Hi,

I am looking to pursue LLM Human Rights Law in the UK preferably next year.

I have been doing my due diligence on UK universities offering the same and I'm faced with a dilemma in choosing the right university.

I have narrowed down to the following universities and would appreciate any advice in making a firm choice.

University of Nottingham
Essex University
LSE
UCL
Birmingham

Thanks,
Yvonne.

Hi Yvonne, 

Current UCL LLM here. I strongly recommend UCL or LSE. For Human Rights, I think UCL takes the top spot. The academics here are truly world-leaders in their fields and the modules are very interesting, with a scope similar to Oxbridge BCL/LLM. 

If you can go to LSE or UCL, they would be more beneficial than the other three options simply due to prestige and resources. 

What criteria are you considering the universities against? e.g. finances, scholarships, location, prestige/rankings etc. 

[Edited by UCL LLM Student on Oct 10, 2022]

Thanks for your response.
I'm considering the rankings as well as the modules under each program. 
I know UCL is generally prestigious but their human rights LLM is a bit shallow module wise.
The Nottingham's one is more comprehensive hence the dilemma in making a choice.

Sorry for the slow reply. 

It is worth noting from the outset that firms and chambers really will not care about the modules you take; LLMs really are not about the substantive material as much as they are about the skills you gain (new ways of thinking, improved analysis etc). Generally, UCL keeps its modules quite confined, but there are a lot of modules that cross over significantly with human rights. 

Another big factor to consider is the faculty. When spending another 5-figures on education, you want to be learning from the best. For my course, I have legal gods like Tom Hickman KC, Rory Kelly, Jeff King etc. who provide a lot more insight than just what is on the paper (especially when they are the people behind the cases, articles, or books). My exposure to them has been utterly incredible, and more interesting than the actual substantive material on the course. 
In relation to human rights, the faculty at UCL are hard to match, let alone beat. We discussed cases such as Shamima Begum with Tom Hickman KC, who was her barrister. We also discussed Official Secrets Act reforms, and are taught by the Law Commissioner and LawCom researcher who was responsible for that topic. These provide greater insights. 

Ultimately, if you are undertaking an LLM because you want to learn specific topics, then Nottingham would be brilliant, but I would suggest really thinking about the soft skills, academic skills, and exposure that LLMs are actually designed for.

However, this is YOUR degree. You've completed the mandatory legal academic degrees; this is a voluntary one. You do not have to worry so much about LLMs, so go to wherever feels right to you, and that will be the right decision. 

If you're going largely for prestige, then UCL and LSE (in that order, but I am biased here) are without a doubt the safer choices.  

@SF17 I appreciate this so much. 

I will keep your advice in mind.

Hello Yvonne,

My answer may be late, but maybe you still didn‘t accept an offer, if you applied for 2023. 

I graduated from Nottingham University’s LLM-Program about a decade ago. And still have fond memories of that time. My experiences and opinions, of course, may be somewhat biased, but you and others reading these posts are welcome to pick and choose whatever suits your needs.

Basically, all of the universities you listed vary somewhere between very good and internationally renowned.

If living in London and going to an academically prestigious institution are your top priorities, then you undoubtedly should choose either LSE or UCL. That said, it is worth noting, that a degree from a prestigious institution not always plays a key role in career success.


To be continued

[Edited by lawgraduate985 on Mar 10, 2023]

Otherwise, try to consider the following points (as related to the University of Nottingham (UoN)):

UoN is quite a large campus university (with a nice, green campus). That means: 

1. You will have your lectures and seminars in one place. 
2. You (and most of your fellow students) will likely live within walking distance.
3. There will be many opportunities to socialize with fellow students from your faculty and other faculties. 

Contrary to that, to my knowledge, London’s unis generally don’t have a full-fledged campus and students live dispersed throughout the city. That means: It can be more challenging to participate in community life.

Human rights is one of the core themes at UoN. I had a fellow student who did an HR-LLM. He had a first law degree with excellent marks, got a scholarship, and probably easily could get into Oxbridge, but chose the University of Nottingham instead. His arguments were similar to yours: UoN had a better selection of HR-courses. 

The University of Nottingham’s law faculty is fairly large. We were, I guess, around 150 LLM students from the UK and all parts of the world. At my time, the UoN was also well-placed within the top 10 in the UK for law.

To be continued

[Edited by lawgraduate985 on Mar 22, 2023]

Academic rankings do not always fully reflect the popularity of universities with employers. The UoN is well frequented by recruiters of big international law firms. Also, google for “Chambers law firms preferred universities” (use the picture search). You will see that the University of Nottingham is consistently among the top 5 or 10 in London/UK for the number of law firm trainees. Thus it fares better than some of the finer London based unis.

Nottingham is one of the largest student cities in the UK with many international students and a vibrant student life. It is also located right at the center of England, and most major English cities are within a 2 hours drive.

On the downside: sometimes grumpy non-academic staff and noisy, partying neighbors (but this is also true of most other unis, I guess : )). 

One individual issue that played a role for me: I’m not very good at cramming and taking tests under time pressure, but I like to delve deeper into particular topics. London unis, as I remember, generally did assessments by exams. On the contrary, the UoN used essays in most courses. 

Thank  you so much for your detailed response.

It is not late at all. 

I appreciate your response and will consider everything you've said.