Application for and admission to the LL.M. Programme
Foreign students:
For a complete application for the LL.M. programme send the following documents:
- Application form. This form can be downloaded from http://www.kuleuven.be/applicationform/;
- Official academic records and a short explanation of the grading system used at the home university
- Three letters of recommendation
- Statement of purpose
- Proof of sufficient competence in English.
For Chinese applicants, note the importance of APS stamp.
Not that if when sending your application you have not yet received your final academic records or English language test result, the Board of Admissions could take a preliminary decision on your file. If positive it would be on condition of the level of results achieved that still must be sent. If negative, it would be a final decision.
Belgian students:
Same list of documents as above listed, except for the LL.M. application form-Belgian students.
Not that if when sending your application you have not yet received your final academic records or English language test result, the Board of Admissions could take a preliminary decision on your file. If positive it would be on condition of the level of results achieved that still must be sent. If negative, it would be a final decision.
Academic records
The basic requirement for admission to the LL.M. programme is the possession of a law degree which entitles the holder to practise law in his/her country of origin.
All applicants must submit official transcripts or certified copies of previous law school studies. The transcripts must be from an ABA-accredited law school (only for the U.S.) or from a recognised foreign institution. Only records in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish are accepted without translation. In all other cases, a certified English translation must be submitted together with the originals or copies.
Being committed to quality, the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies is particularly interested in receiving students with sound academic results. In order properly to assess these results, all candidates are invited to indicate in detail the evaluation system at their home university and locate their own performance within this system.
Letters of recommendation
Applicants are required to submit at least three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to recommend them for post-graduate study in law, and preferably from former law professors.
Statement of purpose
Candidates should submit a statement (in English) of an absolute maximum of two pages describing their objectives in the field of legal studies and research and their long-term and short-term career goals. This statement may include reference to a specific position that the applicant seeks to attain or reference to a general area of law where the applicant hopes to make a contribution.
Proof of Competence in English
Applicants whose mother tongue is not English are required to submit evidence of sufficient competence to undertake interactive graduate legal study in English.
This requirement can be fulfilled in two ways. The first is by giving evidence of a law degree or another university degree received from an institution in an English-speaking country, where English was the primary language of instruction for the entire curriculum. The second proof of competence in English is to submit official score reports of standardised tests of English.
The Centre for Advanced Legal Studies only accepts three tests as valid:
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), for which the minimum score required is 250 for Computer-based test or 100 for Internet-based test (the Centre for Advanced Legal Studies' TOEFL code number is 0749, which should be entered on the answer sheets when taking the TOEFL test and should also be indicated on the Score Report Request Forms);
- the IELTS administered test (International English Language Testing System), for which the minimum score required is 7.5 and
- the Cambridge test, Proficiency level.
Deadlines
The Centre for Advanced Legal Studies has two application deadlines for admission to the LL.M. programme. The first deadline for applicants outside of the European Union is 1 March. For residents of any Member State of the European Union, the application deadline is 1 June.
Mailing address
Please follow the instructions on the appplication form.
