Master and PhD in International Law Admissions, September 2027 Intake at Geneva Graduate Institute (Apply by 14 January 2027)

The Geneva Graduate Institute has opened applications for its next intake, September 2027. Its International Law Department offers a Master in International Law and a PhD in International Law, alongside a one-year professional LLM with the Institute's Executive Education Programme.

• Master in International Law (120 ECTS): a two-year programme providing in-depth training in international law and the tools and approaches needed for rigorous legal analysis. It comprises compulsory courses, optional seminars and an original research dissertation in the second year, with complementary courses in economics, history, political science, anthropology and sociology. It is aimed at those who wish to pursue a PhD or a career in research.
• PhD in International Law: designed for outstanding students with a strong commitment to international law and a proven ability to carry out independent research, with formal supervision, specialised doctoral seminars and access to Digital Skills workshops.

Most classes are taught in English; students may submit assignments in English or French. Knowledge of French is not an admission condition.

• Master: a bachelor degree from an accredited university, held or awarded before enrolment. For the disciplinary master programmes, this degree, or at least a significant body of coursework, should be in a discipline relevant to the intended programme.
• PhD: a master degree in a relevant discipline from an accredited university, held or received before enrolment, plus a thesis proposal and a copy of the master thesis (or, if unavailable, a significant research paper from the master programme).
• English: CEFR C1 or higher, for example TOEFL iBT 100 or IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with section minimums, or Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (185 total, 180 in each subscore). Applicants who completed at least one year full-time at university level taught exclusively in English are exempt. Duolingo and Linguaskill are not accepted.
• There is no minimum GPA. Degrees awarded after the 30 September enrolment deadline may lead to a rescinded offer or conditional enrolment.

On access for Indian applicants, the Institute's FAQ states: "Can international students apply? Yes. About 85% of our students are international. The same application process applies to all."

• Master applicants: may apply for financial aid only in the January deadline round, in the same online form, by documenting their financial situation. Admission decisions are need-blind. The Institute states that 10 to 15% of admitted master students receive full or partial scholarships, renewable for a second year if the need remains.
• PhD applicants: every PhD admission offer comes with a four-year financial support package, from the Institute or another approved organisation. The Institute's support package is CHF 20,000 per year for four years, for 6 students per department and 30 students in total each year. Other routes are a Research Assistant contract on an externally funded project (a dual application) or external funding such as the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship. PhD applicants must not disclose financial information in the form, and can choose only one funding route.

• Application fee: CHF 100 (January deadline, all programmes; also the October deadline for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship PhD applicants). CHF 200 for a late application deadline, if one is announced. Fees cannot be waived; payment is through Flywire by card or bank transfer.
• Master tuition: CHF 5,000 per year for Swiss residents, CHF 8,000 per year for non-residents.
• PhD tuition: CHF 3,000 in the first year, CHF 1,000 per year thereafter.
• Confirming an offer requires a CHF 1,000 pre-registration fee, deducted from the first tuition invoice.
• The Institute estimates living costs of at least CHF 2,000 per month.

• Motivation letter in English or French (800 words maximum).
• CV or resume (no set format; two pages recommended).
• Official academic transcripts and copies of all university degree diplomas (certified English translation if not in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish).
• English proficiency certificate, if applicable, and a copy of the passport or national ID.
• Contact details of two or three referees (academic preferred); letters must come from institutional email addresses on letterhead, within seven days of the application deadline.
• PhD only: master dissertation and a thesis proposal. The thesis proposal guide linked from the admissions page (2026-2027 edition) sets the International Law proposal at a maximum of 5,000 words including a 400-word executive summary and footnotes, excluding the bibliography.

All documents are uploaded as PDFs through the online portal; documents sent by email or post are not accepted.

Apply through the Institute's online application form for the 2027-2028 intake. The main deadline for all master and PhD programmes is Thursday, 14 January 2027, closing at midnight Geneva time (CET); recommendation letters are due by Thursday, 22 January 2027. Pay the CHF 100 application fee; the application is considered only after the funds reach the Institute. Each applicant may submit only one MA or PhD application per cycle, and late applications are not accepted.

PhD applicants seeking the Swiss Confederation Excellence Scholarship have a separate, earlier deadline of Thursday, 15 October 2026 (recommendation letters by 22 October 2026). For the PhD in International Law, the Institute accepts that route only where the applicant's Swiss government deadline is 12 November or later. Applications at the October deadline are assessed on a rolling basis; the January round is reviewed after the deadline closes.