So that's my question, I need to choose one of those three.

Thank you all in advance for your opinion!

I did my LLm at Swansea- just to say that at the outset. It was fantastic and provided me a great springboard to my career both in terms of knowledge and also in terms of contacts. Teachers were great, employability was high on the agenda, we had visiting speakers and opportunities at career fairs.

As far as I know, maritime is incidental in Nottingham. There is not a centre or many teachers in the field at Nottingham. At least that was the case when I studied. Nottingham is good in specific aspects of commercial and procurement law but not necsssarily famous for its maritime law.

Hello everyone,
while Nottingham might not be particularly famous for its maritime law, the university as such certainly has the best reputation among the mentioned universities.

Whilst this does not say anything about the quality of the specific llm program, it might be relevant as far as the "business card factor", alumni network etc. are concerned.

Apart from that the issue has been debated many times - the search function might be helpful...

bye
flori

I did my LLm at Swansea- just to say that at the outset. It was fantastic and provided me a great springboard to my career both in terms of knowledge and also in terms of contacts. Teachers were great, employability was high on the agenda, we had visiting speakers and opportunities at career fairs.

As far as I know, maritime is incidental in Nottingham. There is not a centre or many teachers in the field at Nottingham. At least that was the case when I studied. Nottingham is good in specific aspects of commercial and procurement law but not necsssarily famous for its maritime law.

Hello everyone,
while Nottingham might not be particularly famous for its maritime law, the university as such certainly has the best reputation among the mentioned universities.

Whilst this does not say anything about the quality of the specific llm program, it might be relevant as far as the "business card factor", alumni network etc. are concerned.

Apart from that the issue has been debated many times - the search function might be helpful...

bye
flori

Hello Vauzr,

Thank you for your response.

So do you think is the business card factor will be better than in Swansea or Soton?

Which one will you choose if you had to start this year the LLM again?

Hello Vauzr,

Thank you for your response.

So do you think is the business card factor will be better than in Swansea or Soton?

Yes, as far as the _general reputation_ (not the reputation of the particular maritime law program) is concerned, Nottingham is in a different league.

Which one will you choose if you had to start this year the LLM again?

If I was limited to those three options, I would choose Swansea (as I did some years ago).

Without being restricted to choose among the three options, my choice for a maritime law LLM would be Tulane (not for reasons of job prospects or the "business card factor" or any other "professional reasons").

Bye
flori

Hello law01,

I should have added that when talking about the "business card factor" and the general reputation of the university I was talking about the general reputation of the university in "legal circles".

According to the rankings Southampton's seems to have a stellar reputation for subjects as "Civil Engineering", "Electrical & Electronic Engineering", "Mechanical Engineering" etc. -> Brilliant, still I am not entirely sure whether this would help someone pursuing a career in law.

Bye
flori

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=law

http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/03/university-guide-2015-league-table-for-law

Hello,

Can someone please guide me - I want to pursue LLM in Jurisprudence and Competition Law - this isn't a usual combination that is why I am having a tough time in deciding which college would an ideal one - Yale Law School, University College of London, LSE or Cambridge.

Hello law01,

I should have added that when talking about the "business card factor" and the general reputation of the university I was talking about the general reputation of the university in "legal circles".

According to the rankings Southampton's seems to have a stellar reputation for subjects as "Civil Engineering", "Electrical & Electronic Engineering", "Mechanical Engineering" etc. -> Brilliant, still I am not entirely sure whether this would help someone pursuing a career in law.

Bye
flori

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=law

http://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2014/jun/03/university-guide-2015-league-table-for-law

I am not impartial obviously but my view that is that especially in the last 7-8 years Swansea as an Institute has gained a very good reputation in maritime circles....

Kosta

Forgive me for saying so, but the 'business card factor' issue is a little more complex. If you're going for a general law degree, then I can understand the appeal of a place like Notingham. But if you're seeking a career in the legal maritime sector, then really, the place to go is Swansea. If your potential employer has any knowledge of the academic world, they will know the difference between a student who attained a high-ranked but general/non-specialized masters degree from Nottingham, and a student who has a very specialized degree with strong links both with the shipping and legal world, academically and practically. Swansea is where you want to go if you want the best chance at succeeding in the maritime world. They have links with the real shipping world and their students go far.

If you're not sure you want to specialize, then by all means, go for Nottingham. It's a good safety net if you want to do something outside of law, or want to work outside the niche of shipping and trade.

Overall, however, if you're going to choose maritime law because you want to be in the industry, then definitely choose Swansea over Southampton, the latter of which has lost its best lecturers (ie the ones that built the reputation) to retirement.

Hello CC_Erika,
just a few points:
1. The scenario did not contain the choice between a general/non-specialized masters degree from Nottingham and the maritime law LLM from Swansea, but specialized degrees in both cases.
2. What is actually the chance of succeeding in the maritime world for the _average_ Swansea graduate? Don't get me wrong, of course the best 15-30% of the respective class will go far and this is where the industry link factor sets in... But what about the rest? Back in my days (yes, it's both purely anecdotal and dated evidence) a large part of the graduates was unable to enter the maritime law world at all....
3. Would you make the "safety net" argument also, if we substituted Nottingham for Oxbridge?
4. Swansea vs Soton:
I agree with your point. However, the choice might also depend on some local parameters of the market that the original poster wants to enter. If most of law firm partners/ legal counsel in his/her country got a degree from Soton, then a choice based on "past reputation" might not be the worst option....


Personally I agree with you (and Kosta) that Swansea is probably the best choice for the original poster (nobody knows whether pursuing a maritime law degree is). His/ her real chances of entering the maritime law world? We don't know. Extremely high, if she/he has a strong CV, will be among best of the course etc. Probably rather low with an average CV, average course performance etc...In my eyes, the differences between the respective universities won't matter that much in either constellation.

Bye
flori

Hello CC_Erika,
just a few points:
1. The scenario did not contain the choice between a general/non-specialized masters degree from Nottingham and the maritime law LLM from Swansea, but specialized degrees in both cases.
2. What is actually the chance of succeeding in the maritime world for the _average_ Swansea graduate? Don't get me wrong, of course the best 15-30% of the respective class will go far and this is where the industry link factor sets in... But what about the rest? Back in my days (yes, it's both purely anecdotal and dated evidence) a large part of the graduates was unable to enter the maritime law world at all....
3. Would you make the "safety net" argument also, if we substituted Nottingham for Oxbridge?
4. Swansea vs Soton:
I agree with your point. However, the choice might also depend on some local parameters of the market that the original poster wants to enter. If most of law firm partners/ legal counsel in his/her country got a degree from Soton, then a choice based on "past reputation" might not be the worst option....


Personally I agree with you (and Kosta) that Swansea is probably the best choice for the original poster (nobody knows whether pursuing a maritime law degree is). His/ her real chances of entering the maritime law world? We don't know. Extremely high, if she/he has a strong CV, will be among best of the course etc. Probably rather low with an average CV, average course performance etc...In my eyes, the differences between the respective universities won't matter that much in either constellation.

Bye
flori

Hey all,
I have applied for maritime law in Swansea and Nottingham and have got unconditional offer from both. Though I am inclined towards Swansea I need some light on the aspect of ita reputation in terms of teaching and stay. I have served ad a Lawyer and Judge for three years and now feel LLM is required for better understanding. Though I dnt have any previous experience in maritime law, will that be a deciding factor for my job prospects.
I would be glad to receive more guidance on this topic. Thank u all.

This is simple

Choose a place which is known in the sector, which has a team not a few individuals as teachers and a place where students are treated with respect and given an opportunity to get involved with activities such as career fairs and guest lectures.

The answer will be swansea.

This is simple

Choose a place which is known in the sector, which has a team not a few individuals as teachers and a place where students are treated with respect and given an opportunity to get involved with activities such as career fairs and guest lectures.

The answer will be swansea.

Sorry I was busy with work. accommodation wise very good university places I stayed at beck house a dedicated pgt residence. It was good community spirit there with 150 students. But also the campus has en suite rooms very close to the school. Teaching is very high quality you take 4 modules about 12 teaching hours a week but you need 50 hours of self study A week.Teachers are excellent but once you move to practice you realise how relevant this education has been.your difficulty will be in deciding which 4 options you will take as there will be at least 12 13 excellent modules. You will not regret it . Go for it.

Dear Costa,

I happen to be following discussions do far onboard regarding Maritime law study. I am however stuck between SOTON and Swansea. So far, I have made applications to both universities and they have offered me places. My problem is that I would like to put my finances together and would not want to work whether part or full time as I do need to zero in my whole time to the poatgraduate study. That is the only way I will do very well. The problem here is that SOTON requires a down payment of 1000 Pounds and if I happen to change my mind to start nextyear, I loose the money as I cannot differ the admission. But if I were to start this year, I would need to work in order to support myself so I would need to know how many days of study I will be putting in. I have phoned the universities on information regarding their time tables for the programme this year and they said to me that they do not know yet and that the time tables will only be out the first week prior to commencement of lectures.

Please does anyone who had studied in either of these universities know how many days of study undertaken per week? I will be very grateful on any such information as I cannot wait until September to find out the timetabling information as I need to start preparing myself now due to the fact that waiting till next year is not the best optuon for me. Thank you all who read through. Any information will be appreciated, no matter how little.

Mel.

Objective Fact:
It is cheaper to live in Swansea (Wales) than Soton (South England)

I did my LLM at Swansea- depending on your options you will have classes 2 or 3 days of the week.

Subjective comment:

LLM at Swansea was excellent for me!