Victoria University of Wellington

The 120-point LLM is normally completed within one year, over two or three trimesters. You can craft a programme to suit your needs – whether taught, research-based, or a mixture of both. There is also the opportunity to include an internship as part of your programme: work with a community, government or private sector organisation under the joint supervision of a Faculty member and a professional mentor.

Located in the geographic, political and cultural centre of New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington is at the heart of an outstanding community with a global perspective. Our University has over 22,000 students, including over 3,700 international students from more than 110 countries. Overall, Victoria University of Wellington is in the top 2 percent of the world’s 18,000 universities.

We offer:

• Internationally recognised courses and degree programmes in hundreds of subject areas
• Teaching that focuses on leadership, communication skills and creative and critical thinking
• New Zealand's leading centre of research
• Award-winning student support services to help international students settle into their new living and learning environment.

Victoria University of Wellington’s Faculty of Law is dedicated to legal scholarship of the highest quality. Regularly ranked among the top 50 law schools in the world, the Faculty of Law is also New Zealand's leading centre of academic legal research, based on the latest Performance-Based Research Fund evaluation.

Our courses reflect our capital city status and our research strengths in public, intellectual property, contract, commercial, financial markets, government and international law. We have a tradition of fostering strong global links in teaching, research and programmes of national significance and international quality.

Victoria University of Wellington is home to a diverse and expert group of distinguished academics with research degrees from world-leading universities. Research-active teachers, their work is widely published and they are deeply involved in law reform initiatives and teaching and research fora locally, nationally and internationally. For our students, this means working with teachers who are setting the terms of debate for law reform, and contributing to national and international debates about how to use law to shape the commercial marketplace, to improve the functioning of government, and to enhance the dignity of individuals and peoples.

Our excellence in research enriches our teaching and begins a cycle of leading-edge knowledge and learning. Because of our location, representatives from government and the public and private sectors, as well as visiting academics, add diversity to our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes.

We are focused on producing highly skilled, research-minded students who will be future leaders and influencers on the global stage.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Law  
• Gain a minimum of: IELTS overall band of 7.0 with writing score of 7.0 with no sub-score below 6.5 OR TOEFL (IBT) 100  with a minimum of 25 in writing OR Victoria English Proficiency Programme final scores with writing ‘5’, reading ‘5’ and speaking ‘5’ and listening ‘4’
• Two academic reference letters commenting on your legal research and writing ability
• A short CV detailing your qualifications, training, achievements and experience 
• Research and writing examples (published or unpublished)
   

Once you have confirmed you meet the entrance requirements you will need to complete the application form and send it, along with your other documentation, to Wellington University International.

NZ$35,352 for the full programme (8-12 months/120 points of academic study).* 
This is inclusive of University levies but exclusive of health and travel insurance costs, which are approximately NZ$620. 
*All fees are for 2020 only and are subject to change.

All international students are able to apply for the Faculty of Law's LLM Fee Scholarship, which contributes $5,000 towards fees.

New Zealand has it all—quality education, breathtaking scenery, vibrant culture and some of the friendliest people anywhere.
The Global Peace Index consistently ranks New Zealand as one of the most peaceful countries in the world. Our crime rates are low and New Zealanders (known as Kiwis, after one of our native birds) are known around the world for our easygoing friendliness.
The choice of leisure and sporting activities in New Zealand is almost limitless. From sitting in a café drinking coffee with friends, to tramping through miles of native bush or surfing at the beach, all the options are never far away.

Wellington is New Zealand’s political, cultural and creative capital. As the geographic centre of New Zealand, it is an ideal base for exploring our beautiful country. Read more about living in Wellington.
 

Victoria University of Wellington’s accommodation service offers many different accommodation options, including Halls of Residence and homestays for international students. They can also offer advice about a range of other accommodation options.

 “New Zealand provided an opportunity for adventure—Wellington’s a very vibrant city. It’s also an English-speaking country, and improving my English in the legal context was one of my big goals. Victoria also happens to have one of the world’s best law schools, so it was an easy choice to come here to further my studies. For my internship, I was fortunate to be placed at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). I have made some useful professional connections as a result. I was also able to experience a working environment that was completely different to what you’d find in a German company, law firm or ministry—MBIE has huge, open-plan working spaces and a low hierarchical structure. That meant there was ongoing discussion about the projects we were working on as a team, and that I could get feedback on my work in a timely manner.”
Martin Pohlmann, Master of Laws graduate 
 

• If you don’t meet the English language requirements for your course, you can enrol in the University’s English Proficiency Programme.