Page contents > Studying at LSE | Admission criteria | About the LLM
Departmental website: lse.ac.uk/law|
Application code: M3U1 (check availability|)
Start date: 30 September 2010
Duration: 12 months full-time, 24 or 48 months part-time
Intake/applications in 2008: 216/1,772
Minimum entry requirement: A first degree in law (LLB or equivalent), although in exceptional circumstances applicants with a first degree in another discipline may be eligible for consideration
English requirement: A minimum score of 7.5 in the IELTS (TOEFL iBT 109), with a minimum of 7.0 (TOEFL iBT 24) in both the listening and writing elements (see entry requirements|)
GRE/GMAT requirement: None
Fee level: UK/EU £9,888; overseas £14,904
Financial support: Graduate Support Scheme (see Fees and financial support|). UK/EU students may apply to the Merchant Foundation Scholarship (one award of £10,000). Margaret Bennett Scholarship (one award of £5,000). Olive Stone Memorial Scholarship (£10,000 fund normally divided between beneficiaries)
Application deadline: None - rolling admissions. Early applications have a greater chance of being successful and of meeting financial support/scholarship deadlines
Studying at LSE
This programme is based in the Department of Law| and offers the following benefits:
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LSE's independent LLM programme is delivered by a department rated as the best in the UK for research (lse.ac.uk/researchAndExpertise) and teaching (excellent).
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Students undertake an independent research project as an integral part of the programme.
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The taught subject options include about 75 courses offered within the Law Department. Many of these adopt an interdisciplinary approach and some are taught in conjunction with staff from other relevant departments in the School.
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The taught law courses build on the research strengths of the Department. Students can elect to study for either a general LLM or a specialised LLM in one of the following chosen areas of interest, in Banking Law and Financial Regulation; Corporate and/or Commercial Law; Corporate and Securities Law; Criminology and Criminal Justice; European Law; Human Rights Law; Information Technology, Media and Communications Law; Intellectual Property Law; International Business Law; Labour Law; Legal Theory; Public International Law; Public Law; and Taxation.
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In many law courses students will be taught by both full-time members of the Department and experienced practitioners, including a number of prominent Queen's Counsel from the London Bar. The result is a valuable mixture of practical and academic insights into law.
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The LLM programme is sufficiently flexible to make it appropriate for many different career paths. It allows prospective law teachers to develop expertise in a wide range of subjects or in a particular specialised area; it enables practitioners to cultivate expertise in new fields; it provides a basis for a career in the city of London or other financial centres; and it offers relevant education and training for those entering the foreign service of their governments, working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), serving as police or prison officers or preparing for many other professions.
See also Student, Alumni and Academic Profiles|
Admission criteria
Admission is highly selective. Last year approximately 1,600 applicants competed for around 250 places on the LLM programme. Most applicants are qualified for the programme, and the LLM selectors must choose from a large pool of candidates with good credentials. In evaluating applications, the selectors take into consideration the applicant's grades and class rank, letters of reference, the coherence of the applicant's proposed programme of study, and any significant professional accomplishments. Because LSE's LLM applicants typically originate from up to 100 countries, the grades normally required for admission are tailored to the system of legal education in the countries from which applicants have obtained, or will obtain, their qualifications. However, places are normally only offered to applicants with very good grades in their law studies (eg a First or very high 2:1 in the UK LLB), and who rank amongst the best graduates of their law schools. Applicants with a very good degree in another discipline together with very good grades in an appropriate postgraduate diploma in law (such as the UK's Graduate Diploma in Law) may also qualify for a place. Applicants without an educational background in law may apply, but would need to demonstrate a high level of professional or academic experience in areas closely related to the subjects they wish to study in order to be considered for a place. (see entry requirements|)
About the LLM
Students undertake the equivalent of four full units (some courses are half units). The courses currently offered in the Law Department are set out below. Not all courses are offered every year; students should therefore confirm the availability of courses they regard as crucial to their study plans. Formal study is supported by several series of 'specialist seminars' in which leading practitioners, judges and scholars in various legal fields discuss matters of current controversy or especial complexity with students in small group sessions. Last year, in excess of 60 such sessions were delivered.
As part of the programme, all students must complete a substantial piece of writing. This requirement can be satisfied in various ways, for example by completing a full unit taught course which is formally assessed entirely by dissertation, or by following a full unit taught course and electing to be examined by dissertation. Dissertations are typically 15,000 words. The Department runs a series of lectures and seminars to assist students in their research projects.
Students can choose courses from the whole range of Law options (subject to timetable constraints and class sizes). Alternatively, students may obtain approval to take one, or exceptionally two, complementary subjects from another master's degree at LSE in place of the equivalent number of law subjects. For example, international lawyers may choose to take a course in international relations; criminologists may take a course in sociology; constitutional lawyers may take a course in political theory; company lawyers may take a course in financial reporting.
Courses are typically taught in seminar groups meeting for two hours each week, although there are also some larger lecture courses and some smaller classes. Students are expected to prepare by reading and to undertake some written assignments prior to seminars. Examinations usually take place in May or June, and dissertations are submitted at the end of August.
Part-time students take the equivalent of two full units each year. Students may also register on an extended part-time basis, taking the equivalent of one full unit each year. Students receive a certificate for each full course completed successfully and are eligible for the award of the LLM degree after obtaining four certificates. It is usually possible to satisfy continuing professional education requirements by pursuing the LLM part-time. Part-time students attend the same sessions as full-time students, so you need to confirm that course timetabling does not conflict with personal commitments.
If you take courses which fall predominantly within one specialist area you can request your chosen specialism to be included in the name of the degree eg LLM Public International Law, LLM Labour Law. The recognised specialist areas are indicated below by the headings under which the different law courses are set out.
Subject names are repeated where they are relevant to several different subject areas.
(* half unit)
Banking Law and Financial Regulation
Corporate/Commercial Law
Corporate and Securities Law
Criminology and Criminal Justice
European Law
Human Rights Law
Information Technology, Media and Communications Law
Intellectual Property Law
International Business Law
Labour Law
Legal Theory
Public International Law
Public Law
Taxation