University of Hamburg, Institute of Law & Economics
European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE)
- Hamburg, Germany
- Ghent, Belgium
LLM
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 7,500 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Application opens 1 October
** for ‘Programme-Country- students’; 12,000 EUR.- for ‘Partner-Country-students’
Key Summary
European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE)
This European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE) programme offers the unique opportunity for interdisciplinary studies of law and economics at two or even three European and Non-European universities. Each partner university awards a Master degree (LL.M. / M.A. / M.Sc. or a Joint Degree). The programme provides students with an advanced understanding of the economic effects of divergent laws and prepares students for a professional career, for example, in public organizations, in multinational law firms or consultancy firms. Graduates are also well prepared for doctorate research in a Ph.D. programme such as the European Doctorate in Law and Economics (EDLE). The EMLE has been recognized by the European Commission as an Erasmus + Programme of "outstanding academic quality". The Erasmus + label allows the EMLE programme to annually grant a substantial number of scholarships (including several full scholarships to students from “Partner Countries”). For law students, the knowledge of the specific regulations of their home country is too narrow a base for counseling firms that are active in international trade. Additionally, a familiarity with the economic effects of legal rules has become indispensable for understanding their clients' commercial needs. Similarly, economics students will profit from an accurate understanding of the institutional legal framework of market economies. For both lawyers and economists, knowledge of the other discipline and international contacts are crucial for a successful future career. The EMLE programme is the institutional response to these challenges.
EMLE Programme Features
The EMLE programme offers the following unique combination of features: A truly interdisciplinary approach: - Lectures in both law and economics - A programme that is open to graduates of law or economic faculties - A large faculty consisting of leading academics and practitioners in the field of law and economics An international curriculum, faculty, and student body - The possibility to study at three different universities out of seven European partners and several non-European partner universities - A network of highly qualified students from over 30 nations A small student body at each partner university to ensure an intensive learning experience
Programme Structure
The programme covers one academic year, for which successful students will receive 60 ECTS points. The courses start at the beginning of October and end in June. The academic year is divided into three terms. The unique international and interdisciplinary character of the EMLE Programme is secured through intensive cooperation between lawyers and economists at no less than seven European Universities and three non-European partners.
Students may study at up to three different universities but cannot spend all terms in the same location. In the first two terms, students can choose among three teaching centers. This leads to an average class size of up to 35 students, given a maximum of 105 admitted students in the entire program. -
- In the first term, courses will be offered at the Universities of Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Barcelona. Classes generally start in the first week of October; exams finish in late December.
- In the second term, students will study at the Universities of Ghent, Hamburg or Rotterdam. Classes generally start in the first week of January; exams finish in late March.
- In the third term, there are more teaching centers and a lower average class size. Courses are offered in Aix-en-Provence, Arizona, Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg, Haifa, Mumbai, and Warsaw. Classes generally start in the first week of April; exams finish in late June.
The master level of the programme is documented through the use of a constitutive method (economic analysis) on a particular subject (law) combined with the fact that this economic analysis is based on a continuous legal comparison.
The first and second terms comprise introductory courses as well as core courses on the major topics in the economic analysis of law, while in the third term, students take specialized courses and write their master thesis.
The programme consists of three kinds of courses. In order to make law students more familiar with basic economic reasoning, some courses are more economic in orientation. Some courses deal with comparative law in order to internationalize the legal background of the students. Most courses deal directly with the economic analysis of the most important branches of private, public, international and European law. The references to law in the courses will be of a comparative kind, due to the all-European character of the programme and the international composition of the audience. Students will be confronted with examples of their own and other legal systems.
The EMLE programme will introduce the possibility of specializations in three tracks:
1) the Public and International (PIL) Track,
2) the Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) Track, and
3) the Markets, Corporations & Regulators (MCR) Track.
Erasmus + Scholarships
The highest ranked students will be offered an Erasmus+: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EMJM) Scholarship by the European Commission. EMJM scholarship holders will receive a monthly contribution of maximal 1400 Euro to cover all costs related to travel, visa, installment and subsistence costs for the duration that students will be on the programme (depending on the date of return to the home country). Please note that monthly contributions will not be paid if scholarshipholders do not adhere to the basic mobility rules of the programme. Besides payments from the European Commission, the EMLE consortium will provide all EMLE students with insurance coverage over the whole period of the EMLE academic year.
For the academic years 2022/2023 up to 2027/2028, the programme may award 60 full scholarships (approximately 10 per academic year). Scholarships will be awarded based on merit, established by the ranking of all applicants who submitted their application complete and within the deadline. There is no distinction between applicants from EU or non-EU countries, though overall there is a maximum number of scholarships awarded to the same nationalities. In addition, the programme may award 30 scholarships for Erasmus+ Programme targeted regions of the world (approximately 5 per academic year). Therefore, in total, the programme may award up to 15 full scholarships annually.
If you are interested in applying for the scholarship and have not received an EMJM scholarship from the EMLE or any other EMJM-programmes before, please indicate your interest in our application form by ticking the relevant box.
EMLE Outreach Scholarship
The EMLE programme is dedicated to introducing and strengthening education in Law and Economics in countries and regions where it is not yet wide-known. Therefore, EMLE annually provides full tuition fee waivers for up to two applicants who are affiliated to a higher education institution and who, upon graduation from the EMLE, will incorporate Law and Economics in their teaching and research. Interested applicants should provide, next to their regular EMLE application, a short project plan regarding how to implement Law and Economics in their work. In addition, they must provide a letter of endorsement from their institution, showing its interest in developing or strengthening Law and Economics in their curriculum/course catalogue. Preference will be given to applicants from countries outside the 49 member countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) or those countries that were so far underrepresented in the Erasmus+ programme (either as scholarship holders or consortium partners in EMJM(D) programmes, see overview in this publication of the EACEA). If you comply with these eligibility criteria and are interested in the EMLE Outreach Scholarship, please visit the school website for the contact information.
If are interested in applying for this scholarship make sure to send the project plan and letter of endorsement to application@emle.org before the application deadline (15 January 2025).
Carrer Opportunities inside and outside academia
Although the EMLE is a scientific Master, graduates’ ability to apply and assess legal rules from different jurisdictions with a view to the economic implications, to identify the legal arrangements necessary to support economic and financial transactions, and to evaluate the economic efficiency of alternative legal solutions, is valuable both inside and outside academia. A significant number of EMLE graduates continue their studies in PhD programs, such as the European Doctorate of Law and Economics (EDLE).
Those seeking employment outside university face a steady demand of legal and/or economic consultants by private firms (especially multinationals dealing with economically oriented areas of law) as well as by governmental, international and supra-national institutions (e.g., the World Bank and the European Commission). This is reflected in the actual career development of EMLE graduates, who are employed in the top layers of the private and the public sector, by law firms, economic advisers, financial and non-financial companies, NGOs as well as by competition authorities, regulatory agencies, central banks, governments and other public policy institutions, not to mention by universities worldwide.
Deadline 15 January 2025
Why EMLE?
In both law and in economics, modern young professionals are not only experts in their fields, but are also able to work in an interdisciplinary fashion. This is often referred to as “transversal skills”. Think of a T, with the vertical axis being your particular area of specialization and the horizontal bar symbolizing your ability to collaborate with people across geographical and cultural borders. Both aspects are equally important.
Transversal skills are the key to success in today’s labour market. Attending the EMLE programme, which has been committed to delivering graduate education at the intersection between law and economics for more than 30 years, will allow you to develop these skills.
Here is why: first, you will learn that laws have economic effects and that economic mechanisms vary with the institutional context, which notably includes the laws of different jurisdictions. In other words, you will learn that the world is more complex than you would have ever thought. Then – and here is the good news – the EMLE will teach you how to make sense of this complexity, not just by studying more law or more economics, but rather by learning how to integrate the two perspectives. And finally, you will learn to cross many other borders than just the one between law and economics. Studying at two or three international universities, and meeting with varying groups of people from some 30 different countries, you will become a true citizen of the world.