The LLM programme is dynamic in meeting the society and the world’s needs. It provides students with the opportunities to learn the professional skills and legal knowledge necessary to serve the need of modern society. The programme design allows students to choose stream focus and tailor their course selection for their own career goals. The streams that CityUHK School of Law offers include International Economic Law Stream, Corporate and Financial Law Stream, Intellectual Property and Technology Law Stream, Common Law Stream, Chinese and Comparative Law Stream, and General Stream.
Year of Entry
Local : 30 Jun 2025Non-local : 30 Apr 2025
Mode of Study
Combined †Mode of Funding
Postgraduate Diploma; Postgraduate CertificateIndicative Intake Target
170Minimum No. of Credits Required
Classes are held during daytime. Classes may be offered on weekday evenings / Saturdays in special cases.Normal Study Period
Full-time: 1 year; combined mode: 2 yearsMaximum Study Period
Full-time: 2.5 years; combined mode: 5 yearsMode of Processing
Applications are processed on a rolling basis. Review of applications will start before the deadline and continue until all places are filled. Early applications are therefore strongly encouraged.Programme Outlines
Our Master of Laws (LLM) Programme offers a unique blend of comprehensive legal information, innovative skill-based training, opportunities for independent research, the flexibility to study in any of a variety of streams and international study opportunities.
Students are able to obtain their LLM degrees in any of the following streams:
- International Economic Law Stream deals with international legal issues concerning business transactions and economic development with a particular emphasis on problems relating to different jurisdictions.
- Corporate and Financial Law Stream focuses on legal issues concerning corporations, finance and business with practical importance in the regional and international markets.
- Intellectual Property and Technology Law Stream explores cutting-edge issues relating to copyright, patent, trademark, design, trade secret and cyberspace.
- Common Law Stream provides students with an opportunity to study the origins, practices, values, principles and theories of common law, and equips students with legal skills of comparing common and civil law systems and methods.
- Chinese and Comparative Law Stream focuses on a comparative understanding of the legal framework of China.
- General Stream provides students with an opportunity to study any topics in which they may be interested.
- Maritime and Transporation Law Stream researches on international legal issues related to maritime and transport activities.
[Important Note]: All students with their LLB obtained from non-common law jurisdictions admitted to any of the above streams are required to attend an intensive course LW6102E "Introduction to Common Law System and Methodology" in the latter half of August 2025. Students have to apply for their student visa and exit permit, if applicable, in advance so that they will be able to attend the course at CityUHK. LLM students who are not undertaking a full year of study at CityUHK can be exempted from taking the course subject to approval by School of Law.
For more details on our programme structure, please refer to the LLM programme website.
To be eligible for admission, applicants must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements and the following programme-specific entrance requirements: *
- holding an honours degree in law or equivalent qualification; or
- having been admitted for professional practice of law in Hong Kong or other jurisdictions; or
- having obtained either a Common Professional Examination (CPE) of the United Kingdom or Hong Kong with satisfactory results, provided that a second class honours degree has also been obtained; or
- having obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Hong Kong Law or Master of Arts/Laws in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution;
- being proficient in English.
For applicants whose entrance qualification is obtained from an institution where the medium of instruction is not English, the minimum English language proficiency requirement is as follows: ^
- a minimum total score of 88 (internet-based test) in TOEFL#; or
- an overall band score of 6.5 in IELTS; or
- a score of 520 in the Mainland China’s College English Test (CET) Band 6; or
- other equivalent qualifications.
* An applicant who holds a legal qualification from a common law jurisdiction will not be eligible to enrol in the Common Law Stream, and an applicant who holds a LLB degree from Mainland will not be eligible to enrol in the Chinese and Comparative Law Stream.
^ TOEFL and IELTS scores are considered valid for two years. Applicants are required to provide their TOEFL / IELTS test results obtained within the two years preceding the commencement of the University’s application period. For CET-6 scores, the validity period is three years.
# Applicants are required to arrange with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send their TOEFL results directly to the University. The TOEFL institution code for CityUHK is 3401.
In the 2025/26 academic year, only English module will be offered for the following streams:
- International Economic Law Stream
- Corporate and Financial Law Stream
- Intellectual Property and Technology Law Stream
- Common Law Stream
- Chinese and Comparative Law Stream
- General Stream
- Maritime and Transportation Law Stream
CityUHK School of Law operates collaborative programmes with Europe-Asia Research Institute of Aix-Marseille University, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in France, and Université de Fribourg in Switzerland. Selected students will study at these partner universities and obtain one postgraduate degree from CityUHK and one from the partner university, where the designated study-loads at both institutions are successfully discharged. For further details, please visit our Global Gateway page.
CityUHK School of Law also collaborates with the National Judges College and the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC to provide advanced legal education to Chinese judges. A number of Chinese judges are selected to study in the LLM programme at CityUHK.
CityUHK School of Law is home to the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law, Hong Kong Commercial and Maritime Law Centre, Public Law and Human Rights Forum, and the Centre for Judicial Education and Research cum Identification of Hong Kong Law. Also the Asia Pacific Law Review, an internationally reputable peer-review law journal published by LexisNexis, has its editorial home in the School of Law.
The School of Law does not guarantee to offer weekday-evening or weekend classes to LLM students enrolled in the combined mode or part-time mode.