Dear all,

I have been admitted both at Geneva Academy-ADH (LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights) and UCL (with the possibility of choosing Human Rights as specialism) and I am still unsure about the final choice. I know UCL is much more generally renowned, but Geneva Academy (a joinyt center of IHEID and UniGe) is considered the top in his field (humanitarian law).
I just worry about academic reputation and different carrer opportunities.
Which one would you choose? Are there any alumni who can give me their impression and advice?

Thanks everybody!

That's a tough one - because you're right, UCL would probably be a better known "brand name" among most employers.

However, ADH does have a good reputation in this relatively niche field. I would ask the school about (a) what kind of career services they offer, and (b) the organizations where graduates end up.

An applicant posted something similar last year and I had this same advice, since the ADH website is absolutely devoid of any meaningful information about careers:

https://www.llm-guide.com/board/150930

Thanks a lot!

Hi,

My reply comes in a bit late, but hopefully it will help the readers make their decision.

I was in the Geneva Academy (2015-2016), so I know what I am talking about, and even if I was a student there I do think my view is objective (I went there by choice, not because I had to).

If you want to specialize in the law of armed conflict (international humanitarian law), the Academy is the place to be. It is as simple as that. The program is excellent and it has a monopoly in the field (unlike public international law where you could go to many different equally good schools; if you want to study IHL, it is without a doubt the #1 worldwide). It has excellent experts who teach there (for example, Marco Sassoli in IHL and Andrew Clapham in PIL, who are two giants).

Regarding the career options, the Academy offers the opportunity to have an internship in the second semester (number of opportunities varies depending on the year though, so you - might - not have an internship. However for my year, many positions were offered and I don't think anyone was actually denied from having an internship). A ridiculously large amount of students want to work for the ICRC, and many for NGOs, but you could do whatever you want with your degree. You could work for your government, your army, etc. You basically can do whatever you want with your degree, it depends on the career you want to pursue. It is better if you have an idea of what you want to do before going to the Academy instead of doing this randomly - because IHL is a relatively narrow field. I believe it is a great complement to other studies (PIL or war/security studies for example), and it is also great on its own, but in the latter case you would want to be sure you want to work in the IHL area.

The Academy also has a good focus on Human Rights - but it is not its specialty. If you want to specialize in Human Rights, go somewhere else if you can (I heard that the University of Essex has a very good Human Rights program - did not check it out myself though).

To summarize:

- The Academy is without a doubt #1 in the law of armed conflict/international humanitarian law WORLDWIDE

- With a degree from the Academy, you could seek to pursue a career with the ICRC, NGOs, international organizations, your government/army (legal adviser typically). I believe it can also be a great complement to security/war studies (to have a "complete" view of armed conflicts, international relations + international law)

- It has a fair amount of focus in Human Rights, but it is not the main subject. If you want to specialize in Human Rights, you should go somewhere else.

- General advice: in my opinion, you should not focus on the "general reputation" of a school, but only the reputation of the program you want to get in. In this case, even if for sure UCL is much more famous worldwide, the Geneva Academy is #1 worldwide in IHL, and people who work in this field or know seriously about it would know that.

Hello,
I am planing to apply for geneva academy .I am from India.Geneva Academy is my only option to do my Ll..m in humantarian and human rights law.I want to apply through full scholarship track . I don not have any such experience with
any human right organisation or an NGO . Could anybody please guide me , how could I be successful in getting admission there through scholarship track.
Shall be thankful .

Hello Rajbir. I am in the same position with regard to applying for scholarships to attend the Academy. Were you granted any scholarships?