Hi,

I've been admitted to NYU, Georgetown and Fletcher for the LL.M. Degree ! I am very interested in public international law and human rights and would like to work for an international organization or a NGO/think tank dealing with such fields in the mid- or long-term ... Making a final choice is very difficult ... NYU and GT have both an outstanding reputation with respect to PIL and HR (but I would very much like living in NYC, where Washington D.C. seems not to be a funny city to live ...). But Fletcher seems to have a very interesting program and seems to be a springboard for a career in an international organization or a NGO according to some people, especially since it has a great alumni network ... Moreover the LL.M. class is very small in Fletcher, where it is not in NYU or GT (I mean number of students graduated each year): maybe with Fletcher and its reputation for interntional law, you are more "eligible" for a public international career ... What do you think ?

Hi Nael,

First of all, I think your are spoiled by choices here. All three have a very good reputation, and each has it´s own strengths. I cannot really advice you which one of you should choose from an acedemic or career perspective. However you worry that DC might not be that an fun city to live in, after having lived here for the past 9 months I would beg to differ :) NYC and DC (and, to that matter Boston) are obviously very different cities, and it is in many ways difficult to compare them. DC is certainly much smaller then NYC, but it does offer it´s charm and actually does have a thriving nightlife, a lot of interesting places to see and is (like NYC) a very international city. Furthermore, DC is a little bit less expsenive than NYC (realitvely speaking of course). That being said, New York is New York and there is really no city that compares.

NYU is Great!

Georgetown Fantastic!

But I would (and will) go Fletchers...

Their stamp in your CV means... JOB...Carrer...Respect... like no where else in this area.

Bye

I guess all three are quite different and I guess you'll need to specify what kind of job you would like to obtain.

Fletcher is particularly famous for diplomacy and international politics; pursuing your LLM there will be very valuable if you wish to pursue a career in international relations and the like, regardless of the specific topic you want to concentrate on.

NYU is excellent for public international law and human rights law. If you know you want to focus on the latter, and get a job in the human rights field afterwards, I would definitely prefer NYU over Fletcher. It has the best faculty in the field (Alston is top both academically and 'international relations'-wise) and offers a lot of opportunities to get into contact with the NGO world (clinic, fellowships, internships). More generally, it looks like a very inspiring place for new thinking on public international law and I have the feeling the network they can count on is huge.

Georgetown seems good if you want to stay in the US and continue in the international law sphere there, but I think it lacks a bit of the world reputation the two others can build upon.

I am having to decide b/tw NYU, G-town and Northwestern. I am pursuing an LLM in int'l law. According to US News, NYU is ranked #1 in int'l law and G-town is #4-5. Northwestern is outside the top ten. Of course, US News rankings are not everything. For instance, G-town has a great location in terms of studying int'l law. In fact, 3 schools in the top 10 for int'l law are all located in DC. On the other hand, I've been told by several law profs that NYU is stellar and that I should choose NYU over all others. I'm not sure yet what to do. For my purposes, I'd like to become a law prof so perhaps that is why law profs recommend accepting NYU's offer over the others. I guess you have to consider your long-term career goals, rankings, location, etc. It is SOOO hard to decide.

No, it's not hard =) As I already mentioned above, NYU is really excellent, not only for (international) human rights law, but for international law in general. Especially since you'd like to go into academics afterwards - a major part of international law doctrine is literally living at NYU (eg IILJ colloquim) =)

Is location the only asset G-town has over NYU for you? And are you sure it is such a great asset? Except if you want to study US foreign relations or IMF/WB matters (and even then...), I'd say there's no better location than Manhattan for international law: from the village, the UN headquarters are just next door and perm representations, NGOs and other lobby groups are all over the place...

Thank you all for your replies and advice !
I have just made my final decision, which was not an easy process : I have enrolled at Fletcher ...
Any other admitted students there ?
We could launch a facebook group and begin give each other good advice with respect to housing, etc.

Nael, I have also enrolled for the Fletcher LLM. Would love to get in touch and know you , I am told the LLM class will be approximately 15 students so it would be great to know each other in advance. Please PM or mail me?

Hi, I will also be attending the Fletcher School for the MALD (Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy) course. The LLM, I am told, will have overlapping courses with the MALD, since the LLM's fields of study constitute basic building blocks for the two years MALD as well.

I also think that the Carreer opportunities offered by Fletcher are beyond compare. Fletcher is among the best schools in the world, with an unrivalled reputation among businesses and employers worldwide.

The ranking you're referring to is about international private and not public law. I would suggest you G-town anyway, as all NGOs and IIOO are set there. Northwestern has one of the best HR program nationwide, as I' sure both NYU and Gtown do.

I am having to decide b/tw NYU, G-town and Northwestern. I am pursuing an LLM in int'l law. According to US News, NYU is ranked #1 in int'l law and G-town is #4-5. Northwestern is outside the top ten. Of course, US News rankings are not everything. For instance, G-town has a great location in terms of studying int'l law. In fact, 3 schools in the top 10 for int'l law are all located in DC. On the other hand, I've been told by several law profs that NYU is stellar and that I should choose NYU over all others. I'm not sure yet what to do. For my purposes, I'd like to become a law prof so perhaps that is why law profs recommend accepting NYU's offer over the others. I guess you have to consider your long-term career goals, rankings, location, etc. It is SOOO hard to decide.

Hi Future Fletcherites! I'm a current Fletcher LL.M. student, and I want to congratulate you on your acceptance! Feel free to ask me any questions about this great program.

EBLK

If you're interested in a career in diplomacy and international relations (United Nations, World Trade Organization, diplomatic missions, international organizations), Fletcher and Georgetown would be good choices (in this order). If you're interested in the practice of law and NGO work, Georgetown and NYU would be good (in this order as well).