Program Overview

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Key Information

Duration

One year (full-time), two or three years (part-time)

Start of Programme

September

Location

Campus

Fees

• Home: £15,740
• International: £26,770

Course Code

M3U1

Entry Requirements

• A 2:1 degree in a relevant undergraduate degree.
• If you have a lower degree classification, your application may be considered if you can present a strong case, either through relevant work experience, other legal qualifications, or a strong supporting statement.
• References are not required, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:1 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.
• See international entry requirements and English language requirements.

Course Overview

The SOAS LLM in International Law provides a diverse and unique range of courses that interrogate critically the theory and practice of international law and explore cutting edge topics of contemporary significance particularly as they relate to the global south.

Why Study LLM International Law at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 14th in the UK for Law (QS World University Rankings 2025)
• We're ranked 12th in the UK for Academic Reputation (QS World University Rankings 2025)
• Our research publications have been rated first in the UK - and our School of Law rated sixth in the UK - in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
• The LLM in international law adopts an innovative, interdisciplinary, and critical approach to teaching and learning that draws on the wider international community of academics, legal practitioners and NGOs both in London and internationally
• We deploy a range of innovative teaching and learning methods including: student-led research conferences, student blogs; meet-the-author book review sessions; film reviews; re-enactments of historic international legal events; international law mooting or pleading; and simulated peace negotiations
• You will join the International Law Master Class. This is a non-assessed course designed to build a research community and nourish your legal research and writing skills, your powers of critical thinking, and your international legal imagination

Centre for the Study of Colonialism, Empire and International Law (CCEIL)

International Law occupies a central place in the SOAS School of Law and the SOAS School of Law occupies a central place in the wider international law community in London and internationally. The School of Law is home to the Centre for the study of Colonialism, Empire and International Law (CCEIL) – a hub for inter-disciplinary collaboration and research on international law and its historical and contemporary relationship to colonialism and empire.

Structure

Students must take modules to a total value of 180 credits, consisting of a dissertation (60 credits) and 120 credits of taught modules. Taught modules are worth either 15 or 30 credits. Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM are required to take at least 60 credits associated with their specialised LLM, and the dissertation topic will be undertaken within the LLM specialisation.

Compulsory Module

• LLM Dissertation in Law - 60 credits

Specialist Pathway Options

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM in International Law are required to take at least 60 credits from the following list.

• International laws on the use of force - 15 credits
• Foundations of International Law - 15 credits
• The Law of Armed Conflict - 15 credits
• Colonialism, Empire and International Law - 15 credits
• International Criminal Law - 15 credits
• Law, Environment, and the Global Commons: Ice, Sea, Space and Beyond - 15 credits
• Israel, Palestine, and International Law (15Cr) - 15 credits
• Colonial Geographies of International Law - 15 credits

General Law Options

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM in International Law are required to take at least 30 credits from the following list.

• Gender and the Law of War - 15 credits
• Human Rights of Women 1 - 15 credits
• Human Rights of Women 2 - 15 credits
• Law and Natural Resources 1: Framework, Rights and Land - 15 credits
• Law and Natural Resources 2: Biological Resources, Corporations and Mining - 15 credits
• Law, Religion and the State in South Asia 1: Constitutional and Criminal Law - 15 credits
• Law, Religion and the State in South Asia 2: Religious Personal Law - 15 credits
• Israel, Palestine, and International Law (15Cr) - 15 credits
• International Human Rights Clinic - 30 credits
• Human Rights and Islamic Law 1 - 15 credits
• Human Rights and Islamic Law 2 - 15 credits
• International Arbitration: Law and Theory - 15 credits
• International Arbitration: Practice - 15 credits
• Law and Development in Africa I: Theories and Concepts - 15 credits
• Law and Development in Africa II: Thematic Topics - 15 credits
• Intellectual Property Law 1 (PG) - 15 credits
• Intellectual Property Law 2 (PG) - 15 credits
• International laws on the use of force - 15 credits
• Foundations of International Law - 15 credits
• The Law of Armed Conflict - 15 credits
• Colonialism, Empire and International Law - 15 credits
• Water Justice: Rights, Access and Movements - 15 credits
• Comparative Constitutional Law - 15 credits
• Law and Society in Southeast Asia - 15 credits
• Law and Postcolonial Theory - 15 credits
• International Criminal Law - 15 credits
• Gender, Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa - 15 credits
• Gender, Sexuality and Law: Selected Topics - 15 credits
• Gender, Sexuality and Law: Theories and Methodologies - 15 credits
• International Investment Law - 15 credits
• Law, Rights & Social Change - 15 credits
• Business and Human Rights in the Global Economy - 15 credits
• Law, Environment, and the Global Commons: Ice, Sea, Space and Beyond - 15 credits
• International Environmental Law - 15 credits
• The Prohibition of Torture in International Law - 15 credits
• Alternatives to Sustainable Development: Rights of Nature and Harmony with Nature - 15 credits
• Multinational Enterprises and the Law I - 15 credits
• Multinational Enterprises and the Law II - 15 credits
• Law and the Climate Crisis - 15 credits
• International Protection of Human Rights - 15 credits
• Islamic Family Law - 15 credits
• Islamic Legal Theory - 15 credits
• Transnational Law, Finance and Technology - 15 credits
• Colonial Geographies of International Law - 15 credits
• Law and Society in The Middle East and North Africa - 15 credits

Open Options

Students who wish to graduate with a specialised LLM in International Law must take an additional 30 credits from either the specialist pathway list, the general law option list or SOAS open options.

Teaching and Learning

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

Contact Hours

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

We recommend that part-time students have between two-and-a-half and three days a week free to pursue their course of study.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Students will acquire specialist knowledge of international law.
• This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, knowledge and understanding of the following:
  • The theoretical and practical underpinnings of international law;
  • The context in which law is made, interpreted, adjudicated, and amended;
  • The role played by law, particularly international law in different areas;
  • The role and function of legal institutions in managing international law
  • The weight and significance of different sources and methodologies.
• Students will develop knowledge of how to locate relevant materials and assess their relevance and/or importance.

Intellectual (Thinking) Skills

• Students should develop rigor in analysis and assessment of legal arguments.
• Students should develop the ability to understand, summarise and critically assess differing perspectives on theoretical debates.
• Students should develop independence of thought and the confidence to challenge the accepted wisdom.
• Students should learn to identify issues and formulate questions for further research through independent work.
• Students will be encouraged to bring to bear their own previous experience and knowledge in addressing legal issues in an interdisciplinary manner.

Subject-Based Practical Skills

The programme will help students develop the ability to:

• Write clear research essays and dissertations.
• Research in a variety of specialised research libraries and institutes and online, and retrieve, sift and select information from a variety of sources.
• Present seminar papers and defend the arguments therein.
• Discuss ideas introduced during seminars.
• Develop essay and dissertation research questions.
• Read legal source materials rapidly and critically.
• Present legal arguments in moots and debates.

Transferable Skills

The programme will enable students to:

• Communicate effectively in writing.
• Structure and communicate ideas and arguments effectively both orally and in writing.
• Read and comprehend significant quantities of reading rapidly and effectively and develop critical faculties.
• Find and use a variety of written and digital materials, especially legal materials, in libraries and research institutes.
• Present (non – assessed) material orally.
• Develop teamwork skills.

Scholarships

• Tibawi Trust Award
• Felix Non-Indian Scholarship
• Felix Scholarships
• Sasakawa Studentships
• Anthony Dicks Memorial Scholarship
• SOAS Master's Scholarships (Home)

Employment

Our Law graduates have found the LLM a vital boost to their work as legal professionals and that this Law Masters is an excellent base for further study towards a research degree such as a PhD leading to an academic career.

Careers

SOAS Law graduates work for organisations including:

• Allen & Overy
• Clifford Chance
• Baker McKenzie
• United Nations
• Linklaters
• Lloyds Banking Group
• Gibson Young Solicitors
• Liberty UK
• Slaughter and May
• CMS Cameron McKenna

Find out about our Careers Service.