International Arbitration Institute

The International Arbitration Institute ("IA Institute") is an embodiment of the University of Miami’s long tradition of engagement with the law of arbitration. The IA Institute strives to support support the International Arbitration LL.M. and to enhance the depth and breadth of course offerings in the field of international arbitration and also for progress through educational lectures and trainings, scholarship and data-gathering in international arbitration. The IA Institute also develops and pursues projects that serve the larger international arbitration community, with a special focus on Latin American and the Caribbean region.

Miami Law's Long Tradition with the Study of International Arbitration

Soia Mentschikoff, Miami Law’s legendary dean from 1974-82, was a pioneer in the study of the arbitral process in the 1950s and 1960s, when she initiated vast primary research on the cognitive bias of arbitral decision-making. Dean Mentschikoff and her husband, Karl Llewellyn, had a life-long friendship with Gillis Wetter, a great figure of international arbitration in Sweden, who liked to spend the winters in Miami to teach and work on his five-volume opus, “The International Arbitral Process” (1979).

Since the early 2000s, and in some cases earlier, courses on various aspects of domestic and international arbitration have been taught at Miami Law by renowned arbitration practitioners as visiting and adjunct faculty. The related topics of alternative dispute resolution, mediation and negotiation have long been regular offerings at Miami Law as well.

Planning for the IA Institute was initiated in 2006 under the guidance of Dean Dennis Lynch and later Interim Dean Paul Verkuil. In 2008, Jan Paulsson was appointed to the Michael Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair and shortly thereafter assumed the role of the Director of Miami Law’s international arbitration program. The IA Institute was formally established in 2011.

International Arbitration Institute Scholarship

The University of Miami School of Law’s International Arbitration Institute awards one or more partial-tuition scholarships to outstanding candidates to attend the International Arbitration LL.M. Program.

No separate application is required for the International Arbitration Institute Scholarship.

Students who apply and are admitted to the International Arbitration LL.M. Program are automatically considered for these prestigious scholarships based on admission credentials, academic achievements and promise.

Application Deadline

Applications for admissions and scholarships will be considered on a rolling basis, with a priority deadline of December 15. However, we encourage interested students to apply even after our priority deadline of December 15. We will accept applications for admission up until the beginning of the program in early August, and scholarships may still be available at a later time.

Other International Arbitration Scholarships

Each year, several additional scholarships are awarded to outstanding applicants to the White & Case International Arbitration LL.M. based on academic and professional skills and achievements.
Learn more about these prestigious scholarships.

White & Case International Arbitration LL.M.

The LL.M. in International Arbitration provides a unique individualized educational curriculum and opportunity for a small group of top-quality students from a range of countries wishing to acquire an in-depth grounding in the field of international arbitration as a platform for a successful career.
Learn more about the LL.M. program - the only one of its kind in the United States.

Institute Initiatives: Lectures

The Institute brings renowned international arbitrators and experts to the University of Miami School of Law to lecture throughout the academic year.

See more upcoming and past lectures/courses

Institute Initiatives: Research & Publications

The Institute strives not only for progress through the education of the new generation of arbitration lawyers, but also for progress through research in international arbitration. Click here to see a listing of publications.

Students also have the opportunity to work as graduate research assistants with the Institute and individual Miami Law faculty members on cutting-edge research projects related to international arbitration.