LL.M. in Chinese Business Law - Admission

Brief Introduction

Since 2010, Fudan Law School has launched the LL.M. Program in Chinese Business Law instructed in English for foreign lawyers, executives, students, and professional engaging in international trade and/or interested in Chinese business and financial law. It is designed to take advantage of Shanghai's position as a center of business and finance, including major courses in commercial law and financial law among others. Through the two-year study and research, students can develop a comprehensive understanding of Chinese business and financial legal system so that they can be independently engaged in the financial or legal practice and theory study.

Eligibility

Each eligible applicants must be a non-Chinese citizen with a valid passport, in good health, holding a bachelor’s degree and meeting the English language requirements.

Application Requirements

Language Requirements: Applicants whose native language is not English should provide a TOEFL（iBT）score of 90 or above/an IETLS score of 6.5 or above/the equivalent on another standardized English language test such as the Cambridge English exam. Applicants scoring below or who have not taken an English language exam may request an interview with the admissions staff to obtain a waiver.

Degree and Major Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or above. Students from all major backgrounds are eligible to apply for the LL.M. Program in Chinese Business Law.

Application Documents:

1)    Photocopy of valid passport identification page. Passport must be an ordinary passport and be valid for at least six months from the application time until Sep. 30 of the year.

2)    Printed online barcode Application Form with personal signature and a photo.

3) Personal Statement of purpose of around 1000 words. The content should include study and work experience, academic research achievements, planned research proposal, and individual development objective after graduation.

4) Two letters of recommendation. Recommenders should be chosen from professors, associate professor, former employer or supervisor, write in Chinese or in English (signature and contact information are necessary, sealed in envelop). There is no official reference form, but please make sure that your name and the title of the major you apply for are included.

5) A copy of diploma and degree (or notarized version, in notarized Chinese or English translation)

6) Academic transcripts (original or notarized version, in notarized Chinese or English translation)

7) TOEFL or IELTS or another standardized English language test report (if the native language of the applicant is not English).

8) Academic writing sample if applicable (Optional)

Online Application: http://admission.iso.fudan.edu.cn/

The application processing fee is RMB 800 Yuan and is non-refundable.

Deadlines for Application: From 1st November to 1st April of the second year

Courses Information

Requirements for Dissertation Writing:

1) Before determining the dissertation title, the student must do thorough research on the academic achievements in the related field, and the topic must be about a new or significant issue in the academic field.

2) The topic of the dissertation must be specific and definite, with an academic value. The topic must be approved by the academic supervisor of the student and the dissertation must be independently completed by the student.

3) The dissertation is expected to form a new thought which is distinct from the existing academic achievements with a clear and definite opinion, and strong argument; the materials cited in the dissertation must be accurate and reliable. The writing must be logic and fluent, with strong analytical skills and be highly persuasive.

4) The dissertation must be written in English with rich and solid coverage. The total words of the dissertation should be 12,000 – 15,000 English words.

5) The dissertation must be completed and submitted on or before March 20 of the second year of study, and the oral defense will be scheduled in late May or early June.

 Period of Study and Tuition

This is a two-year program consisting of one-year course work and one-year dissertation. The total tuition fee for the program is RMB 240,000 Yuan. Students need to pay half the tuition (120,000 Yuan) before the beginning of the first semester, and the other half before the beginning of the second semester.

Scholarships

FLS have two kinds of scholarships. The first one is Freshman Scholarship and applicants can apply it together with the application for the program. The Scholarship Evaluation Committee will evaluate applicants’ grades in their college and other performance. The second one is Academic Scholarship. After students get the grades of the first semester, they can apply for the scholarship. The Scholarship Evaluation Committee will evaluate students’ grades and academic performance, and then they will decide whether students get the scholarship and which class students can get.

Q & A

Being extremely thankful for your interest in our program, we hope these Q&As will clear your doubts. Please feel free to contact us should you have other questions. It would be our pleasure to help you out as much as we can.

Email any questions to: FudanLLM@fudan.edu.cn

LL. M. Program Office 
Part I  About Application Requirements 
Part II  About Application Procedure 
Part III  About Non-degree Application 
Part IV  About Student Life

Part I  About Application Requirements
Q:My Bachelor degree is "Liberal Arts and Sciences" and I graduate of an University in the US (MBA Major).  Am I qualified to enroll in Fudan LLM although my study background is not related to law study?

A: Yes, you are eligible to apply for the admission to our program. In fact, the students without background of legal education in our classes realize and assimilate the knowledge easily.

Q:I am currently enrolled for a Bachelor degree in economics at a university in Australia and am expected to graduate in June 2015. Would I be eligible to apply for the LL.M. program in Chinese Business Law (starting from fall of 2015)?
A: Yes, it is normal to apply for admission to a new program just before the ending of an old one. You are eligible to apply for our program starting this Fall. However, when you enroll of our University in Fall, please provide your Bachelor degree certificate, for without your Bachelor degree, we could not award you our LLM degree.

Q:I will graduate the Faculty of Law and acquire LL.B. in the end of September 2015. In this case, I will not be able to submit certificate of LL.B. before deadline of admission which will be the end of May 2015. However, My University may provide "certification of prospective graduation" instead. Is this acceptable as a proof of LL.B graduation?
A: Yes, it is normal to apply for admission to a new program just before the ending ofan old one. You are eligible to apply for our program starting this Fall. However, when you enroll of our University in Fall, please provide your Bachelor degree certificate, for without your Bachelor degree, we could not award you our LLM degree.

Q: I am not native speaker of English. So do I need to take TOEFL although I finished the US University's graduate program?
A:In order to ensure the quality of the class, English proficiency is required. Generally, a TOEFL score or IELTS score is considered as a practical method to prove it. However, other methods (such as a diploma or an equivalent certification of US University, etc.) may also be accepted.

Q:On your website you require a score above 6.5.You require minimum score of 6.5 or above in IELTS?  My score (6.5) is sufficient to apply?
A: About IELTS, “above 6.5” in our website means minimum 6.5. Your score (6.5) is sufficient to apply for our program.

Q:For the application, do the transcripts have to be original or can they be photocopies?
A:All documents of application must be in Chinese or English. If the original document is in a language other than Chinese or English, you shall provide a notarized translation in either Chinese or English.

Q:As I have now filled the online application form, I am about to send the material supports to the Law School. I was wondering if there are form requirements as for the personal statement and the resume.
A: For the personal statement and the resume, we don’t have special form requirement.

Q: I graduated long time ago and work now for a American company. Does it make more sense to have my employer (my supervisor) write the recommendation letters instead?
A: Yes, the letter from your manager is also accepted, since a manager, as a supervisor, knows very well her or his colleagues. We shares the view that the supervisor and colleague at work are also suited to write the recommendation letters, since they can provide us more current information about you.

Q:Between the Netherlands and the PRC there exists the possibility for Dutch students to obtain a scholarship from the CSC. I would like to obtain this scholarship which would make it possible to study in the PRC. Is it possible to receive an admission notice for the two years master of Chinese Business Law at Fudan University?
A: The government scholarship holders are not qualified to apply for our program. However, you may try to contact other law schools in China, which may provide some suitable programs.

Q:I am wondering if it is possible to do a direct exchange with your university from my Law School for a single semester (Fall/Spring) inthe LL. M. program.
A:Our program only accepts the exchange students from the schools or universities who have signed a cooperative agreement withFudanLaw School. In addition, the exchange studentsadmitted by our Law school only have the right to attend two courses of LL. M. program in Chinese Business Law, except otherwise agreed by the cooperative agreement.

Part II About Application Procedure
Q:When is the deadline of application for this coming fall (2015)?
A:The application deadline for degree students（LL.M. program in Chinese business law） is April 10th (2015).
The application deadline for non-degree students is June 10 (fall semester 2015) and December 10 (spring semester 2016).
Anyway, the application shall be started on the website of the International Students Office (ISO) of Fudan University: http://iso.fudan.edu.cn/en/.
The telephone number of the ISO of Fudan University is +86 21 65642258.

Q:Have you already started to review documents from other applicants? Is it better to submit documents earlier to pass the admission?
A: Our University has received a lot of applications letters each year. All the application documents received before the deadline will be treated seriously by our University and Law School. We do not assign priority according to the order of submission. However, allowing for sufficient time to resolve any problem that may come along, it is not suggested to submit the document at the last moment.

Q: I have just filled the online application (number: 2015000xxxx) to the LLM in Chinese business law but have not paid any application fee yet. I am wondering where I can find the online payment of the application fee.
A:The ISO (International Students Office)ofFudan University is examining as to form your application information online. After this step of examination, you may be asked to pay the application fee and to send your application documents by post to our university. Then we will examine as to substance your application documents. So please be patient with your application situation.

Q:On my e-application homepage, I could not download a proper application form. Am I authorized to enclose hard copies of my homepage screen to the other materials supporting my application?
A:About your application form, in order not to miss any information, please be advised to print directly the application form online before you download it. Some applicants have succeeded to print the form by this way. However, if you still have problems about printing, the screen prints of your application form are still acceptable.

Q: I am not in my home country at the moment and some of my necessary documents are at home. I would like to know whether it is acceptable if I print the online application and sign it here, then scan and email it home to be sent along with my other documents. Or do I have to provide a pen-signed copy of the application form?
A:A pen-signed application form is necessary. Could you ask your family to send the documents to you and then you send them with your signed application form to our University?

Q:I cannot make my payment through ISO's online system owing to the system's problem. May I pay the tuition with my credit card on the date of registration with ISO?
A: Regarding the tuition fee, we believe that there should be no problem if you cannot make your payment through ISO's online system owing to the system's problem, as long as you bring your money (credit card) to Fudan upon registration.

Q:I am required to attach two letters of recommendation from two professors. However, my university policy does not allow their students to gain possession of the recommendation letters. They require the applicant university to contact them through email and they would then send the recommendation letters directly to you. I would like to know do I just simply need to provide contact information of the professors.
A:You may contact directly some professors and ask them to write recommendation letters and send them directly to SUN Lei, Fudan Law School, Songhu Road 2005, Shanghai, 200438, China.

Q:The summer of2014, I was accepted to Fudan Law School for the master's Degree in Chinese Business Law. However, for my personal reason, I did not come to Shanghai and start the Master Degree.I am planning to start the Master Degree this coming fall (2015). Will the above admission notice be still valid given the fact it's for the years 2014 to 2016? And if not, is it possible to avoid the application process and get directly a new admission notice for the years 2015 to 2016?
A:We feel very sorry to inform you that it is still necessary to do again the application for admission via internet (because the electronic system of school recognize only the applications submitted during the fixed period, and this recognition is very important for the student life after entrance in school), and to send by mail your documents to Fudan (in order to get approval from our administration).Since our Office shall respect the rules of our University, what we may do now is only to speed up the procedure of examination of your documents.

Q:What shall I do on the date of registration in the coming fall semester?
A:When you are admitted by our University, you will receive an admission package.
Please be advised that the date of registration with the ISO (220 Handan Road) will be noticedin the Student Handbookenclosed in the admission package. On the date of registration, you will need to pay the tuition and housing (if you decide to live on-campus and have applied through the online application system on the time specified in the Student Handbook), apply for your residence permit, and purchase insurance upon registration with the ISO.
After that, please come to Room 204 of the Leo KoGuan Law Building of the law school campus (2005 Songhu Road) to register with the Law School, and to select courses. Please contact our Office in this regard.

Part III About Non-degree Application
Q:I would like to start with enrolling for the spring semester, is it possible?
A: Yes,it is fine that you apply for one semester of our program. However, if you would like to pursue the degree, you must apply and start from the fall semester, because degree students must register with the Ministry of Education in order to get the degree upon graduation, and the Ministry only accepts application before the fall semester.

Q:I understand the cost is 160,000 Yuan for your program (2 years), is it 80,000 Yuan for just the fall semester?
A:The answer to your question is YES. The tuition for one semester is 80,000.
The overall project charges 160000 yuan, paid in twice in the first year (with 80000 yuan each time at the beginning of two semesters). No additional charge is demand if relevant students submit and defend their dissertations and graduate on time (within 2 years after registration); otherwise additional charge is needed. If students do not write dissertations, they can be issued the certificates confirming their learning experiences and then complete studies.

Q:I am a law student in the US and am interested in your LLM. Would it be possible to attend the LLM program as a visiting student next year?
A:Yes, it is possible to apply for our program as an auditor of classes. However, the tuition is also 160 000 RMB for the auditor of one year program. That is why we suggest our applicants to apply for the full program (two years) with the same amount. You may know that our full program is a program spread over a span of two years. The first academic year begins since August. In the first academic year, prospective students will undergo an intensive and comprehensive study in various aspects of Chinese business law. The second academic year will be for students to complete their dissertation (the students may complete their dissertation in their home country and then come back to Fudan for oral defense in May or June of the second year).

Q:Could I follow and pay separate courses within the LLM? I do not need the title (degree), as I currently already hold one LLM. Perhaps I can just choose one or two parts of the LLM?
A:According to our university policy, the English-taught programs may only be paid on a semester-basis instead of course-basis, which means if you want to participate in our program as a non-degree student, even if you only plan to take a few courses, you should enroll for at least one semester and pay 80,000 yuan tuition covering up to 15-credit courses. But our Law Schoolmay agree to extend your study period; for example, if you plan to study for one semester but only have time to take 8 credits, you may take up to another 7 in the following semester without paying upon approval by the law school. Since the applicants who need to get the LLM degree may only start from the fall semester, non-degree students may apply from the spring semester.

Q: I am a lawyer from the Netherlands, working at a law firm in Shanghai. I would like to learn more about Chinese (business) Law, but I don't have the time to follow the full-time LLM as provided for by your university. Could you please inform me whether there are individual courses / part-time / executive programs available at your faculty for English speaking students?
A:Currently we only have the LLM in Chinese Business Law which is offered in English. Some applicants cannot study full time, so they applied for an extended study, i.e., they will complete their course study within two years instead of one year. In that way, they may balance their time in work and study.

Part IV About Student Life
Q:What are the start and end dates for the fall semester 2015 and the spring semester 2016?
A:According to the calendar of fall semester 2015- spring semester 2016 of Fudan university, for our program, the fall semester starts from the first week of September and ends before the Christmas, the classes in the spring semester starts from 24 Feb. 2016 and ends early June.

Q:Could you please list the classes offered for the fall semester (August 2015 to December 2015)?
A:From September to December 2014, our program provided the courses as follows: Chinese Civil Law, Chinese Legal Culture, Chinese Business Organization, Chinese Commercial Arbitration, Foreign Investment Law in China, and Foreign Trade Law in China. This courses arrangement will not be far away from the schedule of fall semester of 2015, which will be fixed in the summer of2015.

Q:When are classes taught throughout the week?
A: We scheduled the LLM courses in a way to facilitate our students to work part-time. For example, the courses of the spring semester (2016)will be scheduled on Wednesday and Friday. Besides, the classes are offered during the day time.

Q: I’m a US citizen. I’m working for an American company. I’m currently working on an assignment in Shanghai. I’m interested in your program and I was wondering if you only take full-time students. If not, how does it work for someone who is working full-time?
A:Our program is suitable for full time students, who prefer to spend more time on staying in campus, and also for part time student. For application, there is no different requirement between part time students and full time students.
It is a program spread over a span of two years. In the first academic year, prospective students will undergo an intensive and comprehensive study in various aspects of Chinese business law.We schedule the LLM courses in a way to facilitate our students to work part-time. For example, the courses of last fall semester (2014) are scheduled only on Thursday and Friday, and the courses of this spring semester (2015) are scheduled only on Wednesday and Friday. The second academic year will be for students to complete their dissertation. Students may complete the dissertation at Fudan or at any other places as long as they return for the oral defense in May or June of the second academic year.

Q:Could you send the course syllabi for the fall semester classes that are offered?
A: Sorry, we don’t have the right to send the course materials without the permission of professors.

Q:What is the mode of teaching for this LLM program?
A:The teaching method varies according to the course and the professor. Generally, the courses are instructed orally by the professors with PPT or/and course materials. The students ask questions in class if they want the professor to clarify some points.

Q: I am exchange student from Australia in Fudan Law School. May I take some LL.M. classes?
A:The exchange studentsadmitted by our Law school only have the right to attend two courses of LL. M. program in Chinese Business Law, except otherwise agreed by the our Law School and your university or school.

Q:I have completed the courses of the first academic year of LL.M. Program. However, for the probable failure led by my job to submit my dissertation on time and defend itin the second academic year. I would like to postpone my graduation for one year. What should I do?
A：In case of failure to submit dissertation on time and defend it, relevant students should, in accordance with the requirements of University and Law School, apply to postpone graduation in the second academic year. And an additional registration fee is needed foreach delaying year.

Q:I may want to go to the US law school after Fudan LLM. In this case, the credits eared at Fudan LLM can be transferred to the US law school?
A:It depends on the rules of US law school. In any event, Fudan Law School may provide a certification of credits earned in the program by the student.

Q:The Law School scholarship and financial aids will be applied as part of the tuition?
A:Our Law School offer the financial aids and merit-based scholarship to our LLM students, but actually the amount of both is quite limited, which is not enough to cover the tuition. Regarding the tuition payment, the students will need to pay half the tuition (80,000 yuan) before the beginning of the fall semester, and the other half before the beginning of the spring semester. The scholarship and financial aids will not be applied as part of the tuition, because they will only be issued after the students have already been registered and started study.

Q:When may I apply for Law School scholarship or financial aids?
A: Actually, in the middle of the fall semester, the application for need-based financial aids will be started.
In the beginning of the spring semester, the application for merit-based scholarship will be considered.

Q:How is Law School scholarship availability determined?
A:Law School will consider the grades and GPA of all applicants to determine who will be qualified to get the first class scholarship or the second or third class scholarship. We may consider some students' situation and grant more, but it still will not be enough to cover the tuition.

Q:I learnt that beside the scholarship and financial aids offered by Law school, there are various scholarships at the level of Fudan University. May I apply for the university scholarships?
A:Regarding the university scholarship, we would suggest you to visit the website of the ISO from time to time because you will need to apply for the university scholarship through the ISO, and ourLaw School will not be informed about the scholarship.
But the Law School Scholarship is the one administered by ourLaw School.

Q:Is there any financial aid available for students only take one semester?
A:Yes, the students only taking one semester has also the right to apply for financial aid for one semester.

Q:Could you tell me the amount of scholarship or financial aids?
A:The amount of both the financial aids and scholarship is limited. Let me give you an example of one of our students in the first class. He received 5,000 Yuan's financial aids, 15,000 yuan's scholarship from the law school, and another 10,000 Yuan's scholarship from the university. All these do not need to be paid back.

Q:Where is Fudan Law School located?
A:Fudan University has four campuses in Shanghai. Its schools and departments scattered among them.
The four campuses are Old Campus or Main Campus (220, HanDan Road, where the ISO is located), Law School Campus or XinJiangWang Campus (2005, SongHu Road, where our Law School is situated), FengLin Campus, and ZhangJiang Campus.
Law School Campus is not far away for the Old Campus. The campus shuttle buses are available and free for Fudan's students.

Q:What career opportunities are available to students who obtain an LLM Degree in Chinese Business Law from Fudan University? Can you please give me some general details?
A:It is hard to say for sure that all of the international students will get a job after they complete their study at Fudan; however, there are indeed many job opportunities for our students. As you may know, there are many international law firms and multinational companies in Shanghai and other cities in China, and they have a great need for people with legal background. Although their needs change from time to time, they especially prefer to hire someone who can speak English or bilingual languages (English and Chinese), and are familiar with Chinese law. Based on our prior experience, most, if not all, of our international students have found job in China or have had a chance to find an internship during their study period. Therefore, we have scheduled the LLM courses in a way to facilitate our students to work part-time. However, please be advised that knowing the Chinese language and Chinese culture is also very important for international students to find a job in China. Our program will definitely provide prospective students with such an opportunity. For example, we offer Chinese Legal Culture and Chinese Language courses in addition to the law courses.

Contact us

Email: fudanllm@fudan.edu.cn

Tel：86-21-31245609, 86-21-31245608