What career opportunities do I have?
Employment opportunities
The LL.M. degree in Public International Law gives you strong qualifications in international law.
The knowledge acquired during the Master of Laws programme will be useful for careers worldwide as legal advisors in inter-governmental organisations (such as the UN, NATO, OSCE), non-governmental organisations (such as Amnesty International, Human Rights House and the like), state administrations (Refugee Council of Norway, Norwegian Immigration Authorities (UDI), universities, companies and private law firms.
Students admitted to the 5-year degree Master i rettsvitenskap, University of Oslo, are allowed to transfer credits from the LL.M. degree into their 5th year of study, and obtain two separate degrees from University of Oslo, Faculty of Law.
PIL Specialization: Security, Peace & International Law
Graduates may pursue careers within the Ministries of Justice, Defence,
or Foreign Affairs, as well as Police, Counterterror & Intelligence agencies, Security Risk Corporations, and international criminal courts.
PIL Specialization: Gender, Peace, Development, & Environment
Graduates may pursue careers within Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Environment, Human Rights NGOs, Development Agencies, and international and national organizations working with Gender, Peace, Development, and Environment.
PIL Specialization: International Economic Law & Sustainable Development
Graduates may pursue careers within Ministries of Trade or Foreign Affairs, as well international law firms, investment companies, and NGOs working with Trade and Development Issues.
What the degree does not qualify for
The LL.M. degree in Public International Law does not qualify for jobs as a lawyer or civil servants in legal practice in Norway. To qualify for a lawyer/civil servant in law in Norway (in Norwegian: jurist/advokat), you will need a legal background in Norwegian law. In Norway it is the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice (text in Norwegian only) that is in charge of issuing Licenses to Practice Law.
Further studies
To be admitted to the Ph.D. programmes at the University of Oslo, an applicant must have completed at least five years of higher education, i.e. studies that have been recognised by the faculty as forming a sufficient basis for admission.
For more information about admission criterias for Ph.D.studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, please visit the Law faculty's Ph.D programme.
Please note that the admission criteria to Ph.D.studies may vary from country to country.
The Career Centre
The Career Centre provides information and guidance to current students about work in Norway after graduation. The Career Centre offers courses in how to search for a fulltime job to international and English-speaking students.
The Career Centre offers:
- Career counceling
- Workshops
- Help with your CV and cover letter
- The job Interview
- Career fairs
Throughout the year the Career Centre run career fairs, seminars, conferences and presentations, details of which can be found at their website.