17 May 2007

Global legal education starts at NYU@NUS

NYU@NUS started on 7 May with a cohort of 42 students drawn from 23 countries including Chile, China, Rwanda and Uzbekistan. All of them have basic law degrees and many have significant work experience.

A collaboration between the New York University School of Law (NYU) and NUS Faculty of Law, the Programme allows students from around the world to experience two educational universes, earning Master of Laws (LLM) degrees from both a leading US institution and a leading Asian law school. The NYU degree offered is the LLM in Law and the Global Economy. Students may choose an optional concentration in either US and Asian Business and Trade Law or Justice and Human Rights. NYU's faculty will teach in Singapore offering intensive courses over a summer term from May to August, and during the regular NUS semester beginning in August. Students also take courses towards the NUS LLM degree and can choose to focus their studies on one of five specialisations such as Asian Law or Intellectual Property and Technology Law. Most students will complete the two degrees in 10 months, with many of them going on to internships in Singapore or around the region. Up to 50 scholarships are available for each of the first four years of the Programme.

GLOBAL LEGAL EDUCATION: From left: NUS Law Dean Prof Tan Cheng Han; NUS President Prof Shih Choon Fong; US Ambassador to Singapore, the Hon. Patricia Herbold;NYU Law Dean Prof Richard Revesz; and Director, NYU@NUS Programme, Prof Simon Chesterman.

Said Mr Lim Siong Guan, Chairman, Economic Development Board: "We are pleased that NYU has chosen to partner with NUS to offer a dual graduate law degree programme in Singapore. This partnership between two leading universities provides a two-fold benefit to Singapore. It will boost our legal services sector by building up our legal capabilities and talent pool. The Programme will also enhance Singapore's status as a key education hub in the region by adding to the course offerings available here. We expect to see even more global talent coming to Singapore to tap into the variety of quality education available here. Students will not only receive quality education, but will also be able to form important networks which will aid them in their future careers and lives."