CEU’s Department of Legal Studies offers advanced degree programs in comparative constitutional law, human rights, and international business law. The curriculum combines international and regional intellectual traditions and offers students hands-on experience and internship opportunities.
The Department is a member of the China-Europe School of Law consortium, and has several exchange agreements with leading European and North American universities. Such cooperation arrangements bring visiting students to Budapest and offer unique research and study opportunities for our own students.
Annual conferences and workshops, as well as prominent public lectures complete the rich and demanding curriculum of our master and doctoral programs.
Programs and degrees offered:
- Master of Laws in Comparative Constitutional Law (LLM) (One Year)
- Master of Laws in Human Rights (HR LLM) (One Year)
- Master of Arts in Human Rights (HR MA) (One Year)
- Master of Laws in International Business Law (LLM) (One Year)
- Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)/ Doctor Iuris (Austria)
The Comparative Constitutional Law Program, established in 1992, remains the only LLM program of its kind in the world. It offers unique insights into problems of constitution-making in transition to democracy, and comparative government and constitutional rights protection in leading and emerging democracies around the world.
The authors of Dorsen, Rosenfeld, Sajo and Baer’s Comparative Constitutionalism and the editors and several authors of The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Law are on the Program’s permanent and recurrent visiting faculty.
Our program also works in close cooperation with the SUN course Constitution-building in Africa, a course which brings academics, practitioners and civil servants to Budapest for continuing education.
Graduates of the program have found success in academic, civil service and civil (non-governmental) sectors careers.
Since its foundation the Human Rights Program has been offering quality graduate level education to students from various parts of the world, including Central and Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union and the Balkans. In recent years the number of students from Africa, the Americas and Asia has increased considerably. The LL.M. degree is open to law graduates, while the M.A. degree welcomes applicants with any disciplinary background with an interest in human rights.
The Human Rights Program offers unique opportunities to its students to learn from prominent human rights defenders through credited internships and a unique course organized in Strasbourg, at the seat of the European Court of Human Rights. The Human Rights Program is a member of the Association of Human Rights Institutes – AHRI.
Graduates of the program include successful human rights advocates and litigators.
The curriculum of the International Business Law Program is focusing on the legal setting of business transactions in a transnational environment, on the players, and on the regulatory framework of international business. The courses are dealing with present-day issues and practical problems. Special attention is devoted to various methods and techniques of dispute settlement.
Graduates of the program are known to pursue successful careers in the private and in the non-profit sector, as well as in academia.
Our Doctoral Program offers a unique opportunity to conduct independent research, complete doctoral-level course work and gain experience with teaching and other academic activities in the vibrant academic environment of the University. Our doctoral students regularly attend international conferences and publish the findings of their research in leading journals.
The profiles of our currently enrolled students provide introduction to the life of our academic community. Doctoral graduates found employment in academia and in the non-profit sector.
Tuition fees are set by the CEU Board of Trustees.
CEU has been committed to supporting talented students and enabling them to experience the unique benefits of its programs regardless of their ability to pay. Financial support ranges from partial tuition waivers to full scholarships covering accommodation and living expenses. Financial aid for master’s candidates is awarded on the basis of merit and financial need. Doctoral candidates are automatically considered for a doctoral scholarship.