News

NUS And New York University Launch Dual Law Degree Programme 
Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 - 12:00 AM

National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law partners leading law school from the United States to offer students opportunity to get both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Law with no additional time added to their normal period of study.

The National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Law and the New York University (NYU) School of Law will launch in July 2008 a highly distinctive and innovative Bachelors and Masters dual law degree programme.

In what is likely to be a world-first, students will be able to obtain both an undergraduate Bachelor’s Degree in Law (LLB) from a Singapore university and a Master’s Degree in Law (LLM) from a US university in just four years. The programme will open the doors for NUS law undergraduates to attain an additional degree from a top US law school in the time they normally take to complete their undergraduate studies. Interested students may apply at the end of their first or second year of study at NUS and those admitted into the programme will complete three years of law studies at NUS before spending their final year at NYU in New York City.

Professor Tan Cheng Han, Senior Counsel and Dean of the NUS Law School said, “This is an exciting development that speaks volumes of the high international standing of the NUS brand of legal education. The NYU School of Law was ranked No. 4 in the US News and World Report 2006 of the Best Law Schools in America. I am highly pleased by the endorsement received by our prestigious partner law school. By admitting our undergraduates into their LLM programme, they are acknowledging the high quality of undergraduates we are producing and the excellent education they are receiving from our School.”

Professor Richard Revesz, Dean of NYU School of Law observed, "This is a natural step for the NYU School of Law. Over a decade ago, we recognised that important changes in the way law was being practised required changes in the way it was taught. This led to the creation of our highly successful Hauser Global Law School Programme. I am delighted that our partnership with NUS in this programme takes that insight to the next level."

The programme is yet another feature of the NUS Faculty of Law’s diverse array of degree options for its graduates. Students can choose to specialise exclusively or principally in law subjects during their course of study, or opt to pursue a variety of double degree programmes from within NUS such as Law and Economics, Law and Business, Law and Life Science, and Law and Public Policy. At the same time, they can opt to go on student exchange to more than 50 law schools around the world. With the NYU dual degree programme, NUS students will now have the opportunity of spending an exciting year in New York City, obtaining a master’s degree with no additional time added to their normal period of study.

Prof Tan added, “As Asia’s Global Law School, the NUS Faculty of Law has been in the forefront of curricular innovations that aim to produce law graduates who can rise above the increasingly global demands of legal practice. This programme with NYU will enhance the rich menu of options available to our students.”

A separate programme known as NYU@NUS is already in existence. This entails students from all over the world attending courses at NUS to be taught by professors from both law schools, and graduating with degrees from both NUS and NYU. The first intake of students for the NYU@NUS programme is in May 2007. In addition, there is already a student exchange programme between the two law schools, enabling students from both global law schools to spend up to a year in the other institution.

The LLB-LLM dual degree programme with NYU is another step in establishing closer links between the NUS Faculty of Law and the NYU School of Law, and will commence in the 2008-2009 academic year.