International Business Law

Check whether you meet the admission requirements and apply.

• Merit based admission

  Admission to this Master’s programme (LLM) is based on a relevant degree, and on merit and motivation.  

  Merit is demonstrated by academic excellence, as evidenced by your overall grade average, your thesis, academic English proficiency, proficiency in (legal) research methods and techniques and recommendations. You should have a min. Grade Point Avarage (GPA) of 7.0 according to the Dutch grading system. Please note that VU Amsterdam will convert international grades into the Dutch equivalents in order to assess your GPA.

  Motivation is demonstrated not only in your motivation letter, but also by relevant extra-curricular academic and/or legal work experience on your CV.

  A somewhat lower score in one area may be compensated by a strong score in another.

• I have a Dutch university level (WO) bachelor’s degree (VU bachelor's degree, VU pre-master's or bachelor's degree at another university)

  Admission

  You can apply with a Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB).

  If you do not have such a degree, but you have a sound academic background and considerable experience in the field of law, and you can substantiate this, then you can also apply.

  VU pre-master's

  The faculty does not offer a pre-master's for this master.

• I have a Dutch higher vocational education (HBO) bachelor’s degree (pre-master's)

  Admission

  You can apply on the basis of one of the HBO degrees listed below in combination with a relevant pre-master's:

  • HBO-Rechten plus VU SchakelzoneRecht (in Dutch)
  • HBO-Rechten plus doorstroomprogramma HvA-VU (in Dutch) at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
  • HBO-Rechten plus non-VU pre-master's Law with Civil Effect : send scans of your HBO degree, certified transcript of the pre-master's courses completed plus the course descriptions of all pre-master's courses to admission.law@vu.nl for assessment

  You cannot apply with other HBO degrees, even if you have completed a relevant pre-master's. 

• Application with a Dutch degree

  Application

  First check whether you meet the admission requirements.
  You can apply from 1 October. The application deadline is 1 June.

  Use this application procedure for Dutch degrees.
  For this Master’s programme you must upload the following documents (PDF) at VU Dashboard: 

  • letter of motivation, explaining why you wish to join the programme
  • proof of academic writing (in English): 
    • final paper or thesis for your academic degree (excerpt, maximum 3-5 pages)
    • if no thesis in English is available: any other 3-5 page piece of academic writing
    • if no academic writing in English is available: write a 3-5 page abstract of an academic paper; include a bibliography (excluded in the 3-5 pages)
      Please note we check application documents for plagiarism.
  • curriculum vitae
  • certified transcript of grades obtained so far
  • 2 letters of recommendation from academic referees (if possible including the ranking position of the applicant); we prefer digital copies uploaded in your VU Dashboard, but referees may also mail their references directly to admission.law@vu.nl. The letters of recommendation are taken into account in the assessment of your motivation. You can upload both letters under ‘recommendation letter’ via your personal dashboard on vu.nl, unfortunately only the last document will be visible to you. However, all documents can be viewed by us.

  Only complete dossiers will be considered. We may ask for additional information on your academic record if this is deemed necessary to come to a decision.

  The Admissions Board decides monthly on applications.

• I have an international degree

  Admission

  You can apply with an academic Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) or equivalent.

  If you do not have such a degree, but you have a sound academic background and considerable experience in the field of law, and you can substantiate this, then you can also apply.

  If you have a degree from a University of Applied Sciences, you need a completed relevant pre-master's to apply. The faculty does not offer a pre-master's for this master.

  We use the UK Naric comparison system and the Nuffic comparison and validation programmes to assess your application.

  Proof of sufficient proficiency in English

  If you are applying for one of our English-taught Master's degree programmes you will have to demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency by submitting English test results.  

  Although complete applications are preferred, you can begin your application before you have completed the test and then submit your passing score once you have been conditionally admitted. 

  You can find an overview of all accepted tests and scores that can be used to demonstrate your English language proficiency on the language requirement page.

• Application with an international degree

  Application documents

  To apply you are required to provide the following documents: 

  • A scan of your passport or national ID card (ID for EEA students only) valid at the start date of the programme.
  • The Master Application File: please download the correct file from this webpage. In this file you can see which documents are required to apply for your programme. 
  • Proof of English language proficiency (if already obtained) upload your proof of English language proficiency or English language test results. Please find the English language requirements here. 

  After having prepared the required documents, please follow the online application procedure. 

  Application fee & deadlines 

  All students seeking admission to an international Master’s programme with an international degree are required to pay a non-refundable €100 application fee. Only after you have paid this fee will we be able to start the evaluation of your application file. If you are applying for more than one programme, you will only need to pay the application fee once. Your application fee payment is valid for two years.  

  Information on how to apply with an international university degree and deadlines can be found here. 

  Grants and scholarships

  As an international student planning to study at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, you can apply for a variety of grants and bursaries. Detailed information about scholarships and deadlines can be found on www.vu.nl/scholarships or www.grantfinder.nl.  

  International Student and Alumni Ambassadors

  Our International Student and Alumni Ambassadors are happy to tell you all about their experiences with studying at VU Amsterdam and living in Amsterdam.

  • Our Student Ambassadors are current students at VU Amsterdam that represent a wide variety of programmes and countries.
  • Our International Alumni Ambassadors are VU Amsterdam graduates who are currently either working in the Netherlands or abroad, or doing a PhD or (second) Master's.

  You will find the full overview of our Ambassadors here: vu.nl/ambassadors. There you can chat with them directly.