Hello,
I am looking for a decent LLM-programme in "Maritime Law". Originally I wanted to apply for Tulane Law School due to the outstanding reputation. Owing to the impact of Katrina on both Tulane Law School and the city of New Orleans I have renounced to this plan.

I am currently thinking about alternatives in Great Britain and both Swansea and Southampton came into my mind. Which one would you prefer or did I miss an important maritime law programme?

Maybe I should add that I am looking for a fully-fledged maritime law programme only and not a programme composed by one original maritime law subject, then filled up with several subjects e.g. from the international trade law stream (as International Sales of Goods and so on).

Considering the available subjects and variety of teaching staff I have already excluded the programmes in Nottingham and Bristol...

Thanks in advance
Flori

Dear Flori,
I think there are several Universities you can choose from. The best advice I can give is that if you are mad keen on shipping then you want to go somewhere where they have a range of real shipping courses.

Southampton offer such courses and I understand that Swansea does as well. At City we also offer a full set of shipping courses (Marine Insurance, Admiralty and Carriage of Goods by Sea. We plan to add a Maritime Trade course for next year as well).

The other factor aside from the number of courses is to also look at whether internships in shipping firms may be available for LLM students. I am not sure what the position is at Southampton or Swansea but I would check it out. We have got a shipping internship for 2006/2007 with one of the major shipping firms and we hope to have a similar scheme available in 2007/2008.

Good luck.

Dr. Alan Riley
Director LLM Programme
City Law School
City University, London
Electronic Mail: alan.riley.1@city.ac.uk

Dear Flori:

I am happy to hear of your interest in Maritime Law and I encourage you to strongly consider Tulane Law School before making your decision on where to pursue your LLM.

While I understand your questions regarding Katrina's impact on New Orleans and Tulane, I would like to let you know that Tulane University has recovered and our students have been back on campus since January 2006. The Port of New Orleans is open for business, and the admiralty bar is fully engaged. In addition, life in the university area has returned to normal and Tulane students are able to take advantage of a world-class education, as well as many volunteer opportunities during their spare time.

The Maritime curriculum at Tulane is one of a kind. Tulane is able to offer its LLM in Admiralty students as many as 15 maritime courses each year. The curriculum is complemented by the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and the Maritime Law Center.

You will find more information about all of our LLM programs, as well as application materials on our website: www.law.tulane.edu

In addition, more information is available about our Maritime program at the following link: http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsadmissions/index.aspx?id=196

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.
If you have any other questions in the future, please feel free to contact me at: epratts@tulane.edu

Sincerely,

English M. Pratts
Program Coordinator
Admission & Graduate Program Administration
Tulane Law School

Hello my friend,

Southampton LLM represents the past while Swansea LLM represents the future of academic work in maritime field. Better courses, better teaching and more personal contact at Swansea.

Hello,
some time has passed since the original posting and I want to thank you for your postings - they have been very helpful to me.

In the meantime I have accepted an offer by Swansea and will be attending the LLM-programme in "International Maritime Law" (2007/08).
I am really curious about the "future of academic work in maritime field", Wales and - not to forget - the beaches of the Gower :-)
Bye
Flori

Right choice my friend,

you'll be very happy at Swansea and also you'll learn a lot. Great location and very friendly City as well. You can choose 4 maritime subjects from a list of 8- many students choose International Trade, Charterparties, Marine Cargo Claims and Marine Insurance. Some prefer Admiralty instead of Marine Cargo Claims. Teaching is really at a very high level (Professor Thomas is a legend in the field, Professor Williams very popular and Dr Soyer is great) and support in the School is perfect.

All the best!

hello flori

thank you very much just like you i had the same dilema but my situation is a bit different as I am already a mariner and wanted to step ashore and I have been selected by swansea for 2008/2009 batch and now am wanting to further things a bit by asking which subject are most suitable for a guy like me who has already been at sea for 9 years including cadet ship time and now wants to step ashore but has not done his maters yet but has completed his mates so if people are reading this post still and could help me then please feel free to reply to me .

kshitij rustagi
second officer
NYK shipmanagement
rustagi.k@gmail.com

hello guys. this is Yan and i would like to apply LLM(maritime law) in UK in 2008/2009, and some uni have come in my mind eg. UCL,BRISTOL,SWANSEA,SOTON..and would u pl do me a favor to show the differences between these uni? thnx...ha :)

Its simple- UCl and Bristol do not have maritime institutes- maritime teaching and reaserch in these universities depend on a few lectures and part-timers.

Southampton and Swansea both have institutes but Southampton is very inactive in the last 4-5 years. Relying too much on their past. Swansea, on the other hand, very dynamic and has become the centre of maritime resarch and teaching in the last 3-4 years. Go to Swansea you will not regret! I have been there myself for LLm and had a great experience.

Just to say that I do not know where bora gets his information but "very inactive in the last 4-5 years" is NOT an accurate description of Southampton.

This is a forum for students so as a teacher at Southampton I shouldn't contribute, but I need to point out for anyone considering studying maritime law that bora's statement is simply wrong.

As an independent third party, I cannot help thinking one of the legal maxims which suggest that: 'One cannot be a judge in his/her own case' (You should know that if you are a good teacher!) Let the others judge your institution. The fact that you are trying desperately to defend it makes me suspicious that Bora was probably right. Besides I heard similar sentiments echoed in the shipping sector. The industry knows the best, don't you think?

The fact that you are trying desperately to defend it makes me suspicious that Bora was probably right.

It is important to respect that this is a student forum and not one for representatives of the educational establishments, which have other opportunities to provide information - so I was careful to declare that I work at Soton, and more importantly, I was careful to do nothing more than point out that with respect, that particular statement of bora's is false.

The rest is a complex matter of opinion and personal preferences - I know that some people base their final decisions on extraneous factors like the buzz of London or the affordability of a small town. All very personal and very complex.

[Added later:] I see now from bora's other posts on this board that after a quick visit in Soton he was able to establish that all the teachers "live in the past and are very full of themselves" and that none of them are very qualified. In addition, although (apparently) nobody knows about Soton, it accepts too many students but is also "very inactive". I am quite frankly not sure what to say to this confusion so therefore I would invite anyone wanting accurate information about Soton to e-mail me - my address is on the IML web site. Please first consult the IML and Soton School of Law web sites, in case the information you are looking for is already posted there.

Wherever you go to study, I can guarantee it will be enjoyable and friends for life will be made. Choosing where I took my LLM in Maritime Law certainly took some time.

I have completed my LLM at Southampton and would have to strongly disagree with the point that it is "living in the past" or "none of the lecturers are very qualified". A cursory glance at the library bookshelves show how influential and forward thinking the Southampton lecturers are. Or just look at the delegations who have, and currently are, negotiating the numerous international conventions, I can guarantee you will find a lecturer at Southampton involved.

Please do not take this as a Southampton is better than Swansea argument, but a little research shows that the original comments are wholly untrue.

I am a current LLM Int. Maritime Law at Swansea Uni; so far so good.

Top teaching team, small teaching classes (in numbers), top visting speakers (so far), and above all, the campus is within a walking distance from the beach ;)

Hi,
I'm a Norwegian girl aged 25 who wants to do a llm maritime law, and I'm considering both UCL and Soton. Which school will provide that best academic quality ?
As I understand both UCL and Soton has relatively large classes but how is the follow up between teacher/lecturer and student, are there study groups or is it basically 2 - 4 hr lectures pr week pr subject you choose to study and then ur left to your own?
How is the student environment for both ucl and soton?

Tks for Your time.

Brgds

Christine :)

I did the LLM in International Commercial and Maritime Law at Swansea University and the only thing I can say is that it was one of the best experiences in my life! Excellent teaching team! I do not know where to start from... Professor Thomas, Professor Williams and Dr Baris Soyer are the best teaching team. And I also felt that I was not a "number" in Swansea. The LLM in Swansea has helped me find a very good job in a law firm where I practise what I have learnt from my top professors.

hi everyone, i see this is an inactive topic but i need advice about swansea.
i read that everbody has good comments for swansea.

but i guess i need to hear more =)

Tulane's location in New Orleans, one of the largest ports in the world, near the mouth of the Mississippi River and the outlet to the Gulf of Mexico, is a natural link to the maritime industry. New Orleans has the second largest admiralty bar in the United States. As a result of the natural focus on maritime issues in New Orleans, Tulane Law School has become a significant center for the study of maritime law, and is widely acknowledged to have the strongest maritime law program in the world.
You can tell from the catalogue of courses that Tulane Law School offers a lot of courses on various phases of maritime law usually about 10 per year and more than any other school in the world. In addition to its extensive curriculum of admiralty courses, Tulane was the first law school in the United States to publish a student-edited maritime law review, The Tulane Maritime Law Journal, and it is the home of the Maritime Law Center.
Many of the graduate students who enroll in the LLM in Admiralty program are from foreign countries and have worked as maritime lawyers or for shipping or insurance companies. Tulanes Maritime Law Society that has both a professional and social agenda, and the school sponsors continuing education for maritime lawyers to which students are invited free of charge, one of which is the Tulane Admiralty Law Institute that is one of the oldest and respected professional educational programs devoted to maritime law. In addition, each year the program sponsors a lecture by a distinguished admiralty lawyer, judge or public servant and a practitioner in residence program to allow for a small group of students to meet with an experienced admiralty lawyer in an informal environment.

You will find more information about all of Tulanes LLM programs, as well as application materials on the following website: www.law.tulane.edu If you would like to request additional materials, you can contact admissions@law.tulane.edu or complete the information Request Form at http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsabout/about_forms.aspx?ekfrm=584&IntroID=2804

Dear Flori:

I am happy to hear of your interest in Maritime Law and I encourage you to strongly consider Tulane Law School before making your decision on where to pursue your LLM.

While I understand your questions regarding Katrina's impact on New Orleans and Tulane, I would like to let you know that Tulane University has recovered and our students have been back on campus since January 2006. The Port of New Orleans is open for business, and the admiralty bar is fully engaged. In addition, life in the university area has returned to normal and Tulane students are able to take advantage of a world-class education, as well as many volunteer opportunities during their spare time.

The Maritime curriculum at Tulane is one of a kind. Tulane is able to offer its LLM in Admiralty students as many as 15 maritime courses each year. The curriculum is complemented by the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and the Maritime Law Center.

You will find more information about all of our LLM programs, as well as application materials on our website: www.law.tulane.edu

In addition, more information is available about our Maritime program at the following link: http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsadmissions/index.aspx?id=196

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.
If you have any other questions in the future, please feel free to contact me at: epratts@tulane.edu

Sincerely,

English M. Pratts
Program Coordinator
Admission & Graduate Program Administration
Tulane Law School