University of Edinburgh - School of Law

The University

From its location at the heart of Scotland’s capital, the University of Edinburgh has been providing outstanding educational opportunities for over 400 years. One of Scotland’s ancient universities, it was founded in 1583 as ‘The Tounis College’ and was the first civic university in Britain. Further information regarding the University of Edinburgh can be found at www.ed.ac.uk/.

With exceptional resources and facilities, more than 160 taught postgraduate programmes, and over 130 academic units offering research degrees, we are the leading institution for postgraduate research in Scotland. The 2012 Times Higher Education survey of the leading Higher Education institutions ranked the University of Edinburgh as being in the top 50 best universities worldwide.

We can offer you a unique opportunity to work at the highest academic level alongside some of the most influential academics in your field.

75% of our staff work in areas rated as 5 or 5* during the last Research Assessment Exercises (an internationally recognised rating of research excellence).

The Law School

1707 marked the foundation of the Faculty of Law, now known as Edinburgh Law School, which is situated in historic Old College at the heart of Edinburgh, minutes from both the highest Law Courts in Scotland and Scotland's Parliament.

The City of Edinburgh has been a major centre for Law since the middle ages and for over 300 years the University has trained generations of the world's finest legal minds, sustaining a history of fine legal scholarship and education.

Approaching its fourth century, the School is larger and more diverse than ever. With a dynamic, outward-looking and research active ethos, and several specialist research centres, the School attracts and retains leading as well as promising young legal scholars in both well-established and emerging fields.

The high standing of the School has been confirmed by a succession of recent government surveys which have invariably found the School to be a centre of international excellence in research.

The School currently had 316 students studying for the LLM and MSc degree in the 2012/13 academic session.

LLM General - 20 students
LLM Commercial Law - 44 students
LLM Comparative and European Private Law - 9 students
LLM Competition Law and Innovation - 6 students
LLM Corporate Law - 4 students
LLM Criminal Law - 3 students
LLM Criminal Law and Criminal Justice - 4 students
LLM European Law - 24 students
LLM Global Environment and Climate Change Law - 24 students
LLM Innovation, Technology and the Law - 11 students
LLM International Economic Law - 34 students
LLM International Law - 50 students
LLM Intellectual Property Law - 20 students
LLM Law and Chinese - 5 students
LLM (R) History & Philosophy of Law - 3 students
LLM (R) Legal Research - 2 students
MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice - 34 students
MSc Global Crime, Justice and Security - 20 students

The Program

Edinburgh Law School currently offers 16 taught on-campus LLM or MSc programmes, three LLM by research programmes and six LLM programmes by online distance learning.

NEW PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED

LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice by online distance learning (NEW for 2013/14)

The LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice aims to develop your practical understanding of the legal issues surrounding specific industries, markets and commercial relationships. It will also facilitate a broader and more generic understanding of underlying themes, such as harmonisation, regulation and compliance.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/ahrc/teaching/llm/

ON-CAMPUS PROGRAMMES

LLM in Commercial Law

An LLM in Commercial Law from Edinburgh Law School provides a prestigious qualification and an excellent grounding for the future study or practice of commercial law. Students on this programme have the opportunity to enjoy a challenging year of study, led by a team of experienced and enthusiastic commercial lawyers and shared with a cohort of students from all over the world. Situated in the heart of Scotland's legal and financial centre - and the fastest growing financial centre in Europe - our students benefit from small-group teaching (average 25 students per class), excellent online and library resources, and the social and leisure amenities you would expect in one of Europe's most dynamic capital cities.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmcommerciallaw.aspx

The LLM in Comparative and European Private Law

The LLM in Comparative and European Private Law aims to equip students with an in-depth understanding of the core areas of private law in the world's two great legal traditions.
Students will have the opportunity to examine the principles on which the laws of major jurisdictions are based, both in the civilian tradition and the common-law world, along with current harmonisation attempts.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/comparativeandeuropean.…

The LLM in Competition Law and Innovation

This LLM programme aims to provide students with cutting edge knowledge of the rules on competition and on the control of mergers and especially to enable them to appreciate their complex interaction with other, equally relevant, rules governing the protection of intellectual property and, in appropriate cases, of public interests such as the plurality of the media and the circulation of information. At the end of their course of study, students will be able to critically analyse the relevant legal rules and to apply them to complex questions as well as to compare and contrast them with the principles applicable in other jurisdiction to like scenarios. The LLM programme will therefore enable them to engage with the current debate concerning these and other issues and to participate to it by way of relatively original contributions, grounded in solid legal principle as well as in the understanding of basic economic concepts and of current doctrinal trends.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmcompetitionlaw.aspx

The LLM in Corporate Law

The LLM in Corporate Law is an innovative programme that aims to transcend a narrow focus on legal rules and situate the study of corporate law in a wider interdisciplinary and comparative framework. It is designed to ensure that you will develop your knowledge and skills along three dimensions of knowledge: UK company law; comparative and international aspects of corporate law; economic and financial aspects of corporate law. The programme responds to the increasing market demand for versatile corporate lawyers, by offering a unique portfolio of courses that will allow you to acquire in-depth knowledge of legal, economic, financial and comparative matters, covering the entire life cycle of a corporation.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmcorporatelaw.aspx

The LLM in Criminal Law

The LLM in Criminal Law is designed to provide students from a legal background with an advanced understanding of contemporary debates in criminal law theory and doctrine. Our aim is to give you the opportunity to look at these issues from a diverse range of perspectives, and much of the teaching matter has an international, European or philosophical context. This programme is tailored towards students who are considering practising, or undertaking further research in this field of study.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmcriminallaw.aspx

The LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

The LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice aims to provide an advanced understanding of contemporary debates in criminal law and criminal justice. You will study core material relating to criminal law theory and doctrine, and will also have the opportunity to study more general issues relating to criminal justice, such as policing, surveillance and security. It is a programme designed to provide flexibility for students who wish to develop their understanding of these disciplines and prepare them for further work in this area, whether professional or academic.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmcriminallawandcrimin…

LLM in European Law

This programme reflects the rapid evolution of contemporary European law and its impact on domestic legal orders. The courses offered on this LLM span the institutional, constitutional and substantive dimensions of EU law and are taught primarily by staff working within the Europa Institute. The interdisciplinary method of the Europa Institute also provides a unique environment for advanced study of EU law in its political and economic contexts. Edinburgh Law School offers courses in both policy implications and applied economics, and has links with courses offered by the University?s School of Social & Political Science. The programme also involves teaching by legal practitioners and policymakers working at the highest levels of the development of EU law, thereby offering you a broad range of perspectives on EU law and practice.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmeuropeanlaw.aspx

LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

The LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law is designed to equip you with an advanced, interdisciplinary knowledge of the legal issues and techniques related to environmental protection and the management of natural resources, with special emphasis on climate change. It aims to enable you to analyse and evaluate the historic and ongoing development of international, European and national laws for environmental protection, the inter-relation between these different levels of law-making, as well as the interactions between environmental law and other areas of law.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmglobalenvironmentand…

LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law

This is an interdisciplinary degree programme unique in United Kingdom postgraduate legal education. It explores the role of the law in responding to, regulating, and promoting new and emerging technologies. The courses on offer will allow you to examine legal, ethical and regulatory issues as they relate to information technology, intellectual property, biotechnology, medical sciences, audio-visual media, artificial intelligence and other technology-related fields. The programme will equip you with a high level of knowledge in the fields of law and technology, with a sophisticated awareness of the problems in the area and the differing approaches to their solutions.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmitandlaw.aspx

LLM in Intellectual Property Law

The LLM in Intellectual Property Law is intended to provide both an advanced knowledge of substantive intellectual property law and the place of intellectual property within a domestic, regional and international context. The programme spans comparative study of the laws of patents, copyright, trademarks, designs, database protection, breach of confidence, passing off and related sui generis rights, as well as investigating a range of issues which underpin contemporary intellectual property law. The programme will enable you to explore intellectual property in not just its legal context but also in its social, ethical, cultural and commercial contexts.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmintellectualproperty…

LLM in International Law

The LLM in International Law provides an in-depth study of the fundamentals of international law and international relations, with the opportunity to take specialised courses on issues of contemporary significance. The programme encourages and supports the development of research skills and seeks to prepare you for a career in international law or international organisations. The programme has strong links with the Scottish Centre for International Law, established in 1999 at the University of Edinburgh. The Centre aims to promote research and study in international law and to play an active role in the development of laws on an international scale.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llminternationallaw.asp…

The LLM in International Economic Law

This programme seeks to provide a thorough understanding of the institutions, rules and principles of the international economic system, as well as key legal and policy issues arising from the globalisation of the world economy. Through the compulsory courses of the programme, you will gain a theoretical and practical understanding of the core branches of international economic law.
For further information please visit:www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmininternationalecono…

The LLM in Law and Chinese

This two-year programme provides a unique opportunity to study law at LLM level while at the same time receive intensive training in Modern Standard Chinese language (Mandarin). This innovative programme is jointly coordinated between Edinburgh Law School and the University?s School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. You will spend time in both Edinburgh and China and will graduate with full, masters-level training in law as well as a solid grounding in Chinese language.
For further information please visit: www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmlawandchinese.aspx

The LLM in Law

It is increasingly rare to find a course that allows students to ‘create’ their own LLM without being fixed into a set course choice. The LLM in Law provides the opportunity to pursue the study of law to a high intellectual standard. The programme for the general LLM degree allows you maximum flexibility to select from across an extensive range of course options. The breadth of choice available with this degree should appeal particularly to the student with a wide range of legal interests and those who have not yet settled upon a field of specialisation.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/llmlaw.aspx

h3>MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice
This MSc provides comprehensive training in criminology, criminal justice and criminological research methods. Edinburgh has a renowned history in both theoretical and empirical traditions in criminology. The degree provides you with a strong foundation for embarking on careers within and related to the area of criminal justice, including academic and research careers. The programme is actively involved with the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) and the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR). Local practitioners often contribute to the programme and support you in developing your research skills and your understanding of the practical application of criminological ideas. Numerous workshops, lectures, conference and seminars take place throughout the academic year providing you with a varied and stimulating research environment in which to study criminology and criminal justice.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/taught/criminology.aspx

MSc in Global Crime, Justice and Security

This programme integrates teaching in Edinburgh Law School and the University?s School of Social & Political Science. The MSc is designed to equip students with an advanced, cross-disciplinary knowledge of the legal, political and policy issues in relation to crime, justice and security in a global context. It will enable you to analyse and evaluate alternative explanations for international and transnational developments in crime and responses to crime.
For further information please visit www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/prospective/taught_mas…

LLM in History and Philosphy of Law

This programme is designed to promote cross-fertilisation between the fields of legal history and philosophy of law, while allowing you to focus on the areas that interest you the most. Certain courses, such as Traditions of Legal Enquiry, expressly explore the relations between research in legal history and research in legal philosophy, while others focus on more discrete areas of legal enquiry. You will be encouraged to choose (under the guidance of the Programme Director) optional courses and a dissertation topic that reflect your own interests. A prior qualification in law is not required to apply for this programme.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/research/llmhistoryphilosophyl…

LLM in Legal Research

The LLM in Legal Research is an innovative programme preparing you to undertake high-quality doctoral research in one of the UK?s leading law schools. It provides the bridge between undergraduate studies in law and doctoral work.

The programme is designed to simultaneously offer you the opportunity to undertake more in-depth, guided study in an area in which you may plan to specialise in the future; understand the basics of legal research, legal scholarship and research methods; and undertake a piece of supervised, independent research, involving practice in using research-methods skills, leading to a dissertation. This LLM is suitable for students wanting to specialise in any field of legal studies in which we have supervisory expertise.
For further information please visit www.law.ed.ac.uk/pg/research/llmlegalresearch.aspx…

ONLINE DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMES

About online distance learning

The University of Edinburgh, School of Law offers the following LLM programmes by online distance learning:

• LLM in International Commercial Law and Practice


• LLM in Law


• LLM in Innovation, Technology and the Law


• LLM Information Technology Law


• LLM Intellectual Property Law


• LLM Medical Law and Ethics

The modules in the LLM programmes (online distance learning) are intended to provide students with an advanced knowledge of domains where law engages with the commercial sector, technology, intellectual property and medical ethics, laying a foundation for specialised professionals to contribute to their local economy through the expertise acquired during the programme and to assist in the further development of the legal framework in the subject domains.

The programme, which has an international focus, is built on the strength of innovative cross-cutting research of the highest quality. In delivering a programme of such depth we aim to assist our students in developing a sophisticated awareness of legal and ethical problems and dilemmas that arise at the intersection of law and technology together with an appreciation of the differing approaches to their solutions.

Having studied on the programme, not only will the students emerge with a high level knowledge of law related to technology, intellectual property and medical ethics, they will also have a full appreciation of their relevance to social, ethical, cultural and commercial contexts.

Our virtual learning environment (eScript) has been specifically developed for us by learning technology specialists within The University of Edinburgh (winners of the Queen’s anniversary award in 2005). Through this unique environment and during the course of the study, students have the opportunity to:

• benefit from the expertise of academic staff, specialist in a range of subject areas


• develop new contacts within their international peer group


• engage in on-line discussion and participate in analysis, legal argument and debate


• identify and deploy appropriate sources from a breadth of legal resources


• analyse problems and prepare solutions on a range of legal, ethical, and policy debates


• communicate effectively through a variety of written channels, including essay writing.

Entry Requirements

Most LLM and MSc programmes follow the standard requirements for postgraduate study at The University of Edinburgh, generally a 2.1 (i.e. upper second) honours degree or equivalent, with prescribed certificates in English skills if necessary. Other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis. All qualifications must be from a recognised higher education institution.

For more information about applications at Edinburgh Law School or for places on the degree offered via distance learning please visit LL.M. via distance learning entry requirements web page and for visit the School of Law's website for details regarding the on-campus postgraduate admission.

Application Procedure

To apply for our on-campus programmes please see Edinburgh Law School's postgraduate studies pages

To apply for our online distance learning programmes please visit Edinburgh Law School's online distance learning website

Tuition and Fees

Please contact either pg.law@ed.ac.uk (for on-campus) or llm.distance@ed.ac.uk (for distance learning) for details of the fee structure.

Financial Aid

The University of Edinburgh's Scholarship Office can answer any questions regarding financial aid. Their website includes a fully searchable database of funding opportunities.

Location

School of Law
University of Edinburgh
Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh EH8 9YL
UK

For details of the campus location in the centre of Edinburgh, please see the University Edinburgh Campus Maps page

Student Life

Our University postgraduate prospectus covers a lot of information about student life in the City and is a good place to begin.

Also, have a look over the article here on the LLM-guide.com by Valdish Wish for a look in to what's on offer in Scotland and Edinburgh for our on-campus students.

Distance learning students can study from any location in the world with an Internet connection, so it's harder to give an example of a typical student experience!

Graduate Spotlight - LL.M Innovation, Technology and the Law

Graduate students from the LL.M Innovation, Technology and the Law (distance learning) have been successful in furthering their careers in education and careers in legal practice.

Current students on the LL.M via distance learning have the following career ambitions: to work in law enforcement as a computer forensic officer; teach law at a university; further develop their career with International IP Institutions; further their career as a practising lawyer; sit their country’s bar exam to become a practising lawyer; return to legal practice after several years; become an in-house IP consultant in a large international design agency.

Students who completed the face to face LL.M in Innovation, Technology and the Law have:

• Furthered their careers in law firms;


• Moved to other firms with promotion;


• Set up their own practice;


• Moved to an in-house legal team in the financial sector;


• Set up a business consultancy dealing with international business from the EU and the USA;


• Joined a university in South America as a professor;


• Joined the UK’s academic community as a researcher and tutor


• Gone on to further and higher study.

Summer Program

Language courses are available. Visit the Institute for Applied Language Studies for more details.