Utrecht vs Leiden for Public International Law

alexgilder

1 1

Posted Feb 03, 2015 19:17

Hello all,

I have an offer from Utrecht for the Public International Law LLM and I'm debating whether or not to also apply to Leiden. Ranking wise they're pretty equal overall looking at various sources, but for law specifically Leiden is 23rd vs Utrecht at 48th (QS).

Anyway, I've never been to the Netherlands and would like to know the differences between the universities themselves and the courses if possible. Any details such as seminar quality and sizes, internship availability, what the mooting is like, the electives etc.

I keep getting drawn to the fact Leiden have classes at the Grotius Centre! & then thinking well I can go for talks there anyway even if I attend Utrecht! Ah decisions.

Thank you to anyone who can help!

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bluecrown

71 142

Posted Feb 04, 2015 02:53

Hello all,

I have an offer from Utrecht for the Public International Law LLM and I'm debating whether or not to also apply to Leiden. Ranking wise they're pretty equal overall looking at various sources, but for law specifically Leiden is 23rd vs Utrecht at 48th (QS).

Anyway, I've never been to the Netherlands and would like to know the differences between the universities themselves and the courses if possible. Any details such as seminar quality and sizes, internship availability, what the mooting is like, the electives etc.

I keep getting drawn to the fact Leiden have classes at the Grotius Centre! & then thinking well I can go for talks there anyway even if I attend Utrecht! Ah decisions.

Thank you to anyone who can help!

They are both good schools and I've had friends who went to both. They can only say really good things about these universities. But I would personally go for Leiden.

Leiden offers an advanced LLM degree in Public International Law with more rigorous training and learning. You will have prominent scholars such as Schrijver, Blokker and Schabas as professors. And the international courts are so close by! Legal Counsels and Judges from the ICJ and the PCA usually guest lecture at Leiden. And I believe you get access to the Peace Palace Library. This privilege may also be available to other universities but Leiden's proximity to the courts makes it very convenient. And of course, the Grotius Centre is at Leiden. So you get additional resources and supervision. From what I know, they only get around 30 students for the advanced LLM in PIL, and there are only 2 major tracks (they have no electives). I would only advise you to apply for the advanced program, not the regular one.

As regards career assistance, this might not be a focus for these unis. Although I could be wrong.

This is not to say that Utrecht is not good, because it is! This is just my personal choice. Hope that helps.

<blockquote>Hello all,

I have an offer from Utrecht for the Public International Law LLM and I'm debating whether or not to also apply to Leiden. Ranking wise they're pretty equal overall looking at various sources, but for law specifically Leiden is 23rd vs Utrecht at 48th (QS).

Anyway, I've never been to the Netherlands and would like to know the differences between the universities themselves and the courses if possible. Any details such as seminar quality and sizes, internship availability, what the mooting is like, the electives etc.

I keep getting drawn to the fact Leiden have classes at the Grotius Centre! & then thinking well I can go for talks there anyway even if I attend Utrecht! Ah decisions.

Thank you to anyone who can help!</blockquote>

They are both good schools and I've had friends who went to both. They can only say really good things about these universities. But I would personally go for Leiden.

Leiden offers an advanced LLM degree in Public International Law with more rigorous training and learning. You will have prominent scholars such as Schrijver, Blokker and Schabas as professors. And the international courts are so close by! Legal Counsels and Judges from the ICJ and the PCA usually guest lecture at Leiden. And I believe you get access to the Peace Palace Library. This privilege may also be available to other universities but Leiden's proximity to the courts makes it very convenient. And of course, the Grotius Centre is at Leiden. So you get additional resources and supervision. From what I know, they only get around 30 students for the advanced LLM in PIL, and there are only 2 major tracks (they have no electives). I would only advise you to apply for the advanced program, not the regular one.

As regards career assistance, this might not be a focus for these unis. Although I could be wrong.

This is not to say that Utrecht is not good, because it is! This is just my personal choice. Hope that helps.

quote

alexgilder...

1 1

Posted Feb 04, 2015 12:58

(Apparently I couldn't log in with my original account)
Thank you for help, it is greatly appreciated.
The Peace, Justice and Development advanced track programme at Leiden looks great.. but.. the advanced LLMs are not subsidised by the Dutch Government so I would have to pay 15,000 as opposed to 1950 for a regular programme! Unfortunately that is too steep!
I should probably visit, that would be the wise thing to do.
Both seem to have equally as good reviews for their PIL programmes.

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