Innovation, Technology and the Law LLM (Online Learning)

This unique and internationally-focused LLM programme explores how the law responds to, regulates and promotes new and emerging technologies.

Innovative technologies and convergence in technologies are causing unprecedented societal change. New legal issues are arising, and new regulatory responses emerging. The law can help – or hinder – society’s ability to reap the optimal rewards from technological development.

Across the programme, you will study different modes of regulation – the law, the markets, the technology itself – and critically analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each. The potential of technology to support legal and judicial processes is also examined.

This LLM will enable you to develop an advanced knowledge of domains where law engages with technology, awareness of the problems in the area and understanding of the differing approaches to their solution.

Online learning

Our online learning programmes are delivered entirely online via a virtual learning environment. Learning and teaching happen ‘asynchronously’. This means that you have the flexibility to log in at times and in places convenient to you, contribute your views and respond to others, and still maintain a sense of community with your fellow students across time zones.

The University of Edinburgh is currently ranked 15th in the World in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

By the end of your studies, you should have acquired a high level of knowledge in the field of law and technology, a sophisticated awareness of the problems in the area and of the differing approaches to their solution.

Graduates of our online distance learning programmes progress to a range of careers in Law and related legal fields, including work in local and international firms, government legal departments, other public institutions, international organisations and in academia.

The programmes are also an ideal platform for advanced research.

Programme structure

To be awarded LLM Innovation, Technology & the Law you must successfully complete six courses, five of which must be core courses, and a 10,000-word dissertation during your chosen duration of the study.

Our broad range of courses covers the areas of information technology law and medical law. During your studies, you may also have the opportunity to study one course from our range of commercial law courses.

Information Technology Law courses

• EU Data Protection Law (20 credits)
• Forensic Computing and Electronic Evidence (20 credits)
• International and European Law of the Media (20 credits)
• Regulation of autonomous systems: the law of robotics (20 credits)
• Information: Control and Power (20 credits)

Medical Law and Ethics courses

• The Fundamentals of Law and Medical Ethics (20 credits)
• Fundamentals in Bioethics (20 credits)
• Law and Ethics at the Start and End of Life (20 credits)
• Shaping Modern Healthcare (10 credits)
• Global Health: Law and Policy (20 credits)
• Regulating Health and Social Care Professionals (10 credits)
• Governance of Innovative Medicine (20 credits)
• Public Health Ethics (20 credits)
• European Health Law and Policy (20 credits)
• Biotechnology, Bioethics and Society (20 credits)

Commercial Law courses

You can choose between 0 and 20 credits from the following courses:

• Contract Law in Europe (20 credits)
• Comparative and International Corporate Governance (20 credits)
• Corporate Compliance: Case Studies in Law & Ethics (20 credits)
• Dispute Resolution Methods (20 credits)
• European Competition and Innovation (20 credits)
• International Law, Human Rights & Corporate Accountability (20 credits)
• International Commercial Arbitration (20 credits)
• EU Law (20 credits)
• Banking and Financial Law: Case Studies (20 credits)
• Withdrawal from the EU and the Law (Brexit) (20 credits)
• International Oil & Gas Law (20 credits)
• Law of Climate Change (20 credits)
• Principles of International Taxation (20 credits)

Please note that a course from this collection can only be taken with the approval of your Programme Director.

The dissertation

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move on to a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000-word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic within the options available in the programme.

Title

Your dissertation title will be agreed upon with your supervisor during your final semester of taught study. Dissertation topics must fall within the scope of your programme and will relate to specific courses that you have taken at Edinburgh. Supervision continues throughout the research and writing of the dissertation.

Aim

Your dissertation must demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage in critical analysis. More credit will be given for originality and evidence of independent thinking, whether in terms of the material used, or the manner in which it is presented.

Timing

The dissertation is written in the summer months (April to August) after the taught courses are successfully completed.