Master of Laws in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution [LLM(Arb&DR)]

Hong Kong is a world-leading international dispute resolution venue standing at the conjunction point between East and West, ideally situated to resolve disputes in the greater China and Asian region. The University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Law is a world-class Faculty ranked amongst the top 21 law schools in the world according to Times Higher Education, with a global network of partners and a strong reputation in international dispute resolution.

Founded in 2007, the LLM(Arb&DR) programme has been internationally recognized as a leading provider of dispute resolution teaching and research. Graduates obtain professional accreditation with HKMAAL, CIARb and HKIA upon fulfilling course prerequisites. In addition, leading arbitration thinkers, practitioners, specialists and alumni contribute to a dynamic array of teaching and seminars throughout the year.

We welcome you to learn about our full-time and part-time programme and join our diverse student body, which includes leading practitioners from the business and financial community, specialists in the construction and engineering fields, mediation and arbitration practitioners, government officials, legislators, judges and members of international organizations specializing in dispute resolution.

What our Peers say:

"...in many aspects, the LLM programme exceeds international standards…[it provides] opportunities for global activities, excellent instructors … and many internationally focused course offerings."

-- Professor Carrie Menkel-Meadow, External Program Examiner

For more information on the programme and related activities, please visit LLM(Arb&DR) website.

Students are required to complete 72 credits, including compulsory courses and a capstone experience according to the Regulations and Syllabus. Students may also choose courses from any of the specialist programmes, but in any event, no more than two courses from other LLM specialist programmes.

Please refer to the Regulations and Syllabus of your respective intake for more details.

Remark: Not all courses will be offered in any given year. You may also refer to the course schedule per academic year for actual classes available.

For admission in the academic year 2025-2026: To be advised

Applicants must comply with the General Regulations, the Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Curricula, and fulfil at least one of requirements (1) to (3) below AND (if applicable) requirement (4):

(1) hold a degree of Bachelor of Laws with at least second class honours or an equivalent qualification accepted by the University for this purpose; or

(2) hold a degree in a discipline other than law with at least second class honours accepted by the University for this purpose and have at least two years of relevant experience and professional qualifications; or

(3) have obtained either the Common Professional Examination of England and Wales or the Common Professional Examination Certificate of this University, provided that in either case, a second class honours degree or a qualification of equivalent standard of this University or another comparable institution accepted for this purpose has also been obtained; and if applicable:

(4) for a candidate who is seeking admission on the basis of a qualification from a university or comparable institution outside Hong Kong of which the language of teaching and/or examination is not English, shall satisfy the Faculty English language requirement with one of the following recognised English tests*:

- IELTS (Academic): An overall band of 7.0 or above with no subtest below 6.5
- TOEFL (Paper-based Test): A score of 593 or above
- TOEFL (Internet-based Test): A score of 97 or above

*For admissions purposes, the test score report is regarded as valid if obtained within two years of the application deadline.
The Faculty does not accept scores from “IELTS Indicator” and “TOEFL iBT Home Edition” for admission.

Upon completion of LLM(Arb&DR) programme, graduates are eligible to apply for the following professional accreditations:

 
*Subject to achieving a minimum 55% (grade D+ from 2012-2013) in the LLM Arbitration Practice, Procedure & Drafting course (LLAW6157) and a minimum 70% (grade B- from 2012-2013) in the LLM Arbitration Award Writing course (LLAW6241); and a successful CIArb Peer Interview.

The Continuing Education Fund (CEF) subsidises adults with learning aspirations to pursue continuing education and training courses. Eligible applicants may refer to https://www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/cef for further details and application.

The following five courses of the LLM(Arb&DR) programme have been included in the list of reimbursable courses for the HKSAR Government Continuing Education Fund (CEF) purposes:

 
According to the regulation of the CEF, applicants may submit an application for opening an account together with the application for the first reimbursement claim after the successful completion of the applicant’s first CEF course. There is no limit for the number of CEF claim submissions, and the subsidy ceiling is HK$25,000 per applicant.
 
Note: Students are required to submit their reimbursement claims within one year.

For 2025 – 2026 Intake

Please register here by 11 December 2024 (Wednesday).

For 2025 – 2026 Intake

Main Round:

 
Clearing Round:

 
Interested applicants should submit their application at https://admissions.hku.hk/tpg/programme-list.

Admission offers may be made on a rolling basis, and hence early applications are strongly encouraged.
 
Please click here for details on the application instructions and required supporting documents.



Programme-related Enquiries

✉ lawpgs@hku.hk