LLM (Master of Laws)

Overview

The LLM (Master in Laws) allows students to create their own programme structure, choosing courses from a wide range of subjects and perspectives, including comparative regional law, trade law, law and development, commercial law (including banking, copyright and patent law), human rights, environmental law, Islamic law, dispute resolution, and international law.

The LLM programme is a single subject law programme that may be taken over a period of one year (full-time), or part-time over a period of two, three or four years. Every student will be required to take taught modules equivalent to four full units. The dissertation will be worth an additional two full units, and complete the LLM programme.

With permission of the LLM tutor, students will be entitled to select one complementary subject or the equivalent from comparable Master’s module at SOAS including appropriate language module. A complementary subject may be chosen in substitution for either a full or a half-subject.

Examinations for all taught modules will be held in May/June of each year and the dissertation will be due for submission during September of the final year of registration. The assessment for each module may vary according to the extent to which the research component of each module is to be stressed.

It is expected that all students will graduate with an LLM in law. It is possible, however, for students wishing to graduate with a ‘specialist’ degree, to do so by way of opting to take three or more modules from the relevant subject groupings below. In each case, the student must undertake a dissertation in that subject grouping.

Teaching & Learning

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.