Teaching & modules
Modules
Required Modules
All students are required to take a 45 or 60 credit writing project, which are typically taken from the following options :
- Dissertation
Dissertation whereby you conduct research on an agreed research topic under the supervision of an academic staff member.
- Practice or research module
The practice or research module is selected from a range of options that may typically include, for example:
- EU Merger Control (CL)
- Global Digital Enforcement of Intellectual Property and Information Technology (IPIL/LT)
- International Investment Law and Policy (IFL/IBL/IDR)
- Law of International Finance (IFL)
- International Tax Law: Transfer Pricing – (Tax)
- International Investment Law and the Green Energy Transition - (IBL/IFL/IDR/TL)
Optional Modules
In addition, you are required to take at least 120-135 credits from a range of optional modules. Students who wish to specialise within a certain pathway must ensure that at least 120 credits are taken within that pathway. This can consist of optional modules alone or a combination of optional modules and a writing project, providing its content is relevant to the pathway. Students who select the General LLM are free to choose modules from any pathway.
The range of optional modules may typically include:
Competition Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- Competition Enforcement & Procedure (15 credits)
- Competition Intellectual Property & The Media Industry (15 credits)
- Competition Law in the Digital Economy (15 credits)
- Economics of Competition Law (30 credits)
- European Union Competition Law (30 credits)
- Subsidies Control and Policy: The EU and Global Dimension (15 credits)
- The Law and Politics of Economic Regulation (15 credits)
- UK Competition Law (15 credits)
- US Antitrust Law (15 credits)
European Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- Comparative EU-US Constitutional Law (15 credits)
- Electronic Commerce Law (15 credits)
- EU Tax Law (30 credits)
- EU and US Financial Regulation (30 credits)
- Europe in Crisis: Current Issues of EU Law (15 credits)
- Greening Trade and Business Regulation (15 credits)
- Law and New Modes of Governance in the European Union (15 credits)
- Subsidies Control and Policy: The EU and Global Dimension (15 credits)
Intellectual Property and Information Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- Commercialisation of Intellectual Property (15 credits)
- Copyright & The Music Industry in The Digital Era (15 credits)
- Competition Intellectual Property and the Media Industry (15 credits)
- International & Comparative Copyright Law (30 credits)
- Information Privacy and Data Protection (30 credits)
- Patents & Trade Secret (15 credits)
- Trade Mark Law (15 credits)
International Business Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- Banking Law (30 credits)
- Corporate Governance (15 credits)
- Green Finance (15 credits)
- Insurance Law (15 credits)
- International and Comparative Trust Law (30 credits)
- International Commercial Arbitration (15 credits)
- International Investment Law (15 credits)
- Law of International Finance (30 credits)
- Taxation of Business Enterprises (30 credits)
- The Law and Politics of Economic Regulation (15 credits)
- World Trade Law (15 credits)
International Financial Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- Banking Law (30 credits)
- Corporate Governance (15 credits)
- Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain: Technological Advances and Legal Challenges (15 credits)
- EU and US Financial Regulation (30 credits)
- International Private Equity Finance (30 credits)
- International Tax Law Transfer Pricing (15 credits)
- International Securitisation and Derivatives Law (15 credits)
- Law of International Finance (30 credits)
- Law and Policy of Financial Technologies (15 credits)
- Legal Issues in Corporate Finance (15 credits)
- Regulation of the Conduct of Mergers and Acquisitions (15 credits)
International Dispute Resolution Pathway - Optional Modules
- International Commercial Arbitration (15 credits)
- Authoritarianism, Populism and the Law (15 credits)
- Human Rights in International Dispute Settlement (15 credits)
- Public International Law (15 credits)
- International Investment Law (15 credits)
- Transnational Human Rights Litigation (15 credits)
- Transnational Remedies for Environmental Harm (15 credits)
- Mining Law and Dispute Resolution (15 credits)
International Tax Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- EU Tax Law (30 credits)
- International Tax Law (30 credits)
- International Tax Law Transfer Pricing (15 credits)
- Taxation of Business Enterprises (30 credits)
- Value Added Tax (15 credits)
Law and Technology Pathway - Optional Modules
- Artificial Intelligence, Law and Society (15 credits)
- Competition, Intellectual Property & The Media Industry (15 credits)
- Copyright and the Music Industry in the Digital Era (15 credits)
- Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain: Technological Advances and Legal Challenges (15 credits)
- Cyberspace Law: ‘Big Data’, Algorithmic Governance and Democracy (15 credits)
- Electronic Commerce Law (15 credits)
- Energy Transitions and Green Tech (15 credits)
- Fundamentals of Law and Technology (15 credits)
- Law and Policy of Financial Technologies (15 credits)
- Legal Technology Innovation (15 credits)
- Technology, Democracy and Society (15 credits)
Transnational Law Pathway - Optional Modules
- Authoritarianism, Populism and the Law (15 credits)
- Business & Human Rights (15 credits)
- Transnational Human Rights Litigation (15 credits)
- Human Rights: International and Transnational Perspectives (30 credits)
- International Refugee Law (15 credits)
- Law, Reform and Policy in Ukraine (15 credits)
- Principles of Enterprise Governance (15 credits)
- The Law and Practice of Modern Slavery (15 credits)
- The Law and Practice of The United Nations: Edging Towards Transnational Constitutionalism? (15 credits)
- Human Rights in Practice and Clinical Legal Education (30 credits)
Teaching methods - what to expect
Teaching
Teaching on the LLM course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. Some modules may be delivered as two hours of seminar-style teaching a week, whilst others may be lecture-based or a combination of lecture and seminars. Overall, students will usually have 6 to 10 contact hours a week.
Contact time is based on 24 academic weeks, whereas self-study time is based on 31 academic weeks. The total notional study hours for the LLM are 1,800. Notional study hours comprise formal teaching and learning activities, such as lectures and tutorials, as well as assessments and independent research and study.
Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Course structure
Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 180 credits.
Students choose to specialise in one of nine different pathways or select their own combination of modules to take a ‘General LLM’.
The pathways students may choose for their specialisation currently comprise:
Assessment
- Coursework
- Exams
Your performance will be assessed through a combination of coursework and examination. Forms of assessment may typically include essays, examinations, presentations, reaction papers or other assignments.
Application closing date guidance
Key Information
Course type:
Master's
Delivery mode:
In person
Study mode:
Full time / Part time
Duration:
One year full-time, September to September, two years part-time.
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2026