Criminal Law and Criminal Justice LLM
Awards: LLM
Funding opportunities
Programme website: Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
This programme offers the ideal opportunity to study contemporary debates in both criminal law and criminal justice at an advanced level.
Our wide portfolio of courses will help you understand the key concepts and theories underpinning criminal law and criminal justice and how they operate in practice.
It is suitable for students who have studied law at undergraduate level and wish to develop their understanding of criminal justice in particular. It prepares you for further work in this area, whether professional or academic.
You must complete 180 credits of study – 60 credits are taken in the compulsory dissertation and the remaining 120 credits are taken in taught courses.
On these courses your studies will be led by members of the Law School academic community. You are expected to prepare in advance by reading the required materials and by reflecting on the issues to be discussed, and your participation in classes will be assessed.
For the dissertation you will have a supervisor from whom you can expect guidance and support, but the purpose of the dissertation is to allow you to independently design and conduct a piece of research and analysis. Courses are assessed primarily by way of essay and other written work, but oral presentations may also be required.
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.
Having completed the programme, students will emerge with an understanding of contemporary debates in criminal law theory and doctrine, the ability critically to analyse existing practice and new developments in this and related subjects, and advanced-level skills in legal research and analysis.
This programme is ideal preparation for students considering further work in the field of criminal law and criminal justice, whether professional or academic.
These entry requirements are for the 2023/24 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2024/25 academic year will be published on 2 October 2023.
A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in law.
We will also consider candidates with a degree in a related discipline which includes relevant prior study.
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 C.
International qualifications
Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:
English language requirements
You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.
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.
- 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 three and a half years old at the beginning of your programme of study.
Find out more about our language requirements:
Read our general information on tuition fees and studying costs:
Featured funding
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
- Phone: +44 (0)131 650 2386
- Contact: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
- Dr Andrew Cornford
- Edinburgh Law School Postgraduate Office
- Old College
- South Bridge
- Central Campus
- Edinburgh
- EH9 9YL
- Programme: Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
- School: Law
- College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Applying
This programme is not currently accepting applications. Applications for the next intake usually open in October.
Start date: September
Awards: LLM
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 2023/24:
Round | Application deadline | Places awarded by |
---|---|---|
1 | 07 December 2022 | 23 January 2023 |
2 | 06 February 2023 | 22 March 2023 |
3 | 31 March 2023 | 05 May 2023 |
4 | 01 May 2023 | 12 June 2023 |
5 | 30 June 2023 | 25 July 2023 |
Please note that the deadline for meeting the conditions of an offer is 18 August 2023.
Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:
Further information
- Edinburgh Law School Postgraduate Office
- Phone: +44 (0)131 650 2386
- Contact: futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
- Dr Andrew Cornford
- Edinburgh Law School Postgraduate Office
- Old College
- South Bridge
- Central Campus
- Edinburgh
- EH9 9YL
- Programme: Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
- School: Law
- College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences