Kyra Arneri

Hi, my name is Kyra Arneri. I am a double bachelor student in Economics and Law and I currently participate in the LL.M. programme Legal Theory & Socio-Legal Studies. I wasn’t convinced of any particular master programme until I followed the Legal Philosophy course in the third year of the bachelor of Law at Erasmus School of Law.  I wasn’t convinced of any particular master programme until I followed the Legal Philosophy course in the third year of the bachelor of Law at Erasmus School of Law. I found that I was far more interested in the ‘why’ of law and the philosophical and normative foundations that constitute law than what law exactly prescribes and how a judge rules in a certain case. After some research into the programme and talks with professors, I decided to enrol in the Legal Theory & Socio-Legal Studies programme, a decision I am satisfied with to this very day!

The skills that you learn in this master programme do not only make you a better lawyer, they also make you a more critical person and citizen. As opposed to other master programmes in which the professor does most of the talking, the courses in the Legal Theory & Socio-Legal Studies master programme consist entirely of workgroups, for which you have to read mandatory literature on which you have to write points of criticism and discussion statements. I found that the most important learning moments were in these workgroups, where you extensively discuss the material and where your thoughts and work are being challenged by professors and other students. Because the groups consist of a maximum of fifteen people, you always make sure to be very well-prepared and to contribute to the discussion, because that is where and when you learn the most.

Because the master programme is relatively small, you have a lot of contact with your professors and become close with your fellow students very quickly. There have been many times in which we continued some of the interesting discussions we had during the workgroups in the student bar on campus (‘in de Smitse’) or over dinner.
What I like about the Legal Theory & Socio-Legal Studies master programme at Erasmus School of Law is that you have a lot of freedom in choosing your courses. Therefore, this programme is also a great pick for you if you want to combine one of the two tracks with electives from other more legal positive masters.
All the exams are conducted either in the form of an essay or orally. This shows the emphasis on the argumentation skills that you develop in this master programme: you will not pass a course by memorising an entire book or a summary, but by convincing the professor of your arguments.

The first block is very challenging with a strong focus on legal research. After this block you are sure that you have all the skills necessary to write an interesting and well-grounded master thesis! If you do not like writing essays, this master programme might not be the best pick for you. However, if you want to develop your writing and presentation skills, this master is a very smart choice!