External summary

Educational aims of programme

This programme aims:

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

• To foster an in depth understanding of relevant theoretical approaches and associated concepts in the study of crime, justice and security in a global context.

• To encourage openness to different scholarly approaches within law and social and political science to questions of crime, justice and security in a global context.

• To provide students with the academic skills required to analyse the activity of domestic courts and government, international and supranational legal and political institutions and NGOs in the field of crime, justice and security.

• To provide students with the academic skills required to analyse the activity of domestic courts and government, international and supranational legal and policy institutions and NGOs in the field of crime, justice and security.

• To provide students with critical skills for the analysis of law and policy in the field of global crime, justice and security.

• To give students and understanding of the origins of policy in the field of crime, justice and security and of the factors shaping its development

• To train students in comparative methodology.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

By the end of the programme, all students will be expected:

• To know and understand explanatory theories, concepts, institutions and issues in crime, justice and security in a global context.

• To have specialist in depth knowledge of specific areas and issues in global crime, justice and security.

• To know contemporary debates in a range of academic literature on global crime, justice and security.

• To be able to apply concepts and theories to describe, explain and evaluate developments in global crime, justice and security.

• To be able to draw on a range of disciplinary backgrounds in understanding crime, justice and security in a global context.

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

By the end of the programme, all students would be expected to:

• Locate relevant information through IT and library resources;
• Use key social scientific and legal databases
• To collect and synthesise large amounts of empirical and theoretical material from a variety of sources
• To analyse, use and assess empirical evidence in support of explanatory and normative claims
• Retrieve and analyse data on social, political and legal phenomena relating to crime, justice and security in a global context.

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

By the end of the programme, all students would be expected to:

• Exercise informed independent thought and critical judgement

• Critically evaluate political discourse on global crime, justice and security
• Present research and other scholarly work to others

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

By the end of the programme, all students would be expected to:

• Articulate, sustain and defend a line of argument

• Summarise and communicate information and ideas orally and in writing

• Participate effectively in seminars, workshops and discussions

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

By the end of the programme, all students would be expected to:

• Think clearly and produce work under pressure

• Work independently and to seek advice when this is appropriate;
• Understand and interpret legal source materials

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

Programme structure and features

Programme Structure

You may take the MSc in Global Crime, Security and Justice either full-time or part-time.  The full-time route is 12 months from September.

Students are required to complete 180 credits of study: this includes a dissertation, upon a topic of the candidate’s choosing in collaboration with his or her supervisor, to be submitted following completion of the taught component of the programme. The dissertation comprises 60 credits, the taught component 120 credits made up from courses approved for that purpose.  60 of the taught 120 credits are core courses and a further three should be taken from the list available on the advice of the programme director.

Exit Awards/Progression

Progression to the dissertation and award of the MSc 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.

Approach to teaching and learning

The learning process will be didactic, seminar-based and research-focused. The courses will usually be taught by a seminar in a discussion group ranging from five to 25 students, although some courses may (rarely) be larger. Seminars will normally last for two hours. Students will be expected to prepare in advance by reading the required materials and by reflecting on the issues to be discussed. In some courses, there may be a more formal lecture for the first part of the seminar. Courses will be usually assessed by essays and other coursework.

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

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:

• through direct comment by staff members in seminars;

• through supervision meetings on the dissertation;

• through written comments provided to students during the course of the academic session on formative assessment, such assessment designed to assist students in improving their essay and examination technique;

• through individual written feedback provided to students on summative coursework such as essays and the dissertation;

• through informal meetings that students can arrange with course organisers, or other members of the teaching team, where additional support or advice on how to improve their learning strategies and practice is required.

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.

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:

• through direct comment by staff members in seminars;

• through supervision meetings on the dissertation;

• through written comments provided to students during the course of the academic session on formative assessment, such assessment designed to assist students in improving their essay and examination technique;

• through individual written feedback provided to students on summative coursework such as essays and the dissertation;

• through informal meetings that students can arrange with course organisers, or other members of the teaching team, where additional support or advice on how to improve their learning strategies and practice is required.

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:

• Legal practice
• Government legal service (at both national and EU levels)
• International civil servants
• Government advisors
• Legal advisors to non-governmental organisations and private companies
• Specialised researchers in academic and think-tank institutions
• Independent consultants

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.