Course description

Catherine Coleman

What stands out the most at The University of Manchester is the expertise of the lecturers here.

They deliver such high standards.

Catherine Coleman / Public International Law LLM Graduate

The LLM in Public International Law allows you to develop recognised expertise in the main areas of international law. This course draws on Manchester's established reputation in international legal research to offer you a wide range of optional subjects, as well as the opportunity to customise your curriculum according to your career ambitions, needs and your areas of interest.

Aims

The LLM in Public International Law is designed for students who seek to acquire a recognised expertise in the main areas of international law and become generalist international lawyers. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be all-rounders and have knowledge and understanding of the rules, systems, techniques, practices, dynamics and discourses by virtue of which international law is created, thought and applied. The course will also endow students with the necessary research skills to autonomously continue to expand, sharpen and update the knowledge of international law after the completion of the course.

Special features

This course offers the strongest students the opportunity of an internship with a renowned law firm or international organisation.

Teaching and learning

The course is based on small-group, seminar-style teaching by our research-active teaching staff as well as invited external experts.This master's degree is offered part-time to allow those with a professional occupation to follow the course.

Coursework and assessment

All course units are assessed by either one unseen written examination, or one coursework essay, or a combination of these two methods of assessment.

The course will be 180 credits in total and has a compulsory research component. 120 credits will be taught modules and the remainder 60 credits in the form of a 14-15,000 word dissertation.

Your dissertation must be within the area of one unit you have chosen. The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two designed to improve your legal writing and research skills. For specialised streams, dissertation topic must be within those streams while for general LLM dissertation topics must be within one of the modules chosen by the student.

Course unit details

You will be doing 180 credits in total, 120 of which will be taught modules and the remainder 60 credits in the form of a dissertation.

The LLM course will typically offer around 30 different course units in any one year, and will always reflect a wide range of subjects across the legal spectrum. There will usually be course units offered on such diverse topics as international trade and corporate law, financial services regulation, European law, international economic law, intellectual property law, human rights law, corporate governance, and law and finance in emerging markets.

Course units are of the value of 15 or 30 credits. You will be required to select course units to a total of 120 credits, and so must choose a minimum of four course units or may be able to choose a maximum of eight course units to make up your course of study.

The course will be 180 credits in total and has a compulsory research component. 120 credits will be taught modules and the remainder 60 credits in the form of a 14-15,000 word dissertation.

Your dissertation must be within the area of one unit you have chosen. The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two designed to improve your legal writing and research skills. For specialised streams, dissertation topic must be within those streams while for general LLM dissertation topics must be within one of the modules chosen by the student.