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Competition Law LLM

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Widely respected throughout Europe and beyond, our LLM in Competition Law will challenge and inspire you in equal measure. Leading policy makers, practitioners and academics are attracted to King’s throughout the year to address the most challenging questions about the theory and application of competition law and economics. This makes King’s an exciting place to learn about, think about, and contribute to the development of competition policy worldwide.


Key benefits

  • A world-class teaching team made up of dedicated full time King’s academics and internationally- acclaimed practitioners who all contribute to an extensive module offering as part of this specialist pathway.
  • Opportunities to listen to and meet with world-renowned speakers in our extra- curricular Competition Law events including: The Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot, Special Events on EU Competition Law in Brussels and lunchtime and evening lectures.
  • A strong Competition Law community, consisting of LLB, LLM, MA distance learning and PhD students from all over the world, which provides excellent opportunities for sharing of ideas and perspectives.
  • The Centre of European Law, which was established in 1974, and is at the forefront of EU and competition law scholarship and teaching.

Key information

Application status Open

Duration One year FT, two years or four years PT, September to September.

Study mode Full-time, Part-time

Credit value UK 180/ECTS 90

Programme accreditations Law Society CPD points

Course intake 360 overall for the LLM (FT and PT)

Course leaders Professor Renato Nazzini

Further details

Course contact for further information

Postgraduate Admissions Team, King’s College London Admissions Office

Tel: +44 (0)20 7848 7000

fax: +44 (0)20 7848 7200

Course contact form Postgraduate admissions

Awarding institution King's College London

Faculty The Dickson Poon School of Law

Locations

 

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Course detail

Description

Competition Law has spread from country to country at a rapid rate and there are now over one hundred and thirty jurisdictions with established competition laws. King’s is committed to playing a leading role in both teaching and research all aspects of competition law.

We have long-standing relationships with practitioners in many jurisdictions. Our faculty of competition lawyers, economists and officials remain close to competition law cases in the UK, EU, US and beyond. This is part of what makes King’s such an exciting atmosphere in which to study.

You will find that Competition Law at The Dickson Poon School of Law is taught in a supportive environment that helps students develop their individual interest in the subject.

We are also extremely proud of the ongoing contact we have with many of our students after they graduate and welcome them back regularly at alumni events in London, Brussels and beyond.

Course purpose

This course allows you to deepen or to broaden your knowledge of law as an academic subject and assists your professional development by enhancing your problem-solving skills in a transnational context. Designed to maximise students’ intellectual potential, it also keeps you grounded by drawing on the real world experiences of staff and other practitioners.

The LLM offers a sharpened focus on our key areas of excellence and a commitment to offer a premier course and a world class student experience. Aimed at recent law graduates (or graduates of joint degrees with a significant law content) as well as established legal professionals who may have graduated a number of years ago, the course is rigorous and demanding and requires serious commitment.

Further literature

LLM competition law brochure

Course format and assessment

In the first and second semester you study your selection of taught modules (half and full). These are in most cases assessed in the third semester (May/June) by written examination, or in some cases by the submission of an assessed essay.

Dissertation or research essays must be submitted in September, after the May/June examinations.

Structure

Year 1

Required Modules

You are required to take one of the following writing projects:

  • Dissertation (40 credits)

  • Dissertation (60 credits)

  • 10,000 word practice or research module (40 credits)

 

Optional Modules

In order to meet the 180-credit requirement, students must select at least 120-140 credits from a range of optional modules. To graduate with a Competition Law LLM students must ensure that at least 120 credits are taken within the Competition Law LLM 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. 

The range of Competition Law LLM optional modules may typically include: 

  • Advanced Merger Economics for Lawyers (20 credits) 

  • Competition Enforcement & Procedure (20 credits) 

  • Competition, Intellectual Property & The Media Industry (20 credits) 

  • Competition Law & Regulated Network Industries (40 credits) 

  • Competition Law in Financial Services (20 credits) 

  • Economics of Competition Law (40 credits) 

  • EU Public Procurement Law (20 credits) 

  • EU State Aid & State Regulation Law (40 credits) 

  • European Union Competition Law (40 credits) 

  • New Systems of Competition Law (40 credits) 

  • UK Competition Law (40 credits) 

  • US Antitrust Law (40 credits) 

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to- date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates. 

Entry requirements & how to apply

Entry requirements
Minimum requirements  

Undergraduate degree with high 2:1 honours (assessed as an overall average of at least 65% across all years of study) in Law or a degree with at least 70% law content, or an equivalent international qualification and grading.

Exceptionally, you may be considered where a comparable academic level has been achieved through other graduate studies (such as a Graduate Diploma in Law) and where work or experience (at least three years legal work experience) has made you a suitable candidate for the LLM.

Please note: Meeting the minimum requirements for your application to be considered does not guarantee an offer. Applications for this programme are competitive. 
International requirements   Visit our admissions webpages to view our International entry requirements.
English Language requirements Band B Visit our admissions webpages to view our English language entry requirements.

 

Application procedure

Applications must be made online using King’s online application portal apply.kcl.ac.uk and a non-refundable application fee of £100 applies.

All applications must be made to the generic Master of Laws (LLM) programme. If accepted, and once you have enrolled onto the LLM programme, you will have the opportunity to choose one of our specialist LLMs. At the start of the semester you will have the opportunity to attend taster lectures and to speak to programme/module leaders before you make a decision on whether to do a specialist or tailored LLM.

Please note: References are no longer required to assess candidates for the LLM Master of Laws, though references may be requested in borderline cases.

Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

Document checklist
Personal Statement Yes

A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages).
Previous Academic Study Yes A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
References  No Please note:  due to competition for places on the LLM programme the Department do not require references.  Submitted references will not be taken into account during assessment.
Other Optional You may wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of your application.

Application closing date

 We recommend that you submit your application as soon as possible. Our first application deadline is the 26th March 2021. After this date, the programme will remain open only if places are still available and will be closed as soon as it is full.

For programmes that remain open beyond this date, the final application deadlines for the following fee statuses are listed below:

  • EU or overseas (international) fee status: 30th July 2021
  • Home fee status: 27th August 2021

Please note, you will not be eligible for an application fee refund if you apply after the first application deadline in March, and we are unable to process more offers as places are filled before the final application deadlines above.

Help and support

If you don't have a suitable qualification for direct entry to a UK university, or if English isn't your first language, our academic preparation courses can help you get ready for study in the UK.

Preparation courses

Fees and funding

  • Full time Home fees: £18,180 per year (2021/22)
  • Full time overseas fees: £28,770 per year (2021/22)
  • Part time Home fees: £9,090 per year (2021/22)
  • Part time overseas fees: £14,385 per year (2021/22)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

When you receive an offer for this course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. The deposit will be credited towards your total fee payment.

The UK deposit is £500.

The INTERNATIONAL deposit is £2,000. 

  • ·       If you receive an offer on or before 31st March, payment is due by 30th April 2021.
  • ·       If you receive an offer between 1st April and 30th June, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.
  • ·       If you receive an offer between 1st July and 31st July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.
  • ·       If you receive an offer on or after 1st August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.
  • ·       If you receive an offer from late August onwards, payment is due within 2 days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Additional costs/expenses

In addition to your tuition fees, you can also expect to pay for: 

  • Books if you choose to buy your own copies 
  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions 
  • Library fees and fines 
  • Personal photocopies and/or binding costs
  • Printing course handouts 
  • Transcription costs
  • Society membership fees 
  • Stationery 
  • Travel costs for travel to and around London and between campuses
  • Graduation costs 

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

·       If you receive an offer on or before 31st March, payment is due by 30th April 2021.

·       If you receive an offer between 1st April and 30th June, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.

·       If you receive an offer between 1st July and 31st July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.

·       If you receive an offer on or after 1st August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.

·       If you receive an offer from late August onwards, payment is due within 2 days of receiving the offer.

Financial help and support

Visit the fees and funding webpages to find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans and other financial help available at King's.

Testimonials

Neil

Neil

‘I have worked in the competition law department of a law firm in Johannesburg for the last three years, and so chose to study at King’s because of its distinguished reputation in the field of competition law. Studying here is a truly international experience. King’s location in the heart of London, where many of the world’s top competition practitioners are based, illuminates the subject matter of the course. Each week, lectures are presented by visiting experts from London, the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. This makes King’s an ideal place to learn about the competition laws of different jurisdictions.’

Kyriakos

Kyriakos

‘I knew I wanted to study EU law but competition law was not an area I knew much about. The competition law course at King’s changed all that, and my experience that year started what I hope will be a life-long fascination. I have now been studying and practising competition law for almost 20 years. I qualified as a solicitor at the competition group of Herbert Smith LLP in London and then spent five years at the EU institutions – first at the European Commission as an official at the competition Directorate General dealing with merger cases and then as a ‘referendaire’ at the EU Court of First Instance. I re-joined Herbert Smith LLP as a partner in 2006. I am now based at the firm’s Brussels office and my practice covers all aspects of EU and UK competition law with a focus on EU merger cases, cartel cases and litigation before the EU courts. I will always be grateful to King’s for giving me a proper grounding in the principles of competition law and for opening up a career option I did not even know existed before I started my LLM.’

 

Partner, Herbert Smith LLP

Katarzyna

Katarzyna

‘After I graduated from King’s in 2010, I moved to Brussels to start as a stagiaire in DG Comp, then interned in the competition law department of an American law firm and currently I’m a stagiaire in one of the biggest and most renowned competition law practices with front page cases. It goes without saying that none of this would have been possible without King’s.’

Stagiare, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Alexandros

Alexandros

‘Based on my module selection, not only was I able to receive an in-depth insight into EU Competition Law and the economics behind it, the latter being a quintessential asset for a modern practitioner, but I also acquired a solid understanding as to the substantive backbone of US Antitrust Law. Having my thesis supervised by a leading academic in the field, was a dream that finally materialised. Admittedly, with peers from around the globe, making an international network could not be easier. Moreover, London has certainly been a life-changing experience, made even more delightful as I was honoured with a postgraduate scholarship from the Schilizzi Foundation in collaboration with King’s.’

Blue box with King's College London rankings. Starting with, 7th in the UK for research quality. Followed by, 6th in the UK for research power. Concluding with, 4th among multi-faculty universities for research Impact. The source is research excellence framework 2014

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