Legal Research

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The LLM in Legal Research is an innovative programme preparing students to undertake high quality doctoral research in the UK's leading law schools. It aims to provide the bridge between undergraduate studies in law and related subjects and doctoral work. Students graduating from UK universities and from universities throughout the world are welcomed onto the programme.

The programme is designed to offer students simultaneously the opportunity to undertake more in depth guided study in an area in which they may wish to specialise in the future, to understand the basics of legal research, legal scholarship and research methods, and to 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 the Law School has supervisory expertise.

The programme has four principal aims:

* to introduce students to the ideas and practices of legal research (courses on Theories and Philosophies of Legal Research and Legal Research Methods);
* to consolidate, supplement and deepen undergraduate knowledge through in-depth substantive study (one full-year or two one-semester course(s) from the taught LLM programmes);
* to give students experience of conducting independent research by completing an extended dissertation;
* to give students an ideal context within which to work on framing a doctoral research project.

For students taking the LLM in Legal Research, the dissertation length is 15 000 words.
The programme is intended to stand independently as a postgraduate legal qualification; but it has been developed especially to deliver skills to prepare students who wish to pursue doctoral research in law.

The LLM in Legal Research may be taken over one year (full-time) or two years (part-time; substantive course in Year 1, research courses plus dissertation in Year 2).

As a student on the LLM in Legal Research, you are required to complete 180 credits of study. This is broken down as follows:

Semester 1

Theories and Philosophies of Legal Research (20 credits)

Semester 2

Legal Research Methods (20 credits)

You will also take either one 40 credit course, or two 20 credit courses, from the Law Schools LLM or MSc programmes more generally.

With approval, students may also be able to take courses from the postgraduate programmes of other Schools such as the School of Social and Political Studies.

Dissertation

An extended dissertation of 15,000 words to be submitted at the end of your studies (100 credits).

The minimum basic admission requirement for taught postgraduate degrees is an Upper Second Class honours degree (or better), or its international equivalent, in Law, Arts or Social Sciences.The majority of our applicants have studied law; applications from non-law students with relevant studies and experience will be considered, however, and further guidance on this as it applies to each of our programmes may be sought from the School.English language requirements * IELTS total 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module) * TOEFL-iBT: Total 100 (at least 23 in each module) * Pearson Test of English: Total 67 (at least 61 in each of the "Communicative Skills" sections * CPE Grade B; CAE Grade A English Language Requirements IELTS band: 7 CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 80 (Grade A) TOEFL iBT® test: 100 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

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Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Edinburgh Law School will offer five Tercentenary Awards for Excellence across all the LLM and MSc Programmes in the School starting in 2012, including the LLM in Law. This award will provide funding of £1,000 towards tuition fees.