The new programme offers a legal education built around real-world challenges.
The Faculty of Law's new international will launch in autumn 2027. The interdisciplinary master's programme tackles today's biggest governance challenges in democracy, sustainability, business and technology through law.
"We want to address all the big questions of today with the programme. All the challenges that legal systems, global institutions and countries have been facing lately - going digital after the pandemic, AI, digital platforms, technologies, sustainable development, climate change and new levels of inequality," says Professor , director of the new programme.
The new programme will replace two previous international master's programmes: the Master's Programme in International Business Law and the Master's Programme in Global Governance Law. The new programme will better meet the demand in the education market and offer a unique approach to legal studies.
"Rather than studying legal rules in isolation, our students will examine them in their social, political, economic and technological contexts. We want the programme to promote creative thinking in law so that we can offer multi-level, polycentric solutions to legal governance".
Beyond narrow legal understanding
One of the key ideas behind the plan is investing in scope. The world is changing at such a rapid pace that the idea of focusing on a single legal field or a limited area is no longer enough in legal science.
"We want all students to have expertise across the board. We're entering an era where lawyers need to handle diverse legal experiences - there's no single pathway anymore. You need to go beyond narrow legal understanding and have the expertise that allows you to identify new challenges," Muravyeva says.
In practice, this scope is achieved through four themes: Governance, Rights and Democracy; Sustainability and Environment; Business and Commerce; and Data and Technology. Rather than committing to a single track, every student chooses two, one of which becomes their major specialisation (25 ECTS), the other their minor specialisation (15 ECTS).
"Instead of five separate master's degrees from five different programmes, we hope to provide a diverse legal experience by training lawyers who can respond to these new challenges, whether they go on to legal practice, international organisations, local government or law enforcement".
Students who have not completed a law degree can also apply to the programme. To be eligible, you will need a completed bachelor's degree in law or at least 35 credits in legal studies, which should specifically include the basics of public international law or European law.
This opportunity for students without law degrees to join the programme too stems from the changing requirements of professional life. In addition to lawyers being asked to possess broader expertise, increasingly many non-lawyers are also required to have legal expertise.
"For example, corporations need legal experts who understand how business works online, or what sustainability means for business development. International organisations want legal experts who don't necessarily have a background as a lawyer but can advise on development programmes funded by the EU or the UN. This market didn't exist ten years ago."
International law the Finnish way
The Faculty of Law in Helsinki is well known for its expertise in international law, European law and comparative law, to name just a few fields. The programme's teaching is provided by well-known top researchers in their fields. What makes the teaching in Helsinki stand out from other comparable education is not only the opportunity to learn about international law and global affairs from leading experts, but to learn about them from a Nordic perspective.
"Anyone can learn international law almost anywhere - it's taught at every law school. But we don't just give a standard course on international law, we give it from the perspective of a Nordic country with a developed democracy and rule of law, and we give our view of what international law has been and should be, and how it responds to global challenges", Muravyeva says.
Students can also participate in courses of the national Master's Programme in Law, which include teaching in English. This enables curious students to learn about the Nordic and Finnish legal systems.
Instead of just reading the law or attending lectures, most of the courses in the programme are interactive, with a lot of group work and case studies drawn from real cases, like those of the European Court of Human Rights or situations from international organisations. Legal clinics provide practical experience.
The studies also include traineeships, where students find a placement in, for example, local government, a government ministry, a law firm or an international organisation.
"We've had students train with the European Commission, the European Court of Human Rights, and others. Traineeships help them identify what they want to do professionally, while giving them real working experience."
Internationalisation also for Finnish students
All eligible applicants are welcome to apply to the programme, regardless of their country of origin. , the Faculty's Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs, says that the aim, in fact, is to attract students as widely as possible from around the globe.
"In my opinion we will benefit greatly just from having a diverse group of students with different backgrounds. Comparative discussions and mutual expansion of ideas are very productive and necessary."
The Faculty leadership also wishes that Finnish students too will apply to the programme in large numbers, as contemporary jurisprudence is increasingly international.
"Law is no longer a purely national discipline. In practice, there are increasingly few situations in which only national parties or purely national legal questions are involved. Even a local court handling a seemingly local case often applies, interprets or is otherwise influenced by rules that are connected to EU law or other forms of international regulation. National legal processes are embedded in a broader, multi‑level legal order", says Ervo.
Correspondingly, the aim is for students who have come to Finland to take what they've learned with them to their home countries.
"Part of the goal is that they come, learn from us, go back, and put into practice what they've learned. At the same time, we want talent to come to Finland and stay, because that's good for the Finnish economy and society. So, it's a two-fold goal: we serve our own market, but are also ready to export expertise to other contexts, especially in terms of rule of law and due process", Muravyeva concludes.
