LLM (Master of Laws) SOAS University of London

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Our LLM (Master of Laws) programme gives students the opportunity to study at our vibrant School of Law with its unique focus on the legal systems and legal challenges of the Global South generally and Asia, Africa and the Middle East in particular. The structure of the LLM allows students to create their own programme of study, choosing from a wide array of modules, including those in comparative law, international law, law and development, commercial and trade law, human rights, environmental law, Islamic law and dispute resolution. In addition, students may be able to undertake modules outside of the School of Law, opening up SOAS’ array of world-leading options in languages, cultures, arts, humanities, politics, economics and finance, and beyond. Students complete the LLM by undertaking a dissertation, developing an extended research project on a topic of their choice. The LLM may be taken full-time over a period of one year, or part-time over a period of two, three or four years.

Why SOAS?

Our LLM (Master of Laws) teaching reflects our research strengths in the laws of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and in Islamic, international, human rights, commercial and trade, comparative, and environmental law. Much of our teaching concerns the critical study of law and the ways that law can be used to marginalise or to empower individuals and communities. In today’s globalised environment, our teaching also explores the study of the society in which the law operates, and the relationship of law to other structuring forces such as gender, sexuality, race, and economic status. All teachers on modules offered at SOAS are experts in their designated field, and many have years of experience advising governments, international and non-governmental organisations, or in professional practice. Undertaking the LLM at SOAS brings you into the heart of a world-leading, one-of-a-kind law school to study the world’s most pressing legal issues.

Why you?

The LLM (Master of Laws) programme is ideal for LLB graduates or legal professionals who wish to expand their knowledge of, and critical engagement with, law, particularly as it relates to the Global South. You will join international alumni of graduates from the LLM at SOAS, many of whom are now working at the UN, in NGOs, in government, in private practice, in policy work or in academia. Since the LLM may be taken full-time or part-time, many students have been able to successfully combine their studies at SOAS with their existing careers. Our LLM alumni include John Atta Mills (former President of Ghana); David Lammy MP; Sylvester Umaru Onu (Associate Justice, Nigerian Supreme Court); and Francis K. Butagira (Ugandan Ambassador to Germany).

Please note that the LLM is restricted to applicants who hold an LLB. If you do not hold an LLB but are interested in pursuing a master’s degree in law at SOAS, please see details of the MA.

Structure

Students must take modules to a total value of 180, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules. Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits.

Students who wish to graduate with an LLM (Master of Laws) are required to take at least 90 credits from the School of Law (General Law Postgraduate Taught Module List), and a final 30 unit which can either be taken within the School of Law or from the Postgraduate Module Open Option List with the LLM Programme Convenor’s permission. The dissertation topic will be connected to one of the taught LLM modules studied.

Please note: Not all modules listed will be available every year.

Dissertation

Dissertation (12,000 words), on a topic related to the specialism of the degree.

• LLM Dissertation in Law

Taught Component

• Guided Option
  Choose modules from the List of General PGT Law Options below to the value of 90 credits.

and

• Choose a module(s) from the List of General PGT Law Options below or from Postgraduate Open Options to the value of 30 credits.

List of Modules (subject to availability)

General Law Options

• Gender, Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Gender, Sexuality and Law: Selected Topics
• Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies
• Human Rights and Islamic Law
• International Commercial Arbitration
• International Human Rights Clinic
• International Investment Law
• Islamic Law (MA/LLM)
• Law and Development in Africa
• Law and Society in Southeast Asia
• Law and Society in the Middle East and North Africa
• Law, Rights & Social Change
• Preliminary Law, Legal Reasoning and Legal Methods
• International Migration Law
• International Refugee Law
• Law and Society in South Asia
• Mapping International Law in London: International Legal Geography in the Capital of Empire
• Law, Environment and Social Justice
• Law and Justice in Contemporary China
• Climate Change Law and Policy
• Colonialism, Empire and International Law
• Comparative Constitutional Law
• Foundations of International Law
• Human Rights of Women
• International Criminal Law
• International Protection of Human Rights
• Justice, Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Post Conflict Societies
• Law and Natural Resources
• Law and Policy of International Courts and Tribunals
• Law and Postcolonial Theory
• Islamic Law in Global Financial Markets
• Israel, Palestine, and International Law
• Multinational Enterprises and The Law
• The Law of Armed Conflict
• The Law of International Trade and/or Financial Regulation
• Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements (Law)
• Intellectual Property Law (PG)
• Human Rights of Women
• Law and Global Commons
• International Environmental Law I
• International Environmental Law II
• Water and Development: Commodification, Ecology and Globalisation (Law)
• Multinational Enterprises and the Law I
• Multinational Enterprises and the Law II
• Business and Human Rights in the Global Economy
• Comparative Company Law
• Israel, Palestine and International Law
• Palestine, Resistance, and the Law
• Alternative Dispute Resolution I
• Alternative Dispute Resolution II
• International laws on the use of force
• Gender, Armed Conflict and International Law

Open Options Note
Open options will need the approval of deputy PG programme convenor (LLM or MA).

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.