Admission Requirements

For admission into any of our graduate programmes, candidates must fulfill the academic qualifications relating to the chosen programme, as laid out below.

 

  

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Research Programme
Programme Admission Requirements Period of Study
PhD
- A good Bachelor’s or first degree in Law (LLB/BA/JD); OR a good Master’s degree in Law (LLM/BCL/MJur/MPhil) with a relevant Bachelor’s Degree; OR relevant equivalent qualifications.
- Minimum TOEFL iBT Total score of 100. (Candidates who have obtained a minimum IELTS (Academic) overall band score 7.0 may also apply.)
- With effect from AY2025/2026, GRE (Graduate Record Examination) test scores will be optional. However, do note that evidence of strong quantitative, verbal, and analytical skills will significantly strengthen your application.

There is no need to contact any faculty members of NUS Law to ask them for their interest in advising you. Also, contacting multiple faculty members will not improve your chances of being selected.

Full-time
Minimum: 2 years
Maximum: 5 years

 

Juris Doctor (JD) Programme
Programme Admission Requirements Period of Study
For the 3-year JD programme



 
- A university degree in any non-law discipline with at least a Cum Laude or Second Class Upper Honours degree or its equivalent.
-  Minimum TOEFL iBT Total score of 100 or minimum IELTS (Academic) overall band score 7.5.
- All shortlisted applicants must undergo an interview and a written test.
Full-time, 3 years
For the 2-year JD programme


 
(Those completing their first degree by early July of the year of admission (August intake) may also apply.)
- Law graduates from a civil law country or a non-gazetted common law university with at least a Cum Laude or Second Class Upper Honours degree or its equivalent.
- Minimum TOEFL iBT Total score of 100 or minimum IELTS (Academic) overall band score 7.5.
- All shortlisted applicants must undergo an interview and a written test.
Full-time, 2 years

 

Master of Laws (LLM) Coursework Programmes
Programme Admission Requirements Period of Study

LLM, with or without specialization in:

Asian Legal Studies
 
Corporate & Financial Services Law

International & Comparative Law


Intellectual Property & Technology Law

International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

Maritime Law

International Business Law
(conducted in Singapore and Shanghai)  
- A good Bachelor’s degree in Law
- Minimum TOEFL iBT Total score of 100. (Candidates who have obtained an iBT Total score of 92-99 or minimum IELTS (Academic) overall band score 7.0 may also apply. However, they may be invited to attend an interview or be required to undertake a prescribed English language course.)
Full-time, 1 year


For Maritime Law only,
Part-time, 2 years
(Classes may be conducted on weekdays during office hours.)

 

 

Graduate Diploma Programme
Programme Admission Requirements Period of Study

Graduate Diploma in Maritime Law & Arbitration

 
- Qualified master mariner , chief engineer and/or tertiary degree in another discipline
- Minimum TOEFL iBT Total score of 100. (Candidates who have obtained a minimum IELTS (Academic) overall band score 7.0 may also apply.)
- Relevant working experience in the maritime sector
Full-time, 1 year


Part-time, 2 years
(Classes may be conducted on weekdays during office hours.)
 

 

The University shall be entitled to make and issue additional guidelines/requirements with respect to all our graduate programmes from time to time and to revise or amend such guidelines/requirements as it deems fit. All such guidelines/requirements shall be deemed to be part of the graduate programmes.

 

Degree Requirements
Please click HERE for degree requirements.

 

English Proficiency

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for all international applicants except those from English-medium institutions in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. If your LLB or LLM degree is conducted entirely in the English medium and you wish to seek a waiver of this requirement, please submit your request together with supporting documents, and it will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Information on how to register for TOEFL is available from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
For IELTS (Academic) Tests, information is available HERE
 
Applicants should schedule a test date early enough to ensure that the scores are available and uploaded in the application system by the application closing date. Otherwise, we reserve the right not to accept the scores.

TOEFL/IELTS scores are valid for two (2) years from the test date and should be valid at the beginning of the application period for the degree programme(s) applied for.  If it has been more than two years since you last took the test, you must take it again to have the scores reported.

NUS only accepts TOEFL iBT scores from a single test date, not MyBest scores. TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition test scores may be accepted.

 

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