Join an online arbitration course that fits around full-time work.
Develop your expertise and qualifications in commercial arbitration, a dispute resolution method widely used internationally and across sectors.
Learn from experts in international commercial law and arbitration as they guide you through this complex, technical area of the law.
You’ll gain a full understanding of how it operates, essential if you’re advising clients or framing contracts that carry arbitration clauses.
- Enhance your skills, experience and career as a lawyer working in private practice, in-house, or in a government organisation.
- Join us online from anywhere in the world.
- Set your own study hours so you can continue to earn while you learn.
Build credits towards a Masters degree
This online course is part of:
You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards either of these postgraduate qualifications.
What you’ll study
Arbitration is an adjudicative process leading to a binding decision. But it differs significantly from litigation in several key respects – not least its flexibility, confidentiality and use of decision-making expertise.
You’ll gain a thorough grounding in the key principles and content of international commercial arbitration through a comparative exploration of different national approaches and institutional rules.
You’ll look at the rules and principles underpinning the following:
- the arbitration agreement
- sources of arbitral rules: legislative and institutional
- jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal
- appointment of arbitrators
- the arbitral process pre-hearing
- the arbitral hearing
- arbitral costs
- the award and challenge
- enforcement of the award.
Choose the University of Aberdeen for online law courses
Study at a university with one of the largest and most internationally experienced teams of legal experts in any European law school.
Top 5 in Scotland for Law
We’re ranked Top 5 in Scotland for Law in two league tables (Guardian University Guide 2025 and Complete University Guide 2025).
Fits around full-time work
This degree fits around full-time work, with flexible hours and 24/7 study access.
20% alumni discount
University of Aberdeen alumni get 20% off this online course.
How you’ll study
Online learning
This distance-learning international arbitration course is delivered flexibly, 100% online.
You can learn with us anywhere, no student visa required, and manage your study hours to suit you.
Your teaching
This course is taught at Masters level.
Teaching is delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.
You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You’ll find a range of resources available, including:
- video lectures
- online tutorials
- slide presentations
- reading materials
- discussion boards with your tutors and peers
- the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library and the Taylor Law Library.
Your tutors
This course is delivered by our School of Law.
You’ll learn from lawyers with extensive international experience and experts working in practice in the field of international arbitration.
You’ll be assessed entirely online throughout your course via:
- your online interaction (worth 20% of your total course grade)
- two coursework assignments (each worth 40%).
This course totals approximately 300 hours of study and assessment time.
That’s around 15 – 20 hours per week in regular topic work and independent study, with more time required around assessments.
This is an indicative guide to the time required for a typical student at this level to achieve the learning outcomes. This includes time for independent study, as well as teaching and assessments.
You can largely set your own study hours to cover the materials. MyAberdeen is available 24/7, so you can log in and study when it suits you.
Activities at fixed times
There may be some activities scheduled at fixed times, such as online meetings with your tutor or assessments with deadlines. But otherwise, you can access and work through the course at your convenience.
Our first-class support structure will ensure that you aren’t alone in your studies. You’ll have contact with your course coordinator throughout your course. This could be by email, MyAberdeen, online call, or phone. You can use social media and discussion boards to chat with your fellow students too.
We provide a wide range of services to support you in your studies and beyond:
- Careers and Employability Service
- Disability support
- IT support
- Library support
- Student Support Service – help with finances, stress, wellbeing and non-academic issues
- Student Learning Service – study support, with advice sessions available via phone or Skype
- Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) – run by students for students
- Toolkit – clever apps and free training that can make your study life easier
Wherever you are in the world, you’ll feel part of our very special Aberdeen learning community.
Your course coordinator
Dr Nevena Jevremovic
Nevena is a Lecturer in Commercial Law. She researches and teaches transnational commercial dispute resolution. Nevena has a keen interest in interdisciplinary study of international sales law, through a combination of critical discourse analysis, law and political economy, and decolonial approaches.
View Nevena’s profileOnline learning in the School of Law
Advocates share their experiences of working while studying online Law courses with us.
Where this will take you
Towards an LLM
You’ll earn 30 credits at Masters level (SCQF Level 11) with this course. You can use these credits towards our:
LLM in Dispute Resolution
Enhance your non-court dispute resolution skills with this online LLM that has been accredited by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
View LLM Dispute ResolutionLLM in International Trade Law
Develop the knowledge to practise trade law or work for governments, international businesses and NGOs. Join this flexible online LLM you can study part-time, with the option to attend Professional Skills training.
View LLM International Trade LawBuild your learning with more short courses
We offer a wide range of specialist online Law short courses you can use to build your skills.
Many are part of existing Masters degrees and can be used to build up credits towards postgraduate qualifications.
Careers
The course will give you significant professional benefit as a lawyer advising clients on international activity, or if you work in a related capacity in a government department or a multinational private company.
Previous graduates have gone on to senior positions in legal firms, in industry, NGOs, and with government organisations across the world.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Your employer or professional institute may recognise this course for CPD hours. Talk to your employer or institute to find out more.
Free career support
Access our free careers service while you study.
- 1:1 appointments
- CV checks
- Interview prep
- Job opportunities
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
We welcome students from all over the world.
This course has no formal entry requirements. You do not need to provide proof of your qualifications.
But you do need to check the entry guidance above to understand the level of teaching delivered, to decide if this course is right for you.
If you do not have qualifications from the UK, check the equivalent teaching level for your country.
Visa requirements
You do not need a student visa to study online with us.
English language requirements
Teaching is delivered in English.
You do not have to provide proof of your English language skills to join this course. But we want to make sure that you can use English well enough to study successfully.
Recommended level of English
This course uses our Postgraduate Higher level of English language proficiency.
These are our Postgraduate Higher requirements, and these are minimum scores.
IELTS Academic, IELTS UKVI Academic, and IELTS Online (not IELTS Indicator or IELTS General Training)
- 6.5 overall
- 5.5 for listening and speaking
- 6.0 for reading and writing
TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT Home Edition
- 90 overall
- 17 for listening
- 21 for reading
- 20 for speaking
- 21 for writing
- TOEFL DI code is 0818
Cambridge English: B2 First, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency
- 176 overall
- 162 for listening and speaking
- 169 for reading and writing
LanguageCert Academic/LanguageCert Academic SELT
- 70 overall
- 60 for listening and speaking
- 65 for reading and writing
LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator (Written and Spoken) – Online / In-centre
- Overall High Pass
- 33 for listening, reading and speaking
- 38 for writing
Oxford ELLT Digital – English Language Level Test Online
- 7.0 overall
- 5.0 for listening and speaking
- 6.0 for reading and writing
PTE Academic (online test not accepted)
- 62 overall
- 59 for listening, reading, speaking and writing
Duolingo – tests taken from 1 July 2024 onward
- 120 overall
- 95 for listening and speaking
- 105 for reading and writing
University of Aberdeen English Pre-sessional Programme (PSE)
- Pass
- Valid for one year. Refresher can be offered if out of date
Pre-sessional academic English preparation programmes undertaken at other UK universities
- Pass at an equivalent of 6.5 (C1)
- B2 in all four skills
- Certification must be within one year prior to the start of your course
For more information about language qualifications see our English Language Requirements page.
You will need access to:
A computer (PC, laptop or Mac) operating on either:
- Windows 10 or later
- macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later.
Most teaching materials are smartphone- and tablet-friendly. But we recommend a proper laptop or desktop for completing assignments comfortably.
Reliable internet access
We recommend:
- a wired connection
- a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps so you can take part fully in live sessions.
Speakers or headphones
- We recommend a headset with built-in microphone and earphones if you’re likely to study in an environment with background noise.
- A webcam is optional, but you may like to use one for some interactive sessions.
Software
We’ll give you access to Office365 applications. This means you can use online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and install these programs on up to five personal devices.
If your course requires specialist software, we’ll provide you with access to this and a licence that lasts throughout your studies.
See our detailed IT requirements for more information.
When you study with us, you can expect a first-class support structure so that you’re never alone in your studies.
But learning online does mean you have to motivate yourself and manage your own time.
Your most important commitment will be time – the time to work through, reflect on and understand your teaching materials.
Before you start a course that involves a high degree of independent study, we recommend looking at the time you will be able to devote to your studies each week:
- Be realistic
- Create a weekly schedule as a guide
If you have any questions about studying online, get in touch with our friendly team. We’re here to help.
Fee payment
Your course fee needs to be paid in full before you start your course.
We accept payment via Visa Debit, Visa Credit and Mastercard.
Ways to save
You may be able to get help funding this course via:
- discounts – if any discounts are available for this course, they’ll appear in the section below
- employer sponsorship – we accept full and partial fee payments from sponsors.
Find out more about funding options.
Student card
All our students are entitled to a University of Aberdeen student card. This gives you access to a range of student discounts around the city and online.
This course has no formal entry requirements. You decide if it’s suitable for you.
The course is delivered at LLM level. At this level, you’d usually have at least:
- a 2:1 (upper-second-class) Law degree, or
- relevant work experience that supports this level of study.
Apply for this course