Master of Laws
(International Business Law)

ECUPL Tao Fen Building The NUS Faculty of Law and the East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL), one of China's top law schools, jointly launched the specialist LLM (International Business Law) degree programme in July 2005. The programme is currently in its eighth intake. The programme is taught entirely in English, and is offered partly in Singapore, and partly in Shanghai. It is the first overseas degree programme to be offered by the NUS Faculty of Law. Students who successfully complete the degree requirements will obtain an LLM (International Business Law) degree conferred solely by NUS (i.e. the degree is not a joint degree).

Building on the expanding links between Singapore and the People's Republic of China, this programme signifies another innovative step towards the NUS Law School's vision of becoming a leading global law school. Indeed, the NUS Law School has been at the forefront of curriculum developments to make legal education more international and comparative in orientation. Staffed by an outstanding international faculty with degrees from leading law schools from more than a dozen jurisdictions, NUS academic staff continues to make an impact internationally with their teaching and research. The approval of the Chinese authorities for this programme is a further validation of the high reputation that the NUS Law School enjoys both within and outside Asia. This is particularly true given the fact that China receives a large number of applications for degree programmes involving foreign educational institutions.



ECUPL President's building

The LLM (IBL) Class of 2013/14 with Assoc Prof Stephen Phua, Director for LLM (IBL) during the orientation programme.

NEW!

From AY2013-2014, students will be offered a new curriculum designed to enhance the learning environment and outcome. Unlike previous years, students will spend the entire first semester in Singapore where they will now have an opportunity to enroll in law elective modules that are taught by local and international faculty throughout Semester 1 in NUS Law School. In addition, IBL candidates will benefit from the bridging intensive core modules in common law and company law which are customised for them.

The academic calendar for Semester 1 will largely be the same as the other programmes conducted in NUS. Candidates from non-Common Law background will commence the programme in mid-July; and candidates from Common Law background will commence in early August.

The academic calendar for Semester 1 in AY2013-2014 will be as follows:

 
In Semester 2, students will relocate to ECUPL in Shanghai. A new package of twelve (12) modules which are essential to a specialization in international business laws is carefully designed for students. Modules will be taught intensively over 2-week blocks by leading academics and practitioners from NUS and ECUPL. Students may choose to read 5-6 out of the 12 modules that are ideal to their personal and professional preferences. These modules cover fundamental and comparative issues in areas including Corporate Governance, Maritime Law, International Tax, Corporate Finance, Arbitration, Foreign Direct Investment, Banking, Securities Law, Intellectual Property, Private International Law, Public International Law and Mergers & Acquisition.

The academic calendar for Semester 2 in AY2013-2014 will be as follows:

The following IBL modules will be offered in AY2013/2014: 

In Singapore

Common Law Reasoning & Writing – Assoc Prof Lim Lei Theng & Legal Writing Team, NUS
Common Law of Obligations – Assoc Prof Helena Whalen-Bridge, NUS
Elements of Company Law – Asst Prof Wee Meng Seng, Asst Prof Dan Puchniak & Asst Prof Umakanth Varottil NUS


In Shanghai

Carriage of Goods by Sea – Adjunct Prof Neale Gregson, NUS
Chinese Corporate & Securities Law – Assoc Prof Wang Jiangyu, NUS
Cross-Border Transactions & Transnational Commercial Law – Prof Tan Yock Lin, NUS
Foreign Direct Investment Law in Asia –Dr Dang Xuan Hop, NUS
International & Commercial Trusts Law – Mr Chen Li, NUS
International Commercial Arbitration – Adjunct Prof Lawrence Boo, NUS
International Corporate Finance – Assoc Prof Alexander Loke, NUS
International Tax Law – Assoc Prof Stephen Phua, NUS
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) – Asst Prof Umakanth Varottil, NUS
Principles of Competition Law – Assoc Prof Burton Ong, NUS
Chinese Intellectual Property Law – Prof Shi Xiaoxiang, ECUPL
International Law – Prof Si Pingping, ECUPL

 
Click on the following for Module Descriptions and Teaching Faculty.

 
Admission Requirements
All applicants for the programme must have a good Bachelor's Degree in law or a good first degree in law. This is a full-time programme and the period of study is one academic year (two semesters).

Proficiency in English
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for all foreign applicants except those from English-medium institutions in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. If your LLB or LLM degree is conducted entirely in the English-medium and you do not wish to submit a TOEFL test score, please include a letter with your supporting documents to seek a waiver.

For Coursework Programmes, an iBT of 100 is required. Candidates with an iBT score of 92-99 may also apply, but may be required to attend an interview and undertake intensive English language training prior to commencing law studies. Other TOEFL, or IELTS of minimum 7.0 will be considered, though we prefer the iBT.

Candidates who are unable to submit TOEFL/IELTS results will be required to demonstrate their proficiency in English in other ways (e.g. through submission of other relevant documentary evidence) and will be required to further and fully demonstrate their proficiency in English at an interview, either by telephone or in the applicant's home country. In some cases, a written test may also be required of such a candidate.

Intensive English Course
Students admitted from AY2014/2015 onwards and who are required to undergo an Intensive English Course (IEC) will be required to pay for the course. The IEC usually runs for three (3) weeks in July prior to Semester 1.

NEW!
The tuition fees for AY2013-2014 is set at RMB88,000 (approximately SGD17,600) for one academic year.

Applications 
Please download application forms HERE.

Contact Details 
Graduate School of ECUPL
Email: sunting@ecupl.edu.cn  
Website:http://www.law.ac.cn/Category_1249/Index.aspx

NUS Faculty of Law
Email: lawGRADadm@nus.edu.sg
Website: http://law.nus.edu.sg/admissions/grad_prog.html