Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone could provide me with some information about this University and its Faculty of law.
I would be interested in knowing more about:
- overall level of teaching
- mode of study
- university infrastructure
- student/teaching staff ration (small vs large classes)
- atmosphere and university bureaucracy

I would really appreciate any help as I'm really puzzled about what LLM on European Law to chose.

Adam

Hi Adam,

I am currently studying in the LLM programme in European Banking and Financial Law, and have been studying at the University of Luxembourg for 5 years now (I studied for the Bachelor in Law there as well).

As far as the level of teaching is concerned, I honestly couldn't compare to other universities as I know only this one; however, the Faculty tries to hire the best possible scholars in order to constitute its teaching body. Among the teachers we have lawyers from the biggest local law firms (which includes the biggest Luxembourgish firms as well as Magic Circle firms), people from the European Investment Bank, the Central Bank, various banks and enterprises... If you choose to study European Litigation, the courses are taught by the Judges and Advocate Generals from the Court of Justice of the European Union, and you can get an internship with them; this is something that you won't find anywhere else.

Concerning the mode of study, it really depends on the teacher. You have a couple of classes where you basically sit down and listen to the teacher, but due to the small number of students most classes are a mix between core course and seminar, where you are encouraged to participate; you also have actual seminars which sometimes involve writing and presenting a paper.

University infrastructure: well, basically 2 buildings, one of which is relatively new; 4 computer rooms (5 if you count the library) which are very well equipped; a library which might seem small compared to other universities, but we have access to the library of the European Court of Justice, which is huge; a university restaurant; a student lounge (with coffee, pool, couches... You get the idea); free wifi all over capus, both in- and outside the buildings... No free parking for students though (if you own a car), but there are 4 bus lines stopping just in front of the campus. Don't know what else to say, just ask if you have more precise concerns.

The student/teaching staff ratio is a very good point at this university: for the LLM programme, the numerus clausus is 50/60 students for the first common year, and 25 students per specialisation for the second year. So you can get to know the teacher and ask any questions you want, you will never be stuck in a 500 people class.

The atmosphere at the university is good, very international. There are about a hundred nationalities on campus and you can find people to speak any language you want.

And finally concerning the bureaucracy, there's not much i can say; I never had problems with the administration, and its easy to find the person you need for a specific information or problem. be it housing, jobs, gifts, mobility, programme-related information... There is an office for everything.

I hope this helped you a bit ;)

Adrien

Thanks a lot for the detailed description. It certainly provides me with a better picture of the University and its program

Excellent post by Adrien and I would echo what he says about the university. They also organise visits to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and perhaps more interestingly for you, to the Court of Justice, although given its proximity you are welcome to visit any time. However, just last week we had a visit organised by Judge Lars Bay Larsen, a pre-eminent expert in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. We attended a hearing having had an introduction to the case before he gave us a debriefing afterwards and then took us to his office. During this term, we have a series of 7 seminars and we pick 3 in which we must write a paper. The expertise the university is able to assemble is hugely impressive, for instance soon we will have Contentieux de la Fiscalité with Melchior Wathelet - few have more experience in EU law from a variety of points of view (politician, judge, lawyer, academic, soon to be Advocate General it would seem) and we will have Jean-François Bellis for External Trade, who founded Van Bael and Bellis - one of the most renowned law firms in the world in the area of trade and competition law. That's just to give you a flavour. I would really encourage you to apply and come to Luxembourg and you can be part of something, which is growing and developing all the time as Luxembourg carves out a niche for itself in European Litigation.