Course overview

'The LLM Law at Portsmouth School of Law helped to give me the knowledge and skills that allowed me to succeed in my scholarship interview with Middle Temple.'
Matt Champ, LLM Law graduate

The LLM Law is designed to provide a flexible educational experience that enables law graduates, non-law graduates and lawyers to develop their specialist legal interests at postgraduate level. Students have the opportunity to develop expertise in very practical and sought-after subjects through taught units and supervised research.

The University of Portsmouth is unique in that it provides a CILEx Level 6 Master's unit on this programme. Graduates with a Law degree who take this unit have the opportunity to become a member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx), the governing membership body for Legal Executives and trainee Legal Executives. Being a member of the CILEx will be a valuable asset in helping you develop your legal career.

The course will be of interest not only to recent graduates but also to those who obtained their degrees some time ago and are qualified or are working in a legal environment by allowing for flexible attendance through various project and work-based units.

The degree has been designed to promote flexibility and choice. Students can choose to focus on particular areas of academic interest or develop a wider range of skills and knowledge (for example through involvement in the School's clinical legal education projects). The programme also allows for flexible attendance through various project and work-based units.

Find out more

For further information, please contact our Admissions Team (details above). We also hold regular postgraduate and part-time open evenings. at which you can see our facilities, enjoy a guest lecture and meet the academics and current students over drinks and canapés. Applicants will be interested to know that each year Portsmouth Business School offers a number of scholarships for self-funding students.

Course content

You will study 180 credits worth of units, consisting of 120 credits of taught units and a 60-credit dissertation/professional practitioner project. All of our units (except the dissertation/professional practitioner unit) are taught across the year and are worth 30 credits each.

Full-time study

The full-time course lasts for one year. You will study four taught units between September and May with examinations taking place in May/June. These taught courses will require a maximum of eight hours of class time per week. The remainder of the course will be spent researching and writing a dissertation or professional practitioner project. The units taught differ slightly depending on whether you are enrolled on the law route or the non-law route.

Law route

Those who hold a law degree or a degree with a substantial legal component will be enrolled on the law route and will undertake a dissertation or professional practitioner project, and four units from the following list:

• Community Legal Research Project
• Corporate Governance Theory, Law and Practice
• Employment Law
• Global Corporate Responsibility
• CILEx Level 6 (only available to holders of a qualifying law degree)
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Banking Law*
• International Commercial Arbitration*
• International and European Business Law
• International Private Law
• Work-based Learning Unit

Non-law route

Those who do not hold a law degree or a degree with a substantial legal component will be enrolled on the non-law route and will undertake the following compulsory units:

• Legal Approach to Business
• Dissertation or Professional Practitioner Project
• Three options from:
  • Corporate Governance Theory, Law and Practice
  • Employment Law
  • Global Corporate Responsibility
  • Intellectual Property Law
  • International Banking Law*
  • International Commercial Arbitration*
  • International and European Business Law
  • International Private Law
  • Community Legal Research Project
  • Work-based Learning Unit

Part-time study

The part-time course lasts for three years. You will study two taught units in each of the first two years, in addition to undertaking a dissertation/professional practitioner project, which is submitted at the end of the final year. The taught courses will require a maximum of four hours of class time per week in the first two years. The units taught differ slightly depending on whether you are enrolled on the law route or non-law route.

Law route

Those who hold a law degree or a degree with a substantial legal component will be enrolled on the law route and will undertake the following units:

Year one

You will undertake two units from:

• Community Legal Research Project
• Corporate Governance Theory, Law and Practice
• Employment Law
• Global Corporate Responsibility
• CILEx Level 6 (only available to holders of a qualifying law degree)
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Banking Law*
• International Commercial Arbitration*
• International and European Business Law
• International Private Law
• Work-based Learning Unit

Year two

You will undertake two units from (excluding units undertaking in Year one):

• Community Legal Research Project
• Corporate Governance Theory, Law and Practice
• Employment Law
• Global Corporate Responsibility
• CILEx Level 6 (only available to holders of a qualifying law degree)
• Intellectual Property Law
• International Banking Law*
• International Commercial Arbitration*
• International and European Business Law
• International Private Law
• Work-based Learning Unit

Year three

In the final year, you will either work on and submit their dissertation, or undertake and submit a professional practitioner project.

Non-law route

Those who do not hold a law degree or a degree with a substantial legal component will be enrolled on the non-law route and will undertake the following units:

Year one

• Legal Approach to Business unit
• One unit from:
  • Community Legal Research Project
  • Corporate Governance Theory, Law and Practice
  • Employment Law
  • Global Corporate Responsibility
  • Intellectual Property Law
  • International Banking Law*
  • International Commercial Arbitration*
  • International and European Business Law
  • International Private Law
  • Work-based Learning Unit

Year two

• Two units from (excluding units undertaking in Year one):
  • Community Legal Research Project
  • Corporate Governance Theory, Law and Practice
  • Employment Law
  • Global Corporate Responsibility
  • Intellectual Property Law
  • International Banking Law*
  • International Commercial Arbitration*
  • International and European Business Law
  • International Private Law
  • Work-based Learning Unit

Year three

In the final year, students will either work on and submit their dissertation, or undertake a professional practitioner project.

*Please note that the School of Law hopes to offer both International Banking Law and International Commercial Arbitration. However, this will depend upon the number of students that choose each option. For the avoidance of doubt, the School will offer at least one of these two options.

Teaching and assessment

Learning is student-centred and you will be regularly directed to undertake independent study. Participation is an essential element of the programme and much time will be devoted to individual and group problem solving. The taught courses build on the research strengths of the course team and discussion and debate will be encouraged. LLM Law students have scope for choosing subjects of particular interest to them that will be helpful in their future careers.

All students are able to select a subject of their own choice to research on which they will then write a dissertation. A supervisor will be appointed to support your dissertation work.

Career prospects

The LLM in Law provides a springboard for many career paths. It allows potential law lecturers to develop expertise in a variety of subjects and provides the basis for a career in business or the public sector. It could also enable law practitioners to pursue new subject specialities.

Law graduates who complete the CILEX option may apply for membership status of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX). Membership of CILEX and success on the LLM programme will provide a real edge when competing for trainee legal executive opportunities.

Facilities and features

You will attend lectures in the purpose-built Richmond Building, where an attractive Postgraduate Centre and the rest of the Business School are located. It offers a computer drop-in and resource centre containing a wireless network access area, as well as printing and photocopying facilities.

The newly expanded University Library is only a short walk away. Open from 8am until midnight every day in term-time, it provides a variety of information to help with study and research. Besides the law collection with key primary sources, journals and texts, there is also a European Documentation Centre and collection of Parliamentary Papers. The library has also heavily invested in the purchase of electronic sources. There are over 10,000 electronic journals available, which can be accessed across campus, from home or wherever there is an internet connection.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for LLM Law are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: School of Law
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 8200
Email: pbs.postgradadmissions@port.ac.uk