Hey, I'm hopefully going to Leiden in September to study International Law LLM. I've been reading a couple of messages here about the lack of feedback received on work and people saying the best professors are teaching the advanced LLM. Any current students agree?

Anyone else here applying / applied?

Hey kidofalbion!

I sent off my application for the regular PIL LLM at Leiden on Monday. Having spoken to current Leiden students and my dissertation supervisor, who knows some of the lecturers at Leiden personally, i've only heard good things about the law department there. But as with many other universities there will always be a handful of lecturers who provide less feedback than most!

Have you been offered a place as of yet?

Pleased to make your acquaintance Suneetk. I applied for Leiden a few weeks ago but have received no correspondence from the admissions office yet. I've also heard great things about the programme and having visited Leiden a few times, I think the area is perfect for studying. Where will you be living?

If I get a place on the programme, I will probably be living in the one of the student halls provided by the University as I asked for the accommodation office to assist with housing on the application form. How about yourself?

Did you apply for the regular or advanced LLM?

¿Has anyone been accepted/rejected to the P.I.L. LLM?
I received my acceptance letter on January 22, 2010...

Hey guys,

I am enrolled for September's Advanced LL.M in PIL (International Criminal Law).

Pleased to meet you all! I might stay with a friend near Wassenaar, since it is midway between Den Haag and Leiden, I heard for PIL half of the classes will be in Den Haag (as well as the weekly lecture series). Plus it would be easier to go to the courts from Wassenaar than from Leiden.

Let's get to know future students here before we all meet up for good in Leiden =D

Suneetk, are you already assigned to a dissertation supervisor?

Suneetk, are you already assigned to a dissertation supervisor?

Ah, no worries.

I'm from Malaysia. Planning to come a bit earlier to Leiden to see the classes and meet some lecturers, I don't want to be completely out of place there.

Hope to see you all there!

Hi guys,
Best of luck with your applications. The submissions and selection process can be somewhat harrowing. My advice, having done this last year? Chill a bit! once everything is submitted, there is nothing you can do but wait - dont waste valuable time that could be spent taking a nap in the sun worrying about something that you cant change.

As for the adv llm/regular llm debate, the answer is objectively simple, i would think.

For a non-european union citizen? Apply for the adv llm - simply because you pay the same fee for both courses.
For a european union citizen, I would only apply for the adv llm if you seriously want a career in this field of law, otherwise, pay the much lower home fees for the regular llm.

In terms of quality of programmes, i can only speak for the adv programme, which is the one i am in this year (2009-2010). Its a great programme, which offers plenty of exposure to the various institutions that have signed HQ agreements with the NL. Curiously, the faculty has very strong links to defence lawyers, so that will be where the bulk of their internship offers come from. There appears to be some discontent from regular llm students about the kinds of things they are been taught, particular given a western-centric focus.

anyway, enjoy your downtime after applying.

Kenneth

How long did it take for you guys to hear back?

I applied for the advanced LLM in International Criminal Law. And if you don't mind, can you share some of your stats and credentials? I'm curious to see where I stand as an applicant... thanks guys! Hope to see you all in Leiden.

I had applied for the advanced LLM in International Taxation and I heard back in two days! Their staff is really helpful and efficient..

See you all in Leiden!

Around 6 weeks after the application, I got my offer. I think you should be able to get in so long as you meet the minimum qualification as required. It doesn't mean that the program is not good, in fact the program I believe is excellent, just that the admission process in the Netherlands is not competitive-based, that means, people don't compete against each other for admission.

[Qualifications removed]

Hey Kenneth!

Glad to hear that defence teams make contact with the class, I'll be particularly interested in that.

Hi Mike, Kenneth et al.

It's good to see the Leiden applicants touching base in this thread. For those who have applied online, have you checked the status of your application on the appropriate internet section? I don't expect to hear anything for a while yet.

So where is everyone from? Have you visited Leiden before?

Hi Matches,
I dont think you should concern yourself much with the qualifications of others; because as was pointed out, the application is on a rolling non-competitive basis. youre only competing against yourself here.

Edited

As for the online application, last year, I got my offer a few days before the online status changed; and about a week after I applied. But I wouldnt take a lack of an immediate response as a sign of anything. Again, outside submitting before the final application date, the only omen good or ill that you will get is the actual offer itself, everything else has no bearing on the success of your application. The review of applications is a very fluid process, and knowing the staff who review the applications, I can assure you each application will be thoroughly considered. They are a very dedicated bunch.

@Mike: One of the classes in the llm(adv) is on international criminal procedure - its mostly litigation-exercise based, and is taught by Guenael Mettraux, who is very intelligent ICTY defence lawyer.

Regards
Ken

Thanks so much for the encouraging words, you guys. I'm an American with a BA and JD (average grades) great resume and recommendations... how competitive do you think I am?

Hopefully I'll hear something soon, and I'll let you know!

I think there's no reason to think why you wouldn't =), although I'm not really sure what Leiden means when it requires a degree giving "access to legal practice" (or of similar wording), does that mean they require the bar exam? (since I know the route for Americans are undergrad -> JD -> Bar exam)

Hope to see you in Leiden. I'm excited.

Great also to hear about our lecturer. Back when I was in Den Haag, there seems to be lectures and conferences everywhere and nothing gets boring. Having primary source access to everything international law related is also major :D

Greetings everyone!

I am from Taiwan and I just got accepted to the LLM in PIL (reg) from Leiden Law School yesterday. As I didn't specialised in Law in my undergraduate years, I would like to share my application with those who are interested in PIL but not LLB graduates (and without full-time working experience).

I will have my BA degree in political science (international relations specialised) and a minor degree in English literature this June, and I have enrolled in various international law related course in my undergraduate years including general public and private IL, international economic law. I worked as an intern in the presidential candidate's office for the campaign for 2 years, and 6 months as a teaching assistant in my university. Decent undergraduate GPA and 3 excellent references.

My application was via the online system, and received the offer within 4 weeks, but I heard some waited for 10 weeks=(

Can't wait for the programme to start, and I am very excited about the courses in Den Haag, love it when I was there last summer =")

Hello there Chrissy and welcome to the LLM Board.

Thank you for contributing to the thread, I'm sure it will be reassuring for any students applying to Leiden without a legal background that there opportunities to enroll on the course. Out of interest, when did you apply? I think the people who applied last year, have already received acceptance / rejections. I am still waiting but my application was sent last month.