Postgraduate study
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

Law LLM

Awards: LLM

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Programme website: Law

This general LLM programme is the ideal choice for students wishing to expose themselves to diverse areas of advanced legal scholarship. We offer a very wide range of specialist courses, many taught by internationally recognised experts in their fields, and legal and industry professionals.

You will select courses from across the School’s key research and teaching fields, including:

  • commercial law
  • criminal law
  • criminology
  • EU law
  • IP, media and technology law
  • international law
  • legal history and legal theory
  • medical law
  • private law
  • public law

This structure ensures you can pursue a truly diverse and challenging curriculum through which you will be able to develop a broad expertise in cutting-edge legal scholarship.

This programme is made up from 120 credits of taught courses and a 60-credit dissertation on an approved topic (generally one that builds upon one of the courses that you have studied with us).

There are no compulsory courses on the general LLM that all students have to take. Instead you may choose from the diverse range of specialist courses offered within the School (subject to the availability of places or whether courses are running in a given year). However, as the General LLM qualification reflects expertise across a range of subjects, there are limits on the number of courses which can be taken from any one subject area.

You will experience a range of teaching styles on this programme and we expect you to prepare in advance by reading the required materials and reflecting on the issues to be discussed. We will assess your participation in classes.

For the dissertation, we will allocate you a supervisor, who will provide guidance and support. The purpose of the dissertation however, is to allow you to independently design and conduct an original piece of research and analysis.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
LLMLaw1 YearFull-timeProgramme structure 2023/24
LLMLaw2 YearsPart-timeProgramme structure 2023/24

By the end of this programme, you should have acquired a more sophisticated understanding of your chosen subjects, including the diverse functions of law in contemporary society, differing approaches to the subject and a greater familiarity with research materials and methods.

The LLM in Law is an excellent way to broaden ones knowledge across a range of areas of legal specialism, gain understanding of the synergies and principles applicable across legal disciplines and identify areas of interest for a career in legal practice or academic research.

Many recent graduates have used the programme as a platform for further study. Others who are professionally qualified are now working as:

  • attorneys
  • lawyers
  • legal advisers and specialists
  • financial analysts
  • tax associates

For organisations including:

  • Deloitte
  • The Royal Bank of Scotland
  • the Brooklyn Supreme Court
  • the Supreme Court of Japan

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in law.

We may also consider a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a social science subject.

In evaluating your application for postgraduate study, greater emphasis may be placed upon results of prior learning in subjects relevant to the intended degree programme.

Entry to this programme is competitive. Meeting minimum requirements for consideration does not guarantee an offer of study.

Supporting your application

Relevant work experience is not required but may increase your chances of acceptance.

Relevant professional qualifications will be considered.

Preference will be given to those with grades above the minimum requirements due to strong competition for places on this programme.

Students from China

This degree is Band A.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 7.0 in writing and 6.5 in all other components. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 25 in writing and 23 in all other components.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 185 in writing and 176 in all other components.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
  • PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 70 in writing and 62 in all other components.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Deposit

If you receive an offer of admission, either unconditional or conditional, you will be asked to pay a tuition fee deposit of £1,500 (within 28 days of receiving your offer) to secure your place on the programme.

Find out more about tuition fee deposits:

Living costs

You will be responsible for covering living costs for the duration of your studies.

Tuition fees

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
LLMLaw1 YearFull-timeTuition fees
LLMLaw2 YearsPart-timeTuition fees

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

  • your programme
  • the duration of your studies
  • your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • Edinburgh Law School Postgraduate Office
  • Old College
  • South Bridge
  • Central Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH8 9YL
Programme start date Application deadline
9 September 2024 21 June 2024

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.

Deadlines for applicants applying to study in 2024/25:

Round Application deadline Places awarded by
1 13 November 2023 14 December 2023
2 04 January 2024 20 February 2024
3 04 March 2024 29 April 2024
4 01 May 2024 25 June 2024
5 21 June 2024 17 July 2024

Please note that the deadline for meeting the conditions of an offer is 18 August 2024.

Please be aware that applications must be submitted and complete, i.e. all required documents uploaded, by the relevant application deadline in order to be considered in that round. Your application will still be considered if you have not yet met the English language requirement for the programme.

You must submit one reference with your application.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • Edinburgh Law School Postgraduate Office
  • Old College
  • South Bridge
  • Central Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH8 9YL