Become a part of the broadest, most diverse and dynamic program in international law and global governance of any school in the world.
Watch: Lautaro Furfaro LLM ‘22 on how the International Legal Studies program made him a better academic.
Faculty
More than 15 full-time professors comprise our core international and comparative law faculty, unsurpassed in the depth of their knowledge and engagement. Our Global Faculty—celebrated scholars in their home countries invited to teach at NYU—and New York practitioners augment this deep bench of expertise.
Our professors teach and research in:
Chinese and East Asian Law
Comparative Constitutional Law
EU Law and Regional Integration
Global Governance and Administrative Law
Global Law and Tech
History of Int'l Law
Human Rights and Int'l Criminal Law
Int'l Climate, Environmental and Energy Law
Int'l Legal Theory
Int'l, Regional and Bilateral Trade
Int'l/Transnational Litigation and Arbitration
Investment and Investor-State Arbitration
Law of War and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Law and Development
Transitional Justice
UN and Int'l Organizations Law
Flexible Curriculum
You'll build expertise in several different areas of international, comparative, and global law to equip yourself to deal with cross-cutting issues that call for innovative approaches. Your professors will help you explore your intellectual interests within this broad field, and define the direction of your future professional development.
Special Programs
Three of our centers and institutes offer special programs for students in particular areas of international and comparative law:
Clinics, Colloquia, and Research Opportunities
You can apply to gain hands-on experience in our clinics and externships. In our colloquia, you'll be exposed to emerging scholarship and engage with authors writing about today's issues. This year, there are five courses of each type for students in this specialization.
You also can develop your scholarship in close consultation with a professor. Writing opportunities include: a paper for a class, an independent research project, or this degree's 4-credit thesis option. The annual International Law and Human Rights Emerging Scholarship Conference features students' writing.
Watch: Professor Philip Alston, who teaches international human rights law, talks about incorporating his human rights work into his classes.
Intellectual Life
A significant number of our centers and institutes do impactful work in international and comparative law; they convene a calendar events and organize programs for students. Student groups and journals connect JDs and LLMs with common interests.
Centers and Institutes
Bernstein Institute for Human Rights
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
Guarini Institute: Global Law and Tech
Institute for International Law & Justice
Intesa Sanpaolo Center for Transnational Litigation, Arbitration, and Commercial Law
Jean Monnet Center for International and Regional Economic Law & Justice
NYU Center for Cybersecurity
Reiss Center on Law and Security
US-Asia Law Institute
Student Groups & Journals
Africa Law Association
Asia Law Society
International Arbitration Association
International Law Society
International Refugee Assistance Project
Journal of International Law and Politics
Law Students for Economic Justice
National Security Law Society
Career Resources
Get ready for your next career move as you prepare to join NYU Law's network of 40,000+ alumni:
- The Office of Career Services supports your private sector job search.
- The Public Interest Law Center assists with your future public service career.
- Apply for post-graduate fellowships for LLMs in human rights or international finance and development.
- Explore the fully-funded JSD program, research fellowships at some of our centers and institutes, and the Law School's academic career fellowships.
- Learn more about bar exams and admission to practice in the US.
Meet the 2024-25 Faculty Director
José Enrique Alvarez
Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law
Professor Alvarez’s six books and over 150 shorter works have made substantial contributions to a wide range of topics in international law, including the law-making aspects of UN system organizations, the challenges facing international criminal tribunals, the elusive boundaries between “public” and “private,” the legitimacy deficits and reform prospects for the international investment regime, and the failings of global health law. Read more about Professor Alvarez