I participated in the program LL.M. in International Legal Studies at the University of Vienna during the academic year of 2007-2008. I have noticed that no information is available from a former student, so I decided to describe my experience.

Two words come to my mind concerning my experience of studying in the program: unique and interesting. My view is that the program is unique in the sense that it is not a mass LL.M. program you will not, as a student, sit in class with 200 other master students finishing their Austrian masters degree (...which is the case in some European universities and I would have found unappealing...). Instead you will be part of a small group of students which are able to have interesting dicussions with a number of professors who are renowned in their field. This has its pros and cons; the pros are that you are able to take an active part in class with your colleagues and the professors; the cons are that it is not the cheapest LL.M. program available. Still, it is cheaper than programs in many US and UK universities in terms of tutition and much cheaper after having taken into account living accommodation.

The Program contains four modules. I will not go into the details of these modules as they are described on the Program´s website.

The professors have all taught extensively in Europe and in the United States. Some have worked for the Austrian Foreign Ministry (e.g. Professor Hanspeter Neuhold and Professor Karl Zemanek), at the UN level (e.g. Professor Gerhard Hafner and Professor Manfred Nowak), at specific fields of law concerning investment protection and international institutions (Professor August Reinisch) or in GATT and WTO law (Professor Friedl Weiss). Other professors, such as Christoph Schreuer, are very well known in international investment law, especially regarding the ICSID Convention. Some of the professors are or have been involved in the most prestigious international lawyers institutions, such as the International Law Commission, the International Law Association, etc.

The social life is mostly up to the students. That will not be a problem taking into account the venue. Vienna is a wonderful city to life in. It helps if you talk a bit German, but that is not necessary, only enhances your overall experience. The city is international it is home to many international organisations. It is also international in the sense that it has an incredible wealth of museums, cafes and restaurants. It could be argued that the tourist season is in full swing 24/7/365 namely all year. Therefore, there is always something going on, whether it be rock concerts, opera, theater, christmas markets, outdoor cinemas, etc. West of the city you will find a wonderful white wine region (Wachau) and east of the city there is a red wine region (Burgenland). Skiing during winter is not only recommended, but a must!

The Program organized lunch-time lectures which included speakers from embassies and international organizations which have their headquarters or regional offices in the city, such as United Nations, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), etc. Some students, including myself, were able to do an internship at an international organization. Furthermore, the Program organized trips to other European cities to visit international organizations, e.g. World Trade Organization and United Nations office in Geneva, International Court of Justice in the Hague, etc. In short, the academic year was busy.

So all in all, you will get to study law, have interesting conversations with the law professors in class or in study trips in various European cities, enjoy Vienna and its surroundings and meet a group of students from different countries. The best part is that you will probably have fun while doing so.

It's great to have an insiders perspective - did you have any experience / knowledge of the European and International Business Law LLM - the other English-language masters?

Many thanks!

I appreciate your account of the experience. It sounds like a great program.

Practically, though, what, if anything, did this program do for your career? I'm an American lawyer interested in transitioning to international law, and would love to work for an intergovernmental organization such as the UN one day. Would this program help? What jobs did people in your program get after graduation? Did they mostly just go back to the jobs they had before?

Hi,

I think that this program is able to boost your career, but getting the degree from the University of Vienna is only one factor of many necessary to elevate your career to the next level - other factors are also important, e.g. your contacts at an international organization you are applying to. Getting a position at an international organization is something which is an art in itself - it depends on your qualifications and skills, whether 50 or 500 persons are applying for the particular position and last but not least luck!

The two most obivious organizations which I can think of, which deal with the things covered in the program, are UNCTAD (www.unctad.org), World Bank (www.worldbank.org) and WTO (www.wto.org). The program covers both international investment law, which UNCTAD and the World Bank deal with, and international trade, which is dealt with by the WTO. The program arranged visits to these organizations (i.e. UNCTAD and WTO) and we got the feeling very early on that our professor (a former lecturer at London School of Economics and a former director of a LLM program at the University of Amsterdam), knew many of the specialists in these institutions.

Then there are the numerous human rights organizations. The program dealt with human rights when I attended it. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Manfred Nowak, is a member of the faculty - his course was most interesting.

But I could also mention other parts of the program, e.g. a part dealt with international peace and security, something which is, of course, dealt with by the UN Security Council.

However, you can also work in international law even though you are not working in an international organization. International investment law, one of the many fields of law which the faculty is known for, was tought by Professor Christoph Schreuer, an authority on the subject (http://www.amazon.de/Principles-International-Investment-Foundations-Public/dp/0199211760/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books-intl-de&qid=1240300534&sr=8-3). This part of international law is evolving fast which makes it particularly interesting. Just look up the public international law departments of any major international law firm.

Some of the students who were studying were doing that directly after their law studies, so they were beginning their careers. Many started to work for law firms, some work for oil companies, one is working at an embassy, another one is working at the Toshiba Headquarters in Japan. With regard to my career, I decided to start to work on my PhD after having concluded the program.

It's great to have an insiders perspective - did you have any experience / knowledge of the European and International Business Law LLM - the other English-language masters?

Many thanks!

IntlLawyer,

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like a great program, and I've read a bit about the four modules, which sound very interesting.

If you have time, would you mind sharing a bit more about your experience? Did you do the 1-year full-time or 2-year part-time? How time consuming was it? Are there classes five days a week? Did you consider other International Law LLM programs, and if so, how did you decide on Vienna?

I'm currently an environmental/natural resources lawyer in the U.S. I'd like to expand into the international realm, and preferably work for an international institution. Some other English-language, International LLM programs that have been mentioned on this site include Leiden, Utrecht and Tilburg. Did you look into any of those?

Thanks again.

Hi, again,

Sorry for the late reply I went on a little vacation last week...:)

I did the 1 year full-time program. The other feature, i.e. the 2 year part-time thing, was not available when I did the program.

We attended classes from Monday to Wednesday. Classes were usually from 10-12 and from 15-17 (...please note that it is uncertain whether this still applies to the program...). The program is time consuming if you decide to take it seriously. I decided to do so (...after all this costs money...) and did spend alot of time on it. By doing so I gained knowledge in areas which were new to me and I got good grades. However, I think that I would have passed all the courses if I had studied less. But I was returning to law school after having worked for about 6 years, so I was hungry to touch base with academia.

I did not look at other programs. I was originally planning on LSE, but as it turned out I moved to Vienna shortly before beginning my studies. So the most logical option was to study at the University. Therefore, I did not look at Leiden, Utrecht and Tiburg. I have not, to be honest, heard about Utrecht and Tilburg and cannot comment on those. I know that some of my friends from the law faculty where I did my original law degree decided to go to Leiden. That was because of their record in European Union law (...I come from a European country...). I have heard that they are good in European law.

Being a natural resource lawyer puts you in an interesting place in international law. Although I realize that you probably are focusing on environmental law, I cannot but mention international investment law. That field of law is one of the fastest growing fields of international law (...about 200 cases are being argued before arbitral tribunals please see http://icsid.worldbank.org/ICSID/Index.jsp...). It is safe to say that international investment law deals to a considerable extent with natural resources (e.g. hydroelectric power plants, aluminium plants, oil and gas industry projects), in particular when a foreign investor invests in another country.

Best regards,
Intlawyer

IntLawyer,

Not a late reply at all! You replied only hours after my post - thank you!

I appreciate your response. I know little about international investment law, but will certainly look into it. It sounds very interesting.

A number of people on these boards have said good things about Tilburg, and Leiden has been mentioned quite a bit as well. Tilburg, Leiden and Utrecht all have LLMs in public international law specifically. That is appealing to me because I am pretty sure I want to do public law, but Vienna's broader program is appealing as well. How was the public international law module?

Hi, again,

Sorry, I looked at the date which indicates when you joined the www.llm-guide.com (20 April 2009)...:)

The public international law module was very interesting. The module was similar to the one currently displayed on the programs website. The classes were really not in the lecture format, but were rather designed as seminars, i.e. student participation was welcomed and expected.

This module covered topical issues in international law and was very interesting for that reason. If I were to name two examples of issues covered, I would mention: (1) terrorism and the use of force (...can a state use self-defence if attacked by a non-state actor?...) and (2) how much immunity does an international organization enjoy (...can the UN violate human rights and is the organization responsible for those violations?...), etc.

So, in short, I found the public international law module interesting.

Hello, I am also interested in the programme!

Do they have any career services? companies/organization recruiting on campus? if one wants to work in the private sector, are there english only oportunities available?

thank you!

A

Hi...

I am also interested in the program at the University of Vienna. I understand that both L.L.M. programs are offered in the English language. Is everything taught in English? Are all of the text books in English as well? All examinations in English? I only ask because I am not bilingual in English and German.

Also, in reference to the above post--is it possible to get a job in another EU country after the completion of the program? I understand the university has a very good reputation throughout Europe, so I would assume a degree would be highly regarded by European institutions/companies/law firms throughout...no? In terms of English only opportunities, would England also be a possibility after graduation? I looked at the law school website on alumni and noticed several alumni now work for London-based employers. Also, (not to ask too many questions) but are there any opportunities during the time of study for publication or membership on a journal, ect? I understand that both L.L.M. programs require a thesis.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Hi, the one I can comment on is the LL.M. in International Legal Studies (see http://www.llm-guide.com/university/693/universitaet-wien-university-of-vienna-international-legal-studies). Hence, this post only applies to that program. I completed that program and was pleased with the professors, the lectures and the program as a whole.

Yes, all courses are taught in English, all the textbooks are in English and all the exams are in English. When you look at the CVs of the professors doing the lectures you will see that they have taught extensively in Europe and the United States.

Yes, it is possible to get a job in another EU country lateron. However, that will not happen automatically. If you are an EU-citizen you should not have any difficulty. If you are not an EU-citizen the situation is different. It is difficult to comment, as I do not know where you are from (...+ I am no expert in this, pls contact your Ministry for Foreign Affairs or your embassy in Vienna...).

It is worth mentioning that if you come from a developing country you might have a greater opportunity getting employment in some international organization (...this was not talked about in the program, but I realized when I did an internship at an international organization...). There are special rules which apply in many international organizations because they put considerable effort in getting people from developing countries so that these individuals possess not only expertise but also experience at the international level when they return to their native countries (...people often return because contracts at international organizations are usually for a limited time period...). Again, difficult to comment on specifics as this usually differs from one organization to another.

The University has a good reputation not only in Europe but also outside Europe. The professors in the program have held lectures in the US, Europe and Asia, as far as I know, and worked for the UN and WTO. After having graduated my fellow students either began or continued to work for law firms in Europe and Central America (...pls note that no one went to my knowledge to London...), oil companies with offices in Eastern Europe, a multinational corporation in Japan, etc. One student began his Ph.D. studies.

The LL.M. in International Legal Studies ends with the writing of a thesis. I think with regard to publication that this is a possilibility (...everything is possible!...), but this is something which depends on the assessment of a journal's editorial board. There are journals published in Austria and quite many in Europe, e.g. European Journal of International Law. I presume that further information concerning rules of admittance is provided on the web page of the journal your are interested in.

I hope this helps!

Thank you for your reply,

so if I understand correctly, there aren't any companies recruiting in this master, it is up to you to make the contacts and find a job. I assume career services (I've checked their website) is only for german speakers.

IntlLawyer,

Continued thanks for answering all of these questions. In a different thread, I asked what is required to practice law in Europe (licenses etc.), and the answer seems complicated. Certainly England has its own requirements, for instance. I am an American and know that American law firms with offices in Europe hire American lawyers, but I am not sure how that works (I believe, though, that they do not have to have different licenses). I am also aware of at least one American who got a job at a UN office in Rome, but I do not know if she had to obtain any particular licenses to work there.

A couple more questions, if you don't mind! Were there any Americans in your program and if so, what did they do after graduation? Did anyone in your program get a job at an international organization after graduation?

Hi, again.

Yes, there was one American. He was working in private practice before he joined the program. He continued to work in private practice after graduation. He was, however, interested in joining an international organization. The last thing I heard was that he was doing interviews at some international organizations.

To my knowledge (...this could have changed since I last heard from them...) nobody of my other colleagues applied for positions in international organizations after graduating. One of my colleagues is currently working in an embassy which entails going to meetings at an international organization in Vienna.

@Intlwannabe

I am currently woking at the VIC (Vienna International Center), where there are different UN organizations. Since there is a variety of countries and education systems, if a post requires a law degree or equivalent, all you need is the diploma from your home country or where you finished your studies stating that you have graduated. When working for the UN you are considered an International Civil Servant and therefore don't need to pass the particular requirements of local lawyers in the country (Rome, Vienna, or Geneva).

But getting a post in the UN is mostly about connections, you can see some different opinions here: http://www.virtualvienna.net/main/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=11975

A

IntlLawyer and atenea,

Thank you both so much. Very helpful. Good luck to both in your endeavors!

Hi!

I`m also thinking about this program so I have a few questions.
Is it hard to get accepted and is there some particular toefl score required?
About the tuition fee... Uni Wien has some regulations regarding the reduction of tuition fee if you come from the certain country. Is it possible to apply that to LLM?
I will sonn get my Master diploma. But, time spent on my university was mainly me and the book, and that is one of the reasons I want to do LLM - I think that it will give me some wider perpective and I will do some thinking and not only learning. Is this true?