UK education system for LLM


nicemanin

I need advice on this post by akum( refer)
http://www.llm-guide.com/board/45698

I need your opinion as what shall be taught or we will do during our LLM? Do you really support his opinion?

As Akum said-

Akum-

"Hi,
This post might not help you in deciding whether to go for an LLM at LSE or QMUL or KCL but will answer the most important question which you should consider before you opt for an LLM and i.e. is there any point in doing LLM here in UK.
Talking from experience, I dont think UK LLMs are any good (this is excluding Oxford and Cambridge). There is no tutorial system like US where you get one on one or at least a small group interaction with the professor. In UK it is completely lecture based LLM and you are tested on a 3 hour exam at the end. In addition to the exams there is an option of doing a dissertation (you can choose between 3 course and a dissertation or 4 courses with no dissertation). Most of the institutions like LSE, Kings, UCL, QMUL dont have term paper system and therefore you end up reading just the class material and no research done otherwise.
About the market, I would say its not the right time to be in here for an LLM. Market is not doing well and all Training contracts are full till 2010. If you do your LLM in 2008-09 there is a possibility that you have to wait for another 2 years to start working for any law firm in UK as they have a training contract system. However, if you have 2-3 years of work experience beforehand you might be able to qualify for the Associate post directly. The chances of getting that place are as slim as it would have been without an LLM. However, last year when the market was at boom, most of the people who applied for a job in UK got one. So its the probability question tagged with luck. Thats all.
As the previous posts have pointed out, brand names work very well and LSE has a great reputation. If I have to choose among the options given, I would place my money on LSE but in UK or at least in London most of the commercial laws are taught by the same professors. LLM program till last year i.e. 2007 was a combined course between Kings, UCL, QMUL, SOAS etc. but from the year 2008 these colleges have started their own LLM courses. This is the result of ever increasing number of LLM students in London and now these institutions instead of sharing the profits want a cut of their own. Most of the professors at London teach courses at all three locations (LSE, Kings, and UCL) and also Oxford, Cambridge. (obviously not everyone)
Education is the third largest industry in UK, first being the finance and second Defence. When I say industry, I mean it is an industry. If you havent noticed, applying to UK educational institutions is very easy as they have agents across the world to apply for you and no charge is placed on their services. They are paid out of your fee by the institutions. However, this is not the case with US, where you apply directly and get through on your own merit instead of the agent. (Only 4 institutions in UK dont fall into this category LSE, Kings, Oxford, Cambridge)
I hope, I have clarified some issues but as I have already pointed out it is a question of being at the right place at the right time. So you can choose any option and get the best result out of it.

Best of Luck

" i am confuse over his remarks" - niceman

I need advice on this post by akum( refer)
http://www.llm-guide.com/board/45698

I need your opinion as what shall be taught or we will do during our LLM? Do you really support his opinion?

As Akum said-

Akum-

"Hi,
This post might not help you in deciding whether to go for an LLM at LSE or QMUL or KCL but will answer the most important question which you should consider before you opt for an LLM and i.e. is there any point in doing LLM here in UK.
Talking from experience, I don’t think UK LLMs are any good (this is excluding Oxford and Cambridge). There is no tutorial system like US where you get one on one or at least a small group interaction with the professor. In UK it is completely lecture based LLM and you are tested on a 3 hour exam at the end. In addition to the exams there is an option of doing a dissertation (you can choose between 3 course and a dissertation or 4 courses with no dissertation). Most of the institutions like LSE, Kings, UCL, QMUL don’t have term paper system and therefore you end up reading just the class material and no research done otherwise.
About the market, I would say it’s not the right time to be in here for an LLM. Market is not doing well and all Training contracts are full till 2010. If you do your LLM in 2008-09 there is a possibility that you have to wait for another 2 years to start working for any law firm in UK as they have a training contract system. However, if you have 2-3 years of work experience beforehand you might be able to qualify for the Associate post directly. The chances of getting that place are as slim as it would have been without an LLM. However, last year when the market was at boom, most of the people who applied for a job in UK got one. So it’s the probability question tagged with luck. That’s all.
As the previous posts have pointed out, brand names work very well and LSE has a great reputation. If I have to choose among the options given, I would place my money on LSE but in UK or at least in London most of the commercial laws are taught by the same professors. LLM program till last year i.e. 2007 was a combined course between Kings, UCL, QMUL, SOAS etc. but from the year 2008 these colleges have started their own LLM courses. This is the result of ever increasing number of LLM students in London and now these institutions instead of sharing the profits want a cut of their own. Most of the professors at London teach courses at all three locations (LSE, Kings, and UCL) and also Oxford, Cambridge. (obviously not everyone)
Education is the third largest industry in UK, first being the finance and second Defence. When I say industry, I mean it is an industry. If you haven’t noticed, applying to UK educational institutions is very easy as they have agents across the world to apply for you and no charge is placed on their services. They are paid out of your fee by the institutions. However, this is not the case with US, where you apply directly and get through on your own merit instead of the agent. (Only 4 institutions in UK don’t fall into this category – LSE, Kings, Oxford, Cambridge)
I hope, I have clarified some issues but as I have already pointed out it is a question of being at the right place at the right time. So you can choose any option and get the best result out of it.

Best of Luck

" i am confuse over his remarks" - niceman
quote
lmwoods

With regard the point about how LLMs are taught in the UK, I think the answer is that each institution has its own system, so some Universities (I could be wrong here but I think this is the case for many of the London colleges - certainly on the intercollegiate system - and Cambridge) do large group lectures for LLM students, with maybe some smaller group support. Other institutions operate their course on a seminar basis (with maybe the odd lecture or visiting speaker thrown in); and with some it might depend on how the individual staff member wants to teach the course.
As for the the motivation behind the abandoning of the London LLM, I have no idea.
I can't speak for all admissions tutors, but my view is the institutions look for academic ability (however each institution assesses that) but it may be that some institutions are able to be pickier than others in this regard - I don't think this is unique to the UK though.
The reason training contracts are full 2 years in advance is that most of the big law firms recruit from 3rd year undergraduates or students doing the CPE/GDL, who then have to do another year on the LPC - so the students on the interview round still have 2 years to go.
Obviously the state of the market will affect people's chances of getting jobs though.

With regard the point about how LLMs are taught in the UK, I think the answer is that each institution has its own system, so some Universities (I could be wrong here but I think this is the case for many of the London colleges - certainly on the intercollegiate system - and Cambridge) do large group lectures for LLM students, with maybe some smaller group support. Other institutions operate their course on a seminar basis (with maybe the odd lecture or visiting speaker thrown in); and with some it might depend on how the individual staff member wants to teach the course.
As for the the motivation behind the abandoning of the London LLM, I have no idea.
I can't speak for all admissions tutors, but my view is the institutions look for academic ability (however each institution assesses that) but it may be that some institutions are able to be pickier than others in this regard - I don't think this is unique to the UK though.
The reason training contracts are full 2 years in advance is that most of the big law firms recruit from 3rd year undergraduates or students doing the CPE/GDL, who then have to do another year on the LPC - so the students on the interview round still have 2 years to go.
Obviously the state of the market will affect people's chances of getting jobs though.
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