Which has a better reputation for a LLM in Human Rights Law - Essex or Nottingham?

I also have the same question as above. I am Canadian and I received several offers from different UK universities and I think my choices are down to Essex and Nottingham. I have never been to either Colchester or Nottingham. Can anyone comment on the University as a whole (ie Accomodations, cost of living, student life, etc) and specifically on the LLM in Human Rights Law? It would be greatly appreciated!

I am an American with the same question. I have offers from Essex, Nottingham, Lancaster (+ humanitarian law). Which one should I choose and why?
Essex has the reputation for Human Rights. Nottingham has a good overall institutional rating.

I am also concerned about job prospects. Do you know what most LLM grads do when they graduate? What kinds of options are there?

I am currently undertaking the LLM at Essex and I have to say that I am very pleased about its content, professors and dynamic. It is a real privilege to have Special U.N. Rapporteurs, ICRC advisors, members of the Human Rights Committe and experts on criminal law and the InterAmerican System, teaching us about international human rights law and humanitarian law - more often than not they have been involved in the drafting, advising or litigating in such legislation. Their enthusiasm and support is second to none, no matter how busy they are.

Colchester is a small town but very close to London while definitely cheaper. University accomodation is good and it is always good to live close to campus as one always has study groups and conferences to attend to.

The alumni has been succesful in getting interesting and challenging positions and in buiding an active network. Obviously I can not speak of Nottingham, but Essex has a world-wide reputation as an excellent academic institute for human rights. Only last week we had Ambassador de Alba of Mexico, the first President of the Human Rights Council, deliver a speech as part of the Centres 25th Anniversary celebrations. To sum up, you would be crazy not to choose Essex!!!

Well, apparently, I can see that you do not have any idea about Nottingham's reputation on Human Rights programme.

Firstly, the School of Law at the University of Nottingham is the only university in England participating European Master's Programme in Human Rights.

Secondly, particularly in field operations and prison law, you will be studying with two pre-eminent professors, namely, M O'Flaherty and D Van Zyl Smit.

Thirdly, Nottingham's Human Rights Center is the most active research center together with the public procurement group within the School of Law.

Thank you for your advice.

I am in fact familiar with the work Mr. O Flaherty has done as a special UN Rapporteur. Nottingham is a great institution, and I am honored to have been offered a place.

I have however chosen Essex because it is the better fit for an American non-lawyer like myself.

Correction: Michael O'Flaherty worked in the high comissioner's office, but not as a UN rapporteur I'm told.

"Until December 2003, Michael O'Flaherty was a senior research officer at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. Previous UN postings include, coordination of the Asia and the Pacific programmes at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, establishment of the UN human rights field operations in Sierra Leone and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Secretary of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and UN human rights advisor for implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. From 2000 to 2002 he chaired the UN reference group on human rights and humanitarian action".

I've chosen Essex without hesitation. Over the course of investigating my LL.M. for the past two years, Essex is continually recommended by professors and jurists I've interacted with for several reasons:

1. Job opportunities. Several people have commented on the ability of Essex grads to get highly competitive jobs due to the extensive network of Essex alums.

2. Sir Nigel Rodley, formerly the UN special rapporteur on torture and before that the Head of the Legal and Intergovernmental Organisations Office for Amnesty International, currently serves in the following positions: a member of the UN Human Rights Committee; a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists; a member of the Board of the European Human Rights Foundation; a founding member and former Executive Committee Vice-Chairman of INTERIGHTS; a member of the Executive Committee of the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies; a trustee of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture; a member of a team of experts chosen by the President of Sri Lanka to observe the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into serious Human Rights violations in Sri Lanka. He's also been recognized by the American International Law Society's with its prestigious Goler T. Butcher medal in 2005 (the award recognizes, according to the ASIL website, an individual "for outstanding contributions to the development or effective realization of international human rights law.").

3. Kevin Boyle is currently a member of: the OSCE Advisory Panel on Freedom of Religion and Belief; the Human Rights Liaison Committee, Department of Foreign Affairs Ireland; a member of the editorial board of the Netherlands Quarterly on Human Rights, the European Human Rights Law Review and Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights; and Chair of the International Council of the Minority Rights Group (as of 2007).

4. Paul Hunt, who served as an independent expert on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1999-2002) and was hten appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health in 2002 for a three year term that was extended in 2005 for a second term of three years (meaning his second term is only expiring this year).

5. Francoise Hampson is a member of the British Institute of Human Rights and a member of the UN subcommittee on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.

6. In addition to the above, they have highly recognized and published scholars in the areas of economics and human rights, health care rights, and refugee rights.

I am highly confident in my choice of Essex. I can't imagine choosing a better school for my studies.

Hello.

We are both Americans going to Essex in the Fall.

I'm from North Carolina. Where did you go to school and are you a lawyer?

Also, I'll be interested to know why you chose the LLM.

It will be nice to meet you.

Hello. I am also an American very interested in the Human Rights LLM program at Essex. I would love to keep in touch with either or both of you or anyone who is entering or completing the program over the next year during my deployment to hear about your experiences at Essex. If interested in contacting me regarding the program, living in Colchester, experiences on campus, etc. My email is maralina77@yahoo.com

Hello.
I am a Spanish who is also interested in doing a LLM in Human Rights, I´m not sure yet whether to chose Nottingham or Essex. I would like to enter in contact with anyone who is currently doing the LLM or completing it so that they could informe me about the program, lifestyle, etc.

I attended the LLM course in Human Rights at Nottingham and cannot recommend it highly enough.

In addition to having an incredibly strong teaching team with a diverse range of specialisms and experience (Professor Michael O'Flaherty, Professor David Harris, Professor Robert McCorquodale and Professor Dirk Van Zyl Smit to name but a few) the Human Rights Law Centre, which is based within the School of Law, organises a variety of high profile events throughout the year. At these events I have had the great pleasure of listening to and meeting Mary Robinson, Bertrand Ramcharan, Manfred Nowak, Thomas Hammarberg, Eibe Riedel, Jaap Doek, Morton Kjaerum and many others.

In fact, I enjoyed my experience so much that I remained with Nottingham where I am now in the final year of my PhD which concerns the human rights of older persons.

Hello,

I can respond to this e-mail, because I had exactly the same dilemma two years ago, and I asked the same questions on the same forum...
I finally chose Essex (a bit by luck), and I am not regretting it.

First, because at Essex I found for each module one of the top three scholas in the field. And they are permanent teached: they are not only here for a conference (contrary to most people quoted in Nottingham above), but can be approached anytime. And somehting that was really important for me: all the professors have had very practical experience, and they talk both as scholars and practitioners, which adds, I think, a different touch.

But more than teaching,what I discovered, and to be honest, I did not knoe it before, is that the Human Rights Centre in Essex is without a doubt the most renown in Europe, and very probably in the world. Most of my coursemates had come by Essex because everyone in the field of human rights recommendend them to go to Essex... again, I did not know it, but it was a great surprise. And the Centre organised many conferences, talks, activities, that allow to build practical skills. And students have a lot of freedome to organise their own activitiies, wit the material support of the Centre. If you have an interest in a topic, you have all tools to develop it (organise a conference, invite a speaker, organise a travel...). Last year we organised a trip to human rights insitituions to Europe, we were 50 to go, and I think that it has now become annualised.

This makes a great difference for job purposes. For instance, I think that activities organised during the course and people I met directly helped me to find a job and an internship. And if you work in the human rights field, you quickly realise that Essex graduate are present everywhere, this is the so-called "Essex mafia"... It is said that in Amnesty International only, there are about 40 alumni from Essex...

These are all kind of things that are difficult to know, but it is famous in the human rights field, and people all recommend Essex... I did not have the chance to be so well advised before going to Essex, but I was lucky enough to make the good random choice. Beyondthan academic excellence, I found a family, and a future...

Hope this helps!
Best,
Sylvain

thank you!
I´d like also to know, if anyone can advise, how about University of Lund? I´ve heard recently that it is a good one too in Human Rights.
thanks.
MJ