The Master in Law & Finance is a selective programme, open to motivated and ambitious students. A selection procedure applies whereby each application for admission is evaluated by the programme’s Selection Committee.
Candidates may be selected on the basis of a combination of the following criteria:
- Interest in finance;
- Aptitude for financial and quantitative methods (as shown for instance by their score on the Math Test that is part of the admissions procedure);
- Motivation to take part in this specific Master’s programme;
- English proficiency;
- Background as shown in their CV;
- Grades obtained in their LLB or another academic programme as indicated above;
- Level of the attended university;
- Passing of the required online Math Test after having been selected;
- Positive evaluation of a phone interview: A short phone/video call interview may be part of the selection process.
Admission to the Master’s programme is determined based on 3 aspects:
- Academic legal background
- English language proficiency
- Mathematics test
1. Academic legal background
The Master in Law &Finance is aimed at students with an LLB or another academic degree with a substantial law component (at least 60 EC of law courses need to be obtained as part of this completed programme). An example of a Bachelor’s programme with a substantial law component is the UvA interdisciplinary Bachelor’s in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (PPLE) provided the PPLE Law major is included.
Pursuant to theConvenant inzake het civiel effect,graduates who have completed this Master’s in addition to a full Bachelor’s degree in Dutch Law, qualify for admission to the Dutch bar and judiciary (the so-called ‘civiel effect’ of the Master).
Students with a Bachelor’s degree in Law from a university in applied sciences (Dutch: HBO-Rechten, CROHO code 39205) followed by the Dutch-language Pre-Master’s programmewith ‘civiel effect’at theOpen Universityalso qualify for admission to the Dutch bar and judiciary (the so-called ‘civiel effect’ of the Master) and may therefore also apply for the Master’s programme Law &Finance.
2. English language proficiency
In an international environment, sufficient mastery of the English language is critical for academic success. Students must take an English-language proficiency test to demonstrate their ability. The Amsterdam Law School accepts the following tests and test results:
- TOEFL* (Test of English as a Foreign Language) - The minimum required TOEFL score is 100 iBT,with a minimum of 24 for subscores reading and writing, a minimum of 22 for subscore listening and a minimum of 25 for subscore speaking.Please make sure to mention our institutional code: 9011 when signing up for the TOEFL test so we can verify your scores online.
- IELTS Academic** (International English Language Testing System) - The minimum required overall IELTS score is 7.0, with a minimum score of 6.5 for each individual component.
- Cambridge English Language Assessment: minimum grade C1 Advanced with a minimum score of 190. Please make sure to ‘share’ your test results with us so we can verify your scores online.
Please note:The Amsterdam Law School only accepts English language proficiency test results that are no more than two years old on the day you submit your application in MyInfo.
* The TOEFL ITP test (Institutional Testing Program) and the TOEFL iBT home edition are NOT accepted.
** The IELTS Academic Online, IELTS General Training, IELTS Indicator and IELTS UKVI are NOT accepted.
The following students are exempted from the above-mentioned test requirements:
- Students who have received their prior education in one of the following English speaking countries: Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.
- Students who possess an international or European baccalaureate diploma (with English as the only language of instruction).
- Students who have completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s programme taught entirely in English (note: this does not include exchange, summer school or other non-degree programmes).
- Students who possess a Bachelor’s diploma from a Dutch research university.
- Students who have completed the specific pre-Master’s programme for this LLM programme.
3. Mathematics Test
After the Admissions Board has verified that you meet the academic and English language entry requirements, you will receive an invitation to take a Mathematics Test. Without any exceptions,allapplicants are required to take this test.The maths test will be open to applicants for a maximum of 2 weeks after the submission deadline. Check the exact dates by reading More information about the Mathematics test. We will inform you about how and when to take the test after you have submitted your application. After you have passed the Mathematics Test, the Selection Committee will review your application.
More information about the Mathematics Test