Hello!

I'm currently trying to choose between UvA and Utrecht (European Competition Law vs. Law & Economics).

I've heard mixed reports about Amsterdam Law School from Dutch friends, about the quality of teaching and courses/workload/life as a law student in Amsterdam.

From what I have gathered, the general consensus is that Utrecht is 'better' for law (although these are Dutch students, so perhaps this is not the same for international Masters programmes). However, I really want to study in Amsterdam and think 'Amsterdam' is more internationally recognisable than 'Utrecht'....

Are there any current or past Amsterdam or Utrecht students on the board who can share their experience of the programme?

Many thanks in advance for any help or advice! :)

Also interested to see how many people are going to/considering Amsterdam or Utrecht? :)

I just got admitted to Utrecht
Didn't apply to Amsterdam but now I'm wishing I did

Have you chosen which course to do?

I lived in Utrecht for a year - loved it but I'm from a bigger city (Melbourne) and missed the big city environment
At least Amsterdam is slightly bigger!
hmmmmmm so undecided about what to do

I obtained my bachelor's degree at the University of Amsterdam, many of my friends are currently enrolled in an(international) master's programme of the University Amsterdam and I have got a couple of good friends who study at the University of Utrecht. Honestly, regarding the bachelor's degree in law in The Netherlands, all Dutch universities enjoy more or less the same reputation. At all universities both for the LLB and for the LLM every applicant is accepted. Although personally I think Leiden's LLB might be more demanding than Amsterdam's LLB and Maastricht for example has got a peculiar 'problem-based education' system (which means ridiculous amounts of group work), Dutch law firms / employers have not preference for any Dutch university. I have never heard that 'Utrecht is better for law than Amsterdam'. The sole Dutch university which is arguably 'better for law' is Leiden.

For the LLM, in my opinion Leiden and Amsterdam might be the best options. Leiden because it is one of the oldest universities in Europe and more importantly, because Leiden has got a good reputation in the field of (Public) International Law. Amsterdam's name will be easily recognised abroad, unlike for example Utrecht, Tilburg or Groningen.

The LLM programmes in Amsterdam are not particularly demanding, an average student will spend between 15 and 25 hours a week on lectures, tutorials, essays and reading. Plenty of time remains to work part-time or drink beers... The quality of education is always reasonable though probably not brilliant, but it really depends on the teacher. Exams are not difficult to pass, but on a grading scale from 1 to 10, 9 and 10's are very rare.

For the LLM one might consider Dutch universities in the following order:
1 Leiden
2 Amsterdam
3 the rest: Utrecht, Maastricht, Tilburg, Rotterdam, Groningen, Nijmegen
However, all differences are minor.

Good luck with your choices!

Oh yes....I remember those group assignments!
Really - every subject had a group assignment.

I really think it's easy to get high marks in the Netherlands compared to where I'm from (Australia)
At my university, and the general student culture in Australia law is so competitive. In Holland, I found the general attitude of the Dutch bachelors students was to pass. If you put in slightly more effort than them, it wasn't too hard getting a 7 or an 8.

I found Dutch bachelors students lacking in research skills - they basically just use the text book and don't do much further research.

The Masters might be a bit more demanding!

Many thanks for the input!

I've decided to go for Amsterdam, on the basis that I would rather live in a large(ish) city and alumni from the Amsterdam LLM have emailed me with very positive reviews.

I also received an offer from an extremely good US law school with a partial scholarship. However, I think I will still go for Amsterdam. Although it is lower ranked across the board, I want to pursue EU law and feel that with LLM degrees, one gets as much out as one puts in :)

In the UK (where I'm from) employers put the most emphasis on the LLB grades/university so the LLM is more a case of pursuing a personal academic interest for me....

It will be cool to live/study/play in Amsterdam :)

For those who have done the Amsterdam LLM, I'm curious about the make up of classes? Do they include Dutch and undergrad exchange students (eg. those on Erasmus)? And was there a broad spectrum of students?

I emailed the faculty and enquired as to whether they would accept a late application
I have not heard back from them yet but I only emailed yesterday

Hopefully...
I have a friend completing a Phd at Amsterdam and he loves it

Oh and LLMkeener - are you going to go through the university for housing?

I did that in Utrecht and had a horrible experience with the university recommended housing agency. I would prefer to get room privately but I hear it's really hard....I do speak Dutch so maybe that will help!

hello!

good luck with UvA. they seem fairly relaxed about deadlines, so hopefully you can convince them to let you in! i'm sure it will be possible if you make a convincing case....

yeah, i decided to go for university accommodation. i've heard the horror stories surrounding utrecht. then again, since the town is the biggest student settlement i guess demand is in short supply.

i have some friends in a'dam and could have managed to rent privately, but felt getting university accommodation would let me meet more people.

on top of which, i know accommodation can be extremely expensive in the city, so felt that a university apartment *might* be value for money. although i wasn't too pleased to part with 400euro just to let the UvA find me accommodation :(

was it an exchange year you did in utrecht?

i also did an exchange year. but over in copenhagen - still, managed to hang out with plenty aussies :)

utrecht sounds great in the academic sense, and i have friends who are studying there now, but i think i would regret going to amsterdam....

They are letting me apply!
Maybe we can be friends!

However they cannot help me with accommodation - that doesn't worry me too much as I have friends and relatives in Amsterdam. I just don't know how long they will let me freeload off them!

I had a lot of friends study in Copenhagen - you find Aussies all over the world. One cannot escape from them.

Then again, there seem to be more Irish and English in my gym class here than Australians!

ohhh dear
I have not been admitted yet but I'm hoping I will be so I have started looking for accomodation
I got a Dutch friend to call up for this studio apartment I found - apparently the rental agency person just laughed and said it would be easier for me to find a place in Utrecht than Amsterdam
I don't want to commute though!
I guess I will probably just have to be in Amsterdam to find a room - although I'm now worried about being homeless for a few months

What is the rent per month the university housing agency are charging for rooms?

The going rate for private rooms seems to be about 500+

Ahhh, that's terrible. Hope you can get something sorted!

When I applied through UvA, the maximum rent was around 450EURO I think. To be honest, I have no idea what the quality/location of the accommodation will be like. Fingers are crossed.

I have a couple of friends who live in Amsterdam and I have the impression that you can always find a decent room privately if you look hard enough. And I suppose being in the city itself for your search would help considerably.

Did you ask UvA? Perhaps they will be willing to accept one late housing application?

cannot wait to get started. I'm currently trying to juggle summer plans to decide whether to attend the orientation at the end of August or whether to arrive in September when classes start....

Good luck :)

I was recently accepted to the International finance and trade LLM. I am wondering if anyone else on this forum is enrolled in that program?

I was recently accepted to the International finance and trade LLM. I am wondering if anyone else on this forum is enrolled in that program?

Looking forward to the possible overlap of classes. I did my undergrad at the University of Oregon. I studied for my Juris Doctorate at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego CA.

My name is Luke Zimmerman and I am really looking forward to meeting you in Sept.

Best of luck to those of you who are admitted to UvA. I was recently rejected despite them telling me my CV and motivation was impressive because I had not already studied Public International Law, although a friend of mine was admitted the year before despite also not having taken it. Will now try my luck elsewhere!

Hi everyone coming to Amsterdam in September. I was accepted to Int Public Law, however I was sure that I will not go (I was thinking to take a year off and get some working experience) However I have changed my mind a few days ago, so I am coming too :) I did not apply for accommodation through Uni, so now I am a bit worried about it. I just hope to find something in private market. Any advices? Do you know guys the date when exactly are you coming?