLM-exclusive papers (http://www.law.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/fp-courses).

· Victoria University in Wellington (http://www.victoria.ac.nz/law/degrees/LLM.aspx) offers a taught LLM, an LLM by thesis or by a combination of research and taught papers. Some of the LLM papers are also available to undergraduate honours students. Victoria Universitys reputation is especially strong in public law (it is located next to the New Zealand Parliament) and the papers offered (http://www.victoria.ac.nz/law/courses/PG%20Courses/index.aspx) reflect this.

· Canterbury University in Christchurch (http://www.laws.canterbury.ac.nz/courses/pg_programme.shtml) offers an LLM by thesis, an LLM by research papers (comprising four medium-sized research papers and an undergraduate taught paper) and an interdisciplinary LLM specialising in International Law and Politics (comprising four taught papers and a dissertation).

· Waikato University in Hamilton (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/postgraduate/study_options/llm) offers a taught LLM and an LLM by thesis. Like Victoria University, the LLM taught papers are also available to undergraduate honours students. As mentioned in earlier posts, Waikato University focuses on indigenous legal issues and environmental law, and the taught papers focus on these two areas.

· AUT University (http://www.aut.ac.nz/study-at-aut/study-areas/law/law-qualifications/master-of-philosophy) is located in Auckland and houses New Zealands youngest law faculty (it was opened in 2009). It does not offer a standard LLM, but rather a thesis-based MPhil in a legal topic, under the supervision of a law school staff.

In terms of living costs, Auckland is the most expensive city in New Zealand, followed by Wellington and Christchurch. Dunedin and Hamilton are both relatively cheap cities to live in.

I'm not sure the about other universities, but I am finishing my undergraduate degree and will carry on to do post-graduate studies at Waikato for many of the same reasons that I chose to do my undergraduate degree here: the community I will live in plays a large part in my choice of university; http://www.waikato.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/37127/Masters_Papers_Brochure.pdf

I think this link shows the range of courses taught for LLM and the study areas for post-graduate are vast; Margaret Wilson is one of the best for public policy and she is teaching at Waikato. Some of the other areas being studied here include Environmental Law and Corporate Law, as illustrated by the classes being taught.

Waikato offers LLM by classes/thesis/part class-part dissertation or an MPhil- the choices are endless and the Dean is particularly keen to building this program; as an international himself, his background contributes to the environment at Waikato; Prof Morse has even taken on some masters classes this year, a huge bonus to learn from the Dean of the law school.

Post-graduates are also offered the opportunity to tutor the undergraduates so that is also relevant experience for both degree structures. All of the tutors I have seen are doing masters or PhD studies at our university. Everything that is good for the undergrads can be great for the graduate students too!