University of Birmingham - School of Law

The Birmingham LLM takes one year (full-time) or two years (part-time) to complete and involves the study of six specialist modules and a dissertation. Applicants must have a good undergraduate degree in Law or equivalent. 

The Birmingham LLM allows students to follow a general route, with complete flexibility in module selection, or follow one of our specialist pathways. When applying to the Birmingham LLM, students do not need to decide whether they wish to specialise at that stage, as pathway specialisms can be decided once students start on the course. 

Our General LLM is ideal if you wish to gain Masters-level knowledge and skills without restricting yourself to just one particular branch of law. The programme provides one of the widest ranges of options in the UK with up to 30 modules available, enabling you to create a unique degree tailored to your future career aspirations.

The specialist pathways available are: Commercial Law, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, International Commercial Law, International Law and Globalisation, International Law: Crime, Justice and Human Rights, and International Trade Law.

All of our taught programmes follow the same structure:

- In part I of the programmes, you take six 20-credit modules; your module choices will depend upon the programme you decide to follow.
- In part II of the programmes, you research and write a 15,000-word dissertation on a selected topic of law under the supervision of a member of staff.

All of our modules are taught in small-group seminars, allowing equal opportunities for class interaction to all students.

Further details about the LLM programmes, including full module descriptions and student profiles, can be found online at www.birmingham.ac.uk/llm

We also offer a ground-breaking MSc Responsible Data Science programmed created in collaboration with industry and in partnership with Accenture. This degree seeks to equip legal professionals with core computer and data science skills for the ethical governance of data, such as Artificial Intelligence and algorithms.

In addition to our UK-based LLM programmes, we are the first Russell Group University to establish a campus in Dubai. Alongside a General LLM, The University of Birmingham Dubai offers LLMs in International Commercial Law, International Dispute Resolution and LLM Energy and Environmental Law.

We also offer the LLM in Energy and Environmental Law as a distance learning course.

The University of Birmingham has been welcoming students since 1900, and is one of the World's Top 100 Universities as well as being in the Top 15 UK Universities (2022 QS World Rankings). It is currently home to around 8,000 postgraduate students from 150 countries.

As a World Top 60 Law School (THE World Rankings 2022), Birmingham Law School delivers an internationally-renowned legal education to recent graduates and professionals alike.

At the heart of our School is a strong faculty of academic lawyers who are leaders in their fields. Our academic staff are amongst the country's most eminent legal scholars. The most recent Research Excellence Framework exercise confirmed that 96% of our research is judged to be internationally recognised, and these are the staff you'll be taught by and research alongside. 

Through our world-class research and Centre for Professional Legal Education and Research, you will have the opportunity to gain professional work experience and immerse yourself in a thriving academic community contributing to the development of policy, law and discussion across the world.

Our normal entrance requirement is a good Honours degree in law (or overseas equivalent), or a degree in another discipline augmented with a pass in the Common Professional Examination.

If your first language is not English, you must provide an English language qualification. Recognised qualifications include:

• IELTS 7.0 with no less than 6.5 in any band
• TOEFL 95 overall with no less than 22 in any band

You can apply for all of our programmes online - for more information, please visit www.birmingham.ac.uk/llm

The latest tuition fee information can be found online. Please visit: www.birmingham.ac.uk/llm

Birmingham Law School offers a range of awards for LLM applicants.

Details of all available funding can be found on the University's Postgraduate Funding Database.

Birmingham Law School is located on the University's leafy Edgbaston campus, which is situated less than 5km from Birmingham's bustling city centre.