Master of Laws in International and European Law: International Business Law
Ghent, Belgium
LLM
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 Jul 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 6,929
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Non-EU/EEA Students: Around April 1st. EU/EEA Students: Around July 1st.
Key Summary
The LLM in International Business Law is a flagship programme for students seeking to specialise in the international legal aspects of business practice in our globalising world. While allowing a degree of personal choice, it steers students towards the key legal building blocks of international business law, guaranteeing an advanced degree with real added value in a business-oriented career.
About the programme
What
The International Business Law specialization allows students to gain in-depth knowledge about various practice areas and is aimed at future or already experienced lawyers and in-house counsels dealing with commercial, corporate, securities and banking legal issues, as well as international economic law.
Built around the renowned Financial Law Institute, the programme combines the expertise of its professors with that of experienced practitioners in areas like M&A, Intellectual Property and Commercial Arbitration, in order to give students hands-on experience.
All courses in the LLM focus either on EU-wide regulation or use a comparative law approach. The programme is ideally suited for students from outside the EU who need a thorough background in EU regulation and for those from within the EU who want to escape the provincial study of national law.
Structure
Students need to obtain 60 credits, over a period of two semesters. There is great flexibility in shaping one’s own curriculum. Sixteen credits cover courses specializing in company and corporate governance law, commercial arbitration and capital markets law. Ten more credits are dedicated to the compulsory supporting courses dealing mainly with various legal and political developments in order to broaden the horizons of legal professionals. Students are also required to write a fifteen-credits’ worth LLM Paper in connection with one of the courses on the curriculum.
The remaining credits are filled with elective courses on a variety of topics from the following fields: Economic and Social Law, European Law, Transport Law etc. Students can choose from approximately twenty five different courses, all of which are exclusively taught in English. Teaching is generally done interactively, requiring advanced reading and class participation. The programme typically hosts several internationally reputed guest professors with a rotation on a yearly basis. Students can also choose to participate in one of the various moot courts or legal clinic as an official part of their curricula.
Organised social activities are an important part of the LLM-experience, and not all are extracurricular. Curricular activities include guided visits to important EU and international institutions and participation in several colloquia.
Master's dissertation
The master's dissertation is a requirement for every candidate to obtain a master’s degree. The master's dissertation is an original piece of research work. It aims to develop and strengthen the research capacity skills of the students. The student selects a topic and is given guidance by a promoter or supervisor throughout the academic year.
Study programme quality
Strengths
- Intake guidance is essential. The LLM-programmes invest substantially in reaching out to the appropriate candidates and in guiding them towards application and admission. The guidance continues after the start of the academic year. Incoming students participate in an extensive Orientation programme.
- Curriculum flexibility: Ghent law school offers three different LLM programmes that reflect varying career aspirations. Within the framework of your personal position and ambitions, you are able to design the curriculum that best fits your needs.
- Active learning: the LLM-programmes attach great importance to teaching methods that ensure students are not passive absorbers of knowledge. Instead they are encouraged to do independent research and to think critically through class preparation assignments, small papers throughout the semester, essay questions and the like.
- International outlook: the programmes reflect their European and international outreach beyond the subject matters offered. The body of professors and lecturers consists of experts with wide international exposure and experience.
- Stakeholder engagement: a key strength of the study programmes is the strong link and interaction with the professional world and the broad institutional reality of EU and international law, providing students with information about the actual operations and common practices on the ground and preparing them for a professional career.
The programme is ideally suited for students from outside the EU who need a thorough background in EU regulation and for those from within the EU who want to escape the provincial study of national law.