Hi, I attended the Maastricht Open Day last Saturday, and I am really confused about whether I should do an advanced LLM in International Tax Law at Leiden, Amsterdam or do the regular LLM in Maastricht.

Leiden and Amsterdam give you the "Advanced LLM" tag, but the LLM in Maastricht is quite comparable, especially with their new "excellence course", in its content. Leiden and Amsterdam also cost a lot more!

Any advice?

Hey Lillie. Even I had that same confusion earlier but after due research and observations, LLM in International Tax at Maastricht became my first preference, as they have a PBL (Problem based Learning) system, which I found to be very efficient and it has also been recommended to me by my friend, who is the Alumnus of that university and now working in one of the big 4s in Netherlands itself. And as you must be knowing that Maastricht is a better city than Leiden and also the program costs less as compared to other universities, so after taking into account all the factors, I believe Maastricht is a better choice.

Thanks Shobhit. I have made my decision of applying to Maastricht. After going through the content on www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ITLP, I think the other programs are only "advanced" in their titles, but the content in Maastricht may even be better.

Yes absolutely.
I got a conditional offer letter from Maastricht but still waiting for WU Vienna. Will take a call very shortly. What I'd say apart from International Tax Law & Policy program, have a look at the course structure of European and International Tax law too.
All the very best for your application. Let's stay in touch :)

What is your admission conditioned on? English proficiency? I have applied a while back, but not heard back from them yet. Are you going to accept the offer? I really hope I get through.

No they have given me a waiver from English Test based on my qualification and work experience. I need to submit few certified documents then only they will give the final acceptance letter.
Most probably I am going to accept the offer. Meanwhile I have also applied in Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick for their Master's in Taxation program considering better job prospects in Ireland as compared to EU for International students.
Which country do you come from ?

Belgium. The guy who was presenting about the LLM on the open day was also from India. I spoke with a two Mexican graduate from Maastricht University. One of them has a job in Dusseldorf and the other has a job in Luxembourg. I think Maastricht has very good job prospects within Europe. Good luck with everything. Maybe we will see each other in Maastricht.

Yeah all the best to you too. See you in Maastricht :)

hi,
I want to pursue LLM in international tax law, I have received an unconditional offer letter from QMUL for LLM in Tax Law. I have also applied in Leiden university for Advanced international tax law program. I have also read about the Maastricht's international and European tax law program and I found it really interesting.
I am wondering which one is a better choice from a job perspective. because if we talk about world ranking, In June 2015 "QMUL School of Law" was ranked 1st in London and 3rd in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge in the ‘Guardian University Guide 2016. I am confused is this world ranking anyway relates to on-campus recruitment and job opportunities.
any advice?
Thanks!

In general there has always been a strong demand for tax lawyers, however, from last 2-3 years the job market in the UK and EU looks bleak especially if you are an non-EU/EEA citizen. As you must be aware of that UK gives 16 months visa in which 11 months is your course and you get only 5 months to look out for a job, which in my view is not a sufficient time. On the other hand Netherlands gives you one year visa extension after completing the course which is the plus point. However, the language barrier can pose some problems in securing a job if you are not fluent in Dutch/French.
In order to calculate the world ranking of a university, a lot of factors are taken into consideration such as infra, faculty, on-campus recruitment etc, but I think it should not be the sole criteria for choosing a college/university. You should evaluate in which country you are most likely to get a job. All the three universities that you have mentioned are great for International tax but if i were to rank these three considering all the factors, I'd say
1. Leiden
2. Maastricht
3. QMUL

hey,
Thanks Shobhit for your reply.If market conditions are so bad in entire Europe don't you think Masters in taxation from the University of Auckland (NZ) is a better option?

Yes exactly. I have also received a conditional admission offer from University of Auckland for their MTax Course but I am still waiting to get an update from University of Limerick, Ireland.
I think by the end of this month I will be in a position to take the final call.
Where else have you applied or planning to apply and which country do you come from ?

Just got admitted to the Maastricht LLM!

Congrats Lillie :)

Thank you, Shobhit :-)