External summary

The School of Law’s LLM in International Law seeks to equip students with the in-depth knowledge and analytical tools required to understand the contemporary international legal system, and the challenges it faces in contemporary international society. The programme offers the opportunity of exploring international law under the guidance of leading scholars and practitioners, alongside students from all around the world, at one of the oldest law schools in the United Kingdom, with renowned a international reputation. International law has been taught at Edinburgh since 1707.

The core courses of the programme are designed to provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the core elements of international law, of the main international institutions and of the mechanisms available for law-making and resolving disputes. The programme’s structure further allows for an individually tailored selection of optional courses, drawing from relevant courses at the Law School, to match the personal interests and future career plans of students. A robust understanding of international law requires not only specialised legal knowledge and skills, but also consideration of underlying political, economic and social issues. By the end of the degree students should have acquired a more sophisticated understanding of the international legal system, international law-making processes, the diverse functions of international law in contemporary society, differing approaches to the subject, and a greater familiarity with research materials and methods.

Educational aims of programme

The aim of the programme is to enable students to acquire advanced knowledge and critical understanding of international law in the modern world.

More specifically, the programme aims to do the following:

• To foster thorough knowledge of the legal concepts, principles and actors of the international system, as well as of its evolution and contemporary challenges;

• To develop critical skills for independent analysis of international legal and policy issues, and of interactions between different areas of international law;

• To encourage openness to different scholarly approaches within international law and to offer where appropriate the opportunity to complement law courses with relevant courses offered by the School of Social and Political Science;

• To provide students with a recognised, advanced-level qualification equipping them for work in a variety of positions and institutions or further advanced level study.

The programme has been conceived as a gateway into a range of employment opportunities and specialised academic work, which may include:

• Legal practice
• Government legal service
• Legal advisors to non-governmental organisations and private companies
• International civil servants
• Specialised researchers in academic and think-tank institutions
• Independent consultants

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

On successful completion of the programme, students should have gained:

• An in-depth understanding of the fundamentals of international law, including law-making, dispute settlement, and the role of international organisations;

• An ability to critically examine international legal principles, to apply them in practice and to consider possible reform;

• An ability to critically assess the roles played by the different institutions in international law and policy-making and to evaluate possible reforms;

• An ability to apply concepts and theories to describe, explain and evaluate developments in international law;

• A critical awareness of policy debates in a range of academic literature on international law with a view to informing the legal analysis and reflecting on alternative approaches.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

On successful completion of the programme, students should be able to:

• Understand and interpret legal source materials;

• Understand and synthesise secondary materials;
• Retrieve and analyse pertinent data;
• Assess the merits and relevance of different sources;
• Identify and address research questions;
• Articulate, sustain and defend a line of argument;
• Exercise informed independent thought and critical judgment;
• Identify linkages and influences among different areas of international law, as well as with other disciplines;
• Conduct research in an appropriate and ‘ethical’ manner.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

On successful completion of the programme, students should have acquired the skills to independently:

• Prepare for active participation in seminars and workshops;

• Identify topics for investigation that are of research and personal interest;

• Identify relevant research sources and analyse findings;

• Develop a structured research plan and (where appropriate) select applicable methodologies;

• Produce written research of postgraduate standard which displays analytical rigour of relevant materials as well as critical insight and independence of mind;

• Reflect on their own learning and research techniques and on how to incorporate feedback received.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

On successful completion of the programme, students should be able to:

• Express information and arguments in a succinct, coherent and persuasive manner, both orally and in writing;

• Discuss research and scholarly work with others;

• Use terminology in international law correctly;

• Prepare and present written work in an appropriate format;

• Conduct oral presentations using presentation software.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

On successful completion of the programme, students should be able to:

• Work autonomously and as part of a group;

• Organise time and work in light of the nature/importance of the tasks and externally imposed deadlines;

• Think clearly and produce work under pressure;

• Work independently and seek advise when this is appropriate.

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

• Locate materials through the library and electronic databases;
• Use official websites of international organisations and other actors to find relevant materials;
• Use standard computing software

Programme structure and features

Exit awards

Progression to the dissertation and award of the LLM degree will be decided, in line with the University’s Taught Assessment Regulations, by a Board of Examiners administered in the School of Law and composed of staff teaching on the degree.

Specifically, the normal conditions for progression and exit awards are as follows:

In order to progress to the masters dissertation candidates must:

• attain at least 80 credits with a pass at masters level or more in each of the separate elements and

• be awarded an aggregate pass at masters level for the 120 credits of study examined at the point of decision for progression and

• have no course mark below 40% in any 40-credit course, and no more than one course mark below 40% in any 20-credit course

Students who do not meet the criteria for progression but who receive a pass at diploma level or more in 80 credits and an aggregate pass at diploma level for the 120 credits of study are eligible to receive the Diploma.

In order to be awarded a masters degree candidates must:

• have satisfied the requirements for progression, as laid out above, and

• attain 60 credits, by achieving a pass at masters level for the dissertation.

Any student who meets the criteria for progression but who then does not pass the dissertation is eligible to receive the Diploma.

Students can also exit with a postgraduate certificate on achieving 60 credits from taught elements.

Structure and components of programme

The programme can be studied in full-time and part-time variants.  The full-time route is 12 months’ duration, six courses over two semesters, with the dissertation being undertaken April to August.

The LLM in International Law will consist of compulsory and optional courses amounting to 120 credits in total, and a dissertation (60 credits). Students must take a minimum of 80 credits from the School of Law courses listed below; the remaining 40 credits may be taken either from the School of Law or from specified courses offered by the School of Social and Political Science.

Courses offered by the School of Law

• At least 80 credits of courses from the following list

Full year courses (40 credits)

• European and International Human Rights Law

• Fundamental Issues in International Law

• International Criminal Law

• International Environmental Law

• International Economic Law

One Semester courses (20 credits)

• International Investment Law

• International Commercial Arbitration

• International Law of the Sea

• International Relations Theory (School of Social and Political Science)

• Law of Climate Change

• Inter-State Conflict and Humanitarian Law

• 40 credits from any courses offered by the School of Law (including the courses listed above). Students may also be permitted to take one 20-credit SSPS course with the permission of the Programme Director.

Dissertation

The dissertation is the point at which students progress from the structured study via taught courses to independent self-structured study under the guidance of academic staff. The dissertation is a maximum of  10,000 words. Students select the topic of the dissertation, but it must be about some aspect of public international law. Students are expected to demonstrate ability to engage critically and analytically with precedents and literature in their field, building upon relevant concepts and theory covered in the taught element of the degree. The dissertation is marked anonymously by two internal examiners and reviewed by an external examiner. Any student who meets the criteria for progression but who then does not pass the dissertation is eligible to receive the Diploma.

Promoting social responsibility, sustainability and equality and diversity

Social responsibility

This LLM programme seeks to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in a complex, multilayered and in parts, fast-changing area of the law which is continuously interacting with issues of policy and public interest. By enabling and encouraging students to become critically aware and to develop autonomous views and arguments on these issues, through innovative techniques and a strong emphasis on reflection and critical analysis, this programme is capable of embedding the University’ core objective of increasing awareness of social responsibility questions in its specific area.

Sustainability and equality and diversity

This LLM programme seeks to deploy a variety of teaching techniques ranging from face-to-face seminar contact to one-to-one dissertation supervision to the utilisation of electronic and online library, communication and research resources.  The overarching goal is to ensure flexibility, autonomy and self-reliance in students’ learning while at the same time preserving and enhancing high teaching and learning standards: it is envisaged that this blended approach to teaching and learning will secure strong results in terms of the sustainability and good use of resources in the delivery of the programme; it will also ensure that a diverse student audience will be able to attain its learning outcomes by taking the utmost advantage of the teaching and learning opportunities offered.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

All courses on the programme are taught in seminar discussion groups.  Class sizes range from 5-25 students and seminars generally last for two hours.  Students are expected to prepare for these seminars in advance by reading the materials prescribed in class hand-outs and by reflecting upon the issues which will be critically discussed in the seminar.  Seminars may include large group discussions, small group work exercises and group and/or individual presentations.  Interaction with course staff, course organisers and fellow students throughout seminars, in which active participation is a prerequisite, ensures that students get ongoing feedback on their contributions to the class and opportunities to reflect on their learning.  The programme also includes a supervised dissertation to which students progress after satisfactorily completing the taught courses.  All students are allocated an individual supervisor with relevant academic experience in their chosen area of study.  Supervision is designed to assist students in identifying and refining an appropriate academic research project, to support their programme of research activity, and to empower them to take lead responsibility for their research.  Students receive ongoing feedback and must reflect on their progress through their one to one supervision meetings. 

• Facilities (e.g. library; IT or any other distinctive facilities provided within the School)

The University of Edinburgh library has one of the largest and most important collections in Britain. It has some two million items including the latest publications, key texts, and rare books. The Law School has its own library within Old College, well stocked in most important fields of law. The library of the Europa Institute, housed alongside the Law Library, is an outstanding European Documentation Centre. Within walking distance from the Law School is the National Library of Scotland which also possesses an important legal collection accessible to postgraduate students.

The School is proud to boast a brand new Moot Court Room, which is installed with all the latest IT and audio facilities, giving all students who participate in mooting competitions and exercises a flavour of practice in a real court situation.

Assessment methods and strategies

There will be some variation amongst the courses as to the modes of assessment as differing courses in the LLM programme will test different competencies and aptitudes.  In full year courses (40 credits), assessment will normally be by two written essays with the first having a lesser weight. One semester courses (20 credits) are assessed either by one essay that counts for 100% of the grade or by a combination of essay and another form of assessment (such as a take-home exercise, a presentation (both solo and group), an annotated bibliography, a poster, a response to a policy consultation, a moot, or an assessment completed in class).

The School provides targeted, timely and useful feedback to students on their performance in a number of ways:

The School is always looking to improve the quality and helpfulness of its feedback to students, and takes seriously the comments on feedback provided anonymously in class questionnaires and via the annual Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey.

Student feedback and evaluation is a valued input to curriculum and programme review and development within the school and students are asked to complete evaluation forms on each course they take.  Student representatives are elected at the start of every year and represent the study body throughout the period of the programme of study.  As postgraduate students have access to the resources and facilities of the Institute of Academic Development at the University.  The Institute offers a range of workshops and training sessions including essential communication skills, information technology skills, time management, project management, decision-making and much more.

Career opportunities

The School is dedicated to ensuring all students are academically and socially prepared and are responsible and ethical citizens.  We offer training events and support for all our postgraduate students in both academic and key life skills.  The current employment market is a difficult and competitive one but we aim to ensure our students are independent thinkers with practical skills, giving them an advantage over their peers.

The Careers Service offers expert advice on careers options, searching for careers, CV writing and preparing for interviews.  This support can be tailored for students from the School of Law. 

This LLM programme has been conceived as a gateway into a range of employment opportunities and specialised academic work, which may include:

Other items

The School and its research centres actively organise frequent events including seminar and lecture series, conferences, research training, workshops and fairs.  We strongly encourage all our postgraduate students to attend these events as well as getting involved with their organisation.

The Edinburgh Student Law Review is the first of its kind in Scotland.  Managed and written entirely by the School’s student body, it aims to provide a forum for law students to engage in a more analytical approach to the study of law.  Students from all levels and legal disciplines are encouraged to submit articles, case notes and updates which are published in the Review each year.

The School of Law and Edinburgh University are committed to providing pastoral support for postgraduate students.  The Director of Postgraduate Studies, the Programme Director and postgraduate office staff act as points of first contact and can advise students on the extensive network of services that exist throughout the University.  Additional language training and support is available for international students through the English Language Training Centre at the University.  The International Office provides broader support and advice on living and studying in Edinburgh to this constituency of students. The Student Disability Service offers guidance and support for students experiencing difficulties or suffering from impairments covered by the Equality Act, and the Edinburgh University Students’ Association, run by and for students, offer a broad range of services to support students’ well-being at the University.  The University’s Accommodation Services can also help students finding appropriate accommodation in the city.