King's or Leiden?


Inactive User

Hi everyone!

I have recently received offers from King's College, London (General LLM) and Leiden University (LLM in Public International Law). I am not sure which one of these I should choose. As per QS world rankings for law, King's is ranked 17 and Leiden is ranked 23 (so not much difference in that).
I intend to find work in the city where I do my LLM from thus as far as job prospects are considered is London better or The Hague?
Also, King's offer a variety of courses to choose from whereas Leiden does not allow such flexibility.
It will be great if someone could help me understand which one of these is better! :)

Hi everyone!

I have recently received offers from King's College, London (General LLM) and Leiden University (LLM in Public International Law). I am not sure which one of these I should choose. As per QS world rankings for law, King's is ranked 17 and Leiden is ranked 23 (so not much difference in that).
I intend to find work in the city where I do my LLM from thus as far as job prospects are considered is London better or The Hague?
Also, King's offer a variety of courses to choose from whereas Leiden does not allow such flexibility.
It will be great if someone could help me understand which one of these is better! :)
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fazal12

So I'm stuck with the same conflict, I have Leiden University as well as Queen Mary in hand for Commercial Law. (Had Edinburgh too but ruled that out.
Ofcourse you know about the work permit issues in the UK, and you can actually look for a job in Netherlands for a year.
However, Kings is definitely in the big leagues, and the return on investments are good. If you find a job there during your tenure well and good, otherwise you can apply to other countries too besides India. If you do come back to India, you'll have the top law firms waiting for you with a bouquet of flowers!
However, Netherlands is really cheap and chilled out compared to the U.K., and it would be easier for you to hunt for a job in another European country, including U.K
I personally feel its easier to get a job in UK if you apply through mainland Europe. But then again we're talking Kings.
Why dont you base your decision on scholarships? If Kings offers you a little student waiver by summer, I think you should consider it.

So I'm stuck with the same conflict, I have Leiden University as well as Queen Mary in hand for Commercial Law. (Had Edinburgh too but ruled that out.
Ofcourse you know about the work permit issues in the UK, and you can actually look for a job in Netherlands for a year.
However, Kings is definitely in the big leagues, and the return on investments are good. If you find a job there during your tenure well and good, otherwise you can apply to other countries too besides India. If you do come back to India, you'll have the top law firms waiting for you with a bouquet of flowers!
However, Netherlands is really cheap and chilled out compared to the U.K., and it would be easier for you to hunt for a job in another European country, including U.K
I personally feel its easier to get a job in UK if you apply through mainland Europe. But then again we're talking Kings.
Why dont you base your decision on scholarships? If Kings offers you a little student waiver by summer, I think you should consider it.
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Inactive User

Thanks a lot for your reply! I am also worried about the job prospects in UK esp. because I want to specialise in international law. I have read in newspapers that India and UK are in talks to give student visa for a longer duration after the course gets over but there is no clarity on this matter as of now.

As for your conflict between Leiden and QMUL. I think according to rankings Leiden is definitely above Queen Mary and like you said job prospects in mainland Europe are much better than those in UK. Also, as far as I know The Netherlands gives you some 3-6 months additional on your visa after the course is over, so that gives some time to seek a job. Probably the only thing you'd be missing out on is living in London as opposed to living in a small city like Leiden/ The Hague. I am not aware of the kind of faculty QMUL has so I can't really comment on the academic aspect of the College.

I also got offer from QMUL (Commercial Law) and Durham but ruled out both of them for King's and Leiden.

Thanks a lot for your reply! I am also worried about the job prospects in UK esp. because I want to specialise in international law. I have read in newspapers that India and UK are in talks to give student visa for a longer duration after the course gets over but there is no clarity on this matter as of now.

As for your conflict between Leiden and QMUL. I think according to rankings Leiden is definitely above Queen Mary and like you said job prospects in mainland Europe are much better than those in UK. Also, as far as I know The Netherlands gives you some 3-6 months additional on your visa after the course is over, so that gives some time to seek a job. Probably the only thing you'd be missing out on is living in London as opposed to living in a small city like Leiden/ The Hague. I am not aware of the kind of faculty QMUL has so I can't really comment on the academic aspect of the College.

I also got offer from QMUL (Commercial Law) and Durham but ruled out both of them for King's and Leiden.
quote
fazal12

Thanks a lot for your reply! I am also worried about the job prospects in UK esp. because I want to specialise in international law. I have read in newspapers that India and UK are in talks to give student visa for a longer duration after the course gets over but there is no clarity on this matter as of now.

As for your conflict between Leiden and QMUL. I think according to rankings Leiden is definitely above Queen Mary and like you said job prospects in mainland Europe are much better than those in UK. Also, as far as I know The Netherlands gives you some 3-6 months additional on your visa after the course is over, so that gives some time to seek a job. Probably the only thing you'd be missing out on is living in London as opposed to living in a small city like Leiden/ The Hague. I am not aware of the kind of faculty QMUL has so I can't really comment on the academic aspect of the College.

I also got offer from QMUL (Commercial Law) and Durham but ruled out both of them for King's and Leiden.


I read about the recent discussions for relaxation of work visas for Indians in the UK too. However, just earlier this Jan, an article came out where UK clarified that they would not be relaxing work visas in the near future, and the Mayor was just thinking out loud. That was, tbh, the final straw for me. QMUL has a dedicated centre for Commercial Law, but I'm actually thinking that I could easily find work in the UK if I finish it up from Leiden. Apart from the one year work permit in Netherlands, I get schengen privileges to travel around the continent, so thats a bonus! I've infact already paid for the hostel, so unless QMUL doesn't offer me a really outstanding scholarship, I'll stick with Leiden.

Let me know what you eventually plan to go ahead with! See you in Leiden if you plan on taking it up!

<blockquote>Thanks a lot for your reply! I am also worried about the job prospects in UK esp. because I want to specialise in international law. I have read in newspapers that India and UK are in talks to give student visa for a longer duration after the course gets over but there is no clarity on this matter as of now.

As for your conflict between Leiden and QMUL. I think according to rankings Leiden is definitely above Queen Mary and like you said job prospects in mainland Europe are much better than those in UK. Also, as far as I know The Netherlands gives you some 3-6 months additional on your visa after the course is over, so that gives some time to seek a job. Probably the only thing you'd be missing out on is living in London as opposed to living in a small city like Leiden/ The Hague. I am not aware of the kind of faculty QMUL has so I can't really comment on the academic aspect of the College.

I also got offer from QMUL (Commercial Law) and Durham but ruled out both of them for King's and Leiden. </blockquote>

I read about the recent discussions for relaxation of work visas for Indians in the UK too. However, just earlier this Jan, an article came out where UK clarified that they would not be relaxing work visas in the near future, and the Mayor was just thinking out loud. That was, tbh, the final straw for me. QMUL has a dedicated centre for Commercial Law, but I'm actually thinking that I could easily find work in the UK if I finish it up from Leiden. Apart from the one year work permit in Netherlands, I get schengen privileges to travel around the continent, so thats a bonus! I've infact already paid for the hostel, so unless QMUL doesn't offer me a really outstanding scholarship, I'll stick with Leiden.

Let me know what you eventually plan to go ahead with! See you in Leiden if you plan on taking it up!
quote
ldncdn

Hi all, take it from someone who lives in London with my visa about to expire after my LLB from UCL. The work permit issue in UK is no exaggeration. UK takes a very very restrictive approach to hiring non-EU nationals, and law firms will put you to a much higher standard than other candidates because they need to 'justify' displacing an EU worker if they hire you. Sometimes they are up front about it (such as letting you know the quota of work permits they can issue and how they are mostly used for senior lateral hires instead of graduate recruitment), sometimes they aren't. The prestige of the UK university you attended makes little difference. I know a couple people who did either their LLB or LLM at KCL and I can't say it is an employment hotspot here. Hope that helps!

Hi all, take it from someone who lives in London with my visa about to expire after my LLB from UCL. The work permit issue in UK is no exaggeration. UK takes a very very restrictive approach to hiring non-EU nationals, and law firms will put you to a much higher standard than other candidates because they need to 'justify' displacing an EU worker if they hire you. Sometimes they are up front about it (such as letting you know the quota of work permits they can issue and how they are mostly used for senior lateral hires instead of graduate recruitment), sometimes they aren't. The prestige of the UK university you attended makes little difference. I know a couple people who did either their LLB or LLM at KCL and I can't say it is an employment hotspot here. Hope that helps!
quote
fazal12

Hi all, take it from someone who lives in London with my visa about to expire after my LLB from UCL. The work permit issue in UK is no exaggeration. UK takes a very very restrictive approach to hiring non-EU nationals, and law firms will put you to a much higher standard than other candidates because they need to 'justify' displacing an EU worker if they hire you. Sometimes they are up front about it (such as letting you know the quota of work permits they can issue and how they are mostly used for senior lateral hires instead of graduate recruitment), sometimes they aren't. The prestige of the UK university you attended makes little difference. I know a couple people who did either their LLB or LLM at KCL and I can't say it is an employment hotspot here. Hope that helps!


Thanks! That provides me with some clarity atleast. Netherlands it is for me then!
And if you guys really do want to find employment in London, I suggest doing an LLM from somewhere in mainland Europe, and after you become an EU candidate, you have more chances of getting employed in the UK

<blockquote>Hi all, take it from someone who lives in London with my visa about to expire after my LLB from UCL. The work permit issue in UK is no exaggeration. UK takes a very very restrictive approach to hiring non-EU nationals, and law firms will put you to a much higher standard than other candidates because they need to 'justify' displacing an EU worker if they hire you. Sometimes they are up front about it (such as letting you know the quota of work permits they can issue and how they are mostly used for senior lateral hires instead of graduate recruitment), sometimes they aren't. The prestige of the UK university you attended makes little difference. I know a couple people who did either their LLB or LLM at KCL and I can't say it is an employment hotspot here. Hope that helps!</blockquote>

Thanks! That provides me with some clarity atleast. Netherlands it is for me then!
And if you guys really do want to find employment in London, I suggest doing an LLM from somewhere in mainland Europe, and after you become an EU candidate, you have more chances of getting employed in the UK
quote

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