The LLM in International and European Law (60 ECTS – 1 year, from end September until early July) is a law degree at Advanced Master level organised in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and Europe.

This LLM programme was established in 1971 and has an alumni network of over 1300 lawyers from 110  countries. International audits and the leading positions of its graduates in various international organisations attest to the programme's excellence.

This innovative LLM’s curriculum offers the best of both worlds: on the one hand, it provides solid foundations in the core areas of international and European law, building on the strengths of the programme’s 50-year history. On the other, the new curriculum offers its students a holistic approach of today’s emerging global legal challenges, focusing on the following three challenges: sustainability – social inclusiveness & human rights – digitalisation.

The new curriculum, applicable as of the 2022-2023 academic year, reinforces the skills you will need in your career in order to prepare LLM students to assume leading positions in an interconnected world where legal areas are increasingly interlinked. Students will acquire a multidisciplinary perspective and will receive a very versatile training, covering the various roles that they can take on professionally, be it legal advisor, policy maker, negotiator, data or sustainability consultant, human rights defender, or researcher.

The Brussels School of Governance hosts important research projects funded by the EU in topics such as sustainability, climate policies, the role of the EU in the world politics, digitalisation, and migration and diversity, among other topics. This environment allows LLM students to learn about developments in these topics directly from those who are leading the field.

Studying in Brussels offers students some unique advantages that could just give them the edge in achieving their career goals. The students will benefit from the immediate vicinity of EU institutions and numerous international organisations, law firms, NGOs and companies, where several professors are working.

Limited class size ensures high interaction amongst professors and students, who are of truly versatile international backgrounds.

The Brussels School of Governance is an alliance between the Institute for European Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Vesalius College. This LLM is a programme that is organised by the Institute for European Studies, a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, and of which the degree will be awarded by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).

Find out about the highlights of our LLM programme here!

Key features:

• Innovative LLM with holistic approach of contemporary global legal challenges, focusing on sustainability – social inclusiveness & human rights – digitalisation.
• Versatile training. Students will be able to assume key responsibilities in interconnected areas that require highly specialised legal knowledge, leadership skills and intercultural approaches.
• Taught at the Brussels School of Governance, a leading institute in policy and fundamental research of the highest quality in an international context. Its President, former EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, is one of the professors in the LLM.
• The Brussels School of Governance’s central location in Brussels, which allows the programme to benefit from the knowledge and networks of professors working at the EU and other institutions and law firms in Brussels. Teaching staff includes a former European Trade Commissioner, the President of the Litigation Chamber at the Belgian Data Protection Authority, a Deputy Director-General (DG Competition) in the European Commission, a Chief Legal Officer at the EEAS, a partner in an international law firm, and renowned researchers.
• ​Cutting-edge education. It is an exclusively advanced master: basics of international and European law are a prerequisite.
• ​Experience: programme of excellence established in 1971 .
• Limited class size ensures high interaction and close contacts among students and with the professors, helping create true bonds that last.
• Alumni network of over 1300 lawyers from 110 countries.
• Supported by the expertise of our Office for Teaching, Learning and Innovation to accommodate sophisticated blended teaching methods
• Office for Teaching, Learning and Innovation to accommodate sophisticated blended teaching methods.

Curriculum:

The LLM in International and European law is a 60 ECTS Advanced Master’s degree obtained in one academic year.

The LLM has three components: the first block deals with core contemporary areas of international and European Law, with a total of 18 ECTS. The second block trains students on the major challenges of the interconnected global and cross-cutting areas: sustainability, social inclusiveness and human rights, and digitalisation. Each of these areas is weighted equally, i.e. 9 credits for a total of 27 ECTS. The third (research) block of 15 credits consists of writing a Master’s thesis on a topic chosen by the student, with personalised guidance during the process.

The Brussels School of Governance (BSoG) is an alliance between the Institute for European Studies (°2002) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Vesalius College (°1987). For decades, both institutions have built up strong reputations as frontrunners in education, research, and academic services on the international scene. Both being associated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), one of Belgium’s prime universities with a strong internationalisation focus, the IES and VeCo decided to work together more closely as of 2018. In 2021, they launched the Brussels School of Governance.