University of Dundee

The University

Dundee is located on the east coast of Scotland. It is little more than an hour away from Edinburgh and Glasgow and has direct air and rail connections to London. The University aims to provide high quality facilities and the right conditions for its students to succeed, all in a friendly environment. Currently students from 85 countries are present at the University as part of undergraduate, postgraduate or study abroad programmes.

The Law School

Dynamic and outward looking, the Law School at the University of Dundee seeks to achieve excellence in teaching, research and professional development. In the 2009 Good University Guide, Dundee Law School was placed 9th in the United Kingdom law school rankings. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the Law School at the University of Dundee was one of only two law schools in the United Kingdom to achieve a 100% international standard classification, with half of our submissions being graded internationally excellent or world leading. Our commitment on the LLM is to provide high quality instruction, with a focus on matters of practical relevance, to prepare students for a successful legal career, whether at home or abroad.

The Law School recruits 60 students annually from around the world onto its LLM programmes. Modules are delivered by staff who have published widely and many of whom are acknowledged leaders in their fields. In 2008 the Law School established a Joint LLM with the University of Cergy-Pontoise outside Paris which allows students to gain advanced instruction in issues of international commercial law from both common law and civil law perspectives.

The internationally recognised research undertaken by staff at Dundee Law School covers fields across the legal spectrum. As well as publishing in leading journals, staff have a track record of success in securing external research funding. In December 2008 the Law School, in partnership with the Scottish Information Commissioner, launched the Centre for Freedom of Information.

Dundee Law School has very strong ties with the legal profession, locally and nationally. In 2008 the School appointed a Director of Legal and Professional Development to manage our portfolio of CPD and other professionally orientated courses. Our innovative distance learning LLM in International Dispute Resolution affords legal professionals the opportunity to specialise in one of the fastest growing areas of legal practice. This will build on the success of our existing distance learning Healthcare Law and Ethics programme.

The Program

Dundee Law School offers a broad portfolio of private and public law LLM programmes reflecting the expertise of our academics; from International Commercial Law to Environmental Law and Criminal Justice. The LLM may be started in September or January, it may also be undertaken full time or part-time, wholly in Scotland or in both Scotland and France, if our innovative Joint LLM with the University of Cergy Pontoise is selected.

Whichever format and start date is chosen you will find that the Dundee LLM is academically rigorous and challenging. We have created programmes of legal merit and practical relevance which are composed of carefully selected modules, designed to inter-relate. Our aim at Dundee Law School is to achieve a balance between domestic, European and international students. We seek to have a diverse range of legal cultures and levels of legal experience represented on our programmes; learning is not one dimensional, all students have experiences and perspectives which they are encouraged to share. Many participants on the LLM are practising lawyers, both newly qualified and more experienced practitioners.

In recent years we have admitted students from the following countries: Argentina, Chile, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kenya, India, Iraq, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe.

KEY FEATURES OF THE DUNDEE LL.M.
- Guaranteed Small Group Teaching (maximum 20 students per seminar);
- 20 Contact Hours per module;
- 2 Pieces of Written Work per module, with detailed feedback;
- Integration of LL.M. Students into the life of the Law School:
o monthly staff – LL.M. student lunches
o annual reading party to The Burn House with senior members of staff to work on academic skills and dissertation preparation.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must have, or expect to receive in the anticipated year of entry, a good honours degree in law of at least upper second class or equivalent. Exceptionally, non-law graduates with relevant legal experience may be considered.

Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence that they have achieved a sufficient level of competence in English so as to enable them to undertake postgraduate study in law. Such applicants must have taken an IELTS or TOEFL exam within two years of their intended start date and have achieved a minimum score of 6.5(IELTS) or 90 (TOEFL ibt).

Application Procedure

Applications can be made online via UKPASS at:-

www.ukpass.ac.uk/

Alternatively, please contact the postgraduate secretary (f.j.clark@dundee.ac.uk) for further information and application forms.

Tuition and Fees

For information regarding fees please see:-

http://www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/registry/sections/tuition.htm

Financial Aid

For the 2009 - 2010 academic year (September & January entries) Dundee Law School will be offering up to 5 Scrymgeour Scholarships to the value of £3,000 to applicants for its taught and research LLM programmes.

Applicants must already have applied for admission to an LLM degree programme.

Scholarships will be awarded primarily on the basis of academic merit, but reference will also be made to financial need. Applicants must address these issues in their letter of motivation, to be received by Mrs Fiona Clark (f.j.clark@dundee.ac.uk) by Friday 27 November 2009.

Successful applicants will be contacted as soon as possible after the closing date. Scholarships will ordinarily be set off against the University fee invoice for 2009 - 2010. In all circumstances the award will only be transferred once successful applicants have paid the balance in fees owed by them to the University.

Location

The City of Dundee is centrally located and easily accessible with excellent transport links to the rest of the UK, by train, coach and motorway. Daily flights go from Dundee airport to London City and Edinburgh International airport is only an hour away. Dundee serves as an ideal base from which to explore the Scottish countryside. Spectacular mountains and glens are only a short journey away.