LLM

With over 100 years of history as a leader and innovator of professional legal education in the UK, Birmingham Law School offers the opportunity to specialise and consolidate your legal knowledge through the Birmingham LLM.

Birmingham Law School sits at the heart of a world-top 100 universities, delivering legal education to recent graduates and professionals alike. Through our world-class research and Centre for Professional Legal Education and Research, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a thriving academic community contributing to the development of policy, law and discussion across the world.

The Birmingham LLM gives students the opportunity to follow one of our specialist pathways, or have complete flexibility with the General pathway.

• LLM General
• LLM International Commercial Law
• LLM Commercial Law
• LLM International Criminal Law and Justice
• LLM Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
• LLM International Human Rights
• LLM Human Rights
• LLM Global Energy and Environmental Law
• LLM Intellectual Property Law
• LLM Law, Data and Technology
• LLM International Disputes
• LLM Commercial, Banking and Finance
• LLM International Law and Security
• LLM Environmental, Social and Governance Law and Policy
• LLM Law and Social Justice
• LLM International Business Law
• LLM Energy and Environmental Law (Distance)

Why study this course

• Learn directly from world leading experts
  • As a Top 10 UK Law School* we're home to world leading experts conducting research of local, national and international importance. Our diverse academic team share this work though the high quality of our teaching and related opportunities.
• Cutting edge curriculum
  • Mix leading academic theory with real world relevance and professional opportunities to further knowledge, career and specialisations through modules including Cyberlaw, Oil and Gas Law, Regulating Technologies, Global Crime Problems and over 20 more optional modules.
• Global community and academic outlook
  • Join an academic community of staff and students from around the world, where each individual brings a different lived experience into the academic discourse through shared discussion and debate.
• Unique opportunities for professional development
  • Explore postgraduate focused employability opportunities through our leading Centre for Employability, Professional Legal Education and Research (CEPLER) including research internships, pro bono activities and work experience.

Birmingham Law School is 9th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on research rated 4

Learning and teaching

Birmingham's LLM pathways have been designed to provide an in-depth analysis of important legal topics. Modules are all 20 credits in value, comprising 10 two-hour seminars to enable students to develop significant expertise in each area of law.

The LLM course lasts 12 months, running from September to September. All LLM pathways follow the same basic structure:

• In part I of the course, you take six 20 credit modules: the range available depends on the pathway you decide to follow. Assessment in those modules, by essay or formal examination, is in May and June.
• In part II of the course, your research and write a 15,000-word dissertation on a selected topic of law under the supervision of a member of staff.

Law School induction

At the start of the course, there is a comprehensive welcome and induction programme designed to help you settle in and gain an understanding of the Birmingham LLM. You will familiarise yourself with the various ways in which we can support you throughout the year to ensure that your LLM course is an exciting and rewarding experience.

Students can register for modules before arrival as well as at the start of the academic year. As part of the induction process, you will get the opportunity to learn more about the various modules available and make choices that correspond to your interests.

Studying part-time

All the LLM pathways may be taken part-time and completed over a period of two years. This mode of study is particularly suitable for barristers and solicitors who wish to combine professional practise with university-level study, gaining CPD points in the process.

Classes for part-time students on the LLM will be scheduled between 9 am-6 pm and students will typically have between 2-4 hours of teaching each week. Fees are the same as for full-time study but are split over two years.

For students from outside the UK, there will be an opportunity for induction to familiarise themselves with the English legal system, as it forms the basis for the modules on offer. The English for International Students Unit provides a range of support in reading and writing academic English.

Our College of Arts and Law Graduate School is a vibrant international community of over 1500 postgraduate students. We benefit from excellent research resources and a supportive environment that allows your research to flourish. Located in the Arts building at the main Edgbaston campus, our team of academic and operational staff is on hand to offer support and advice whenever you need it.

As a College, we have top class facilities that encourage interaction between disciplines and research areas so you’ll be amongst like-minded people, giving you the stimulation, support, and challenges you need to succeed.

The University of Birmingham

Birmingham is constantly developing and evolving in its desire to become a leading global university. This is being achieved through our enhanced research power and reach; the distinctiveness of our exceptional student experience; the breadth and depth of our academic portfolio; our size and the extent of our global networks.

The city of Birmingham

Birmingham is no longer transforming; it is transformed. With independent restaurants, shops and bars throughout the centre and popular districts around the city, this new and vibrant Birmingham is nestled among local markets, iconic buildings of our industrial heritage and contemporary architecture such as the new Library of Birmingham.

New bars and shops open frequently as the city continues to build its youthful and unique identity. There is so much diversity and history within Birmingham that the shops, food and venues reflect this. Old icons such as the Custard Factory host alternative shops and bars, just a short walk from the famous Birmingham wholesale fish and rag markets, all of which nestle close to the new Grand Central train station and shopping precinct.

Birmingham Law School

For almost a century Birmingham Law School has led the way in legal education and research. Today, we continue to provide our students with innovative, challenging, and research-driven education.

The Birmingham LLM takes one year (full-time) or two years (part-time) to complete and involves the study of six specialist modules and a dissertation. Applicants must have a good undergraduate degree in Law or equivalent.

The Birmingham LLM allows students to follow a general route, with complete flexibility in module selection, or follow one of our specialist pathways. When applying to the Birmingham LLM, students do not need to decide whether they wish to specialise at that stage, as pathway specialisms can be decided once students start on the course.

The Shakespeare Institute

The Shakespeare Institute, located in Stratford-upon-Avon, has been a beacon for international Shakespeare scholarship since its foundation in 1951.

The University of Birmingham is engaged in an exciting collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). This pioneering project is the result of the longstanding relationship between the RSC and the Shakespeare Institute at Birmingham.

The collaboration is rooted in a vision of theatre as an engine room for creative thinking and research, a place for the exchange of artistic and academic knowledge and practice, and a shared commitment to enriching student experience and contemporary Shakespeare studies.

Our students are at the heart of the collaboration and encouraged to study and create theatre in Shakespeare's own daring spirit. They benefit from the expertise of RSC artists and practitioners through innovative modules, masterclasses, workshops and projects.