Program Overview

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Gender and Human Rights - LLM

2026/27 Full-time Postgraduate course

Award:

Master of Laws

Faculty:

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

School:

School of Law

Campus:

Belfast campus

Start dates:

• September 2026
• January 2027

Overview

A postgraduate course dedicated to the study of gender and human rights.

Summary

The LLM Gender and Human Rights draws on the established research excellence of the Transitional Justice Institute to deliver a world-leading masters programme in the field.

This programme has been developed to enable students to:

• Gain a systematic understanding, in-depth knowledge and critical awareness of the differential experiences of women and men of human rights norms and institutions, including in conflict and post-conflict situations;
• Understand foundational concepts in gender theory and their application to human rights, international law and transitional justice;
• Gain knowledge and skills in carrying out research projects from design to write-up;
• Enhance skills in critically appraising published and commissioned research;
• Develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to gender policy, research and advocacy roles in the voluntary, public and private sectors in the UK, Ireland and beyond;
• Successful completion may also open up a range of further study and research options.

About this course

About

The programme has been structured to ensure that students obtain a strong academic grounding in gender theory including women's rights. The theme of the programme is 'from local to global and back', exploring the symbiotic relationship between international and municipal law through a gendered lens. The programme addresses the various mechanisms by which women's rights and gender issues rights agenda can be, and have been, advanced at international, regional and municipal levels, and the manner in which knowledge, expertise and experience between these levels has been and continues to be transferred. The programme addresses global challenges like migration and climate change in different modules while overall the programme embodies research and study essential to several Sustainable Development Goals including SDG5 (Gender equality), SDG10 (reduced inequalities), SDG16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions).

Modules

Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.

Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand.

All modules are 20 credits, except for the dissertation which is worth 60 credits. Full-time students take 60 credits per semester.

Semester 1 refers to the Autumn semester and semester 2 to the Spring Semester so students starting in January start off with ‘Semester 2’ modules.

Year 1

Semester 1

• LAW838 Gender and Human Rights (Compulsory)
  • Module description: This module sets out the core elements of national, regional and international human rights law with regard to the protection of women's rights and gender rights. It aims to acquaint students with societal issues affecting women and gender minorities, and to how the law may respond to and regulate those issues. The module also aims to introduce students to feminist legal theory and its application to human rights laws and policies, to enable students to interrogate contemporary debates on gender through a critical lens.
• LAW821 Foundations of International Human Rights Law (Compulsory)
  • Module description: This module seeks to give students a solid overview of the philosophical and doctrinal foundations of international human rights law and related enforcement mechanisms. Students will examine the institutional actors associated with the international human rights movement (legislative, judicial, non-juridical and the role of national human rights institutions. The module seeks to provide students with: (a) knowledge of the basic theoretical concepts of international human rights law; (b) The ability to analyse and become familiar with international treaty documents and bodies pertaining to human rights; (c) Understanding of human rights law in the broader context of public international law including its relationship to other branches of international law; and (d) Critical exploration of a number of contemporary problems and issues facing the international human rights community.
• LAW805 Foundations of Transitional Justice (Optional)
  • Module description: The module aims to give students a detailed grasp of contemporary transitional justice debates. It is built around ensuring student familiarity with the historical and theoretical underpinnings of current transitional justice discourse and practice. It also develops knowledge and understanding of both the normative and institutional aspects of the complementary legal regimes of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Students will also tackle pressing and very real contemporary dilemmas in transitional societies.
• LAW810 Economic Social and Cultural Rights (Optional)
  • Module description: This module aims to enable participants to deepen their understanding of the specific policy and legal challenges faced in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights arising, inter alia, from questions related to foundations of ESCRs, measurement of the progressive realization of ESCRs and the justiciability of these rights, and to develop suggestions how to face these challenges and to strengthen students' analytical skills.

Semester 2

• LAW811 Equality Law (Compulsory)
  • Module description: This module sets out the core elements of the Northern Irish equality law regime in its British, European and international context. It aims to acquaint students with the evolution of equality law policy across a spectrum of non-discrimination and equality concepts and in relation to a complementary range of enforcement mechanisms, including comparative constitutional mechanisms, culminating in the prospects of the future development of a coherent equality law model, nationally, regionally, and internationally.
• LAW817 Research and Advocacy Methods (Compulsory)
  • Module description: The module aims to: 1. Provide students with an overview of relevant research skills and methodology such that they understand the range of available sources and methodologies which they can use and apply to a human rights law and/ transitional justice, gender, conflict and human rights problem. 2. Provide students with guidance on how to identify and find relevant sources and materials. 3. Enable students to extract the essential points from those sources and materials 4. Enable the students to acquire confidence in exploring their research ideas and the skill to formulate a research proposal. 5. Introduce students to the research guidance. 6. Introduce students to key issues in advocacy such as navigating parliamentary resources and writing consultation responses. 7. Provide students with the skills to research and to write up a dissertation following guidance regarding presentation, word limit, time-management; and relations with their supervisor/s.
• LAW778 Public International Law and Contemporary Global Challenges (Optional)
  • Module description: The aims are to ensure that students have an understanding of the various applicable sources and regimes of public international law. This will assist students consolidate their knowledge and understanding across other modules in the programme, and will provide a helpful basis for those who wish to engage with public international law in dissertations, or further research and work. The module will: equip students with the ability to locate relevant legal instruments, cases and, soft law documents; and introduce students to key debates and critiques within public international law literature, scholarship, and practice. Further, the aim is to enable students to further develop a range of additional skills, including oral and written legal skills and research skills. Upon completion, students will have a broad understanding of the theory and sources of public international law as well as selected specialised international law regimes.
• LAW777 International Migration Law (Optional)
  • Module description: The aim is to ensure that students have an understanding of the various applicable sources of law, are able to locate relevant cases and statutes, and gain an awareness of the key debates and critiques within international migration law literature. Students should further develop a range of additional skills, including oral and written legal skills, research skills, and technical skills, including podcasting. While not all students will proceed to undertake migration-law work in the law clinic as part of their LLM, this module additionally aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge to undertake such work, should they choose to do so.

Semester 3

• LAW827 Dissertation (Compulsory)
  • 60 credits
  • Module description: Anyone undertaking an advanced Masters programme in Human Rights and Transitional Justice as well as in Gender and Human Rights can be expected to be able to demonstrate an ability to investigate, report and analyse in a coherent and systematic manner on a particular issue, integrating law, policy and practice where appropriate. This module affords students the opportunity to demonstrate this ability, especially by drawing upon skills and knowledge acquired from taught modules, in particular from the theoretical models and concepts.

Attendance

Attendance is compulsory for successful completion of the LLM. Modules are delivered through weekly classes. Each 20 credit module on average involves 3 hours of contact time per week with total effort hours over the semester of 200 per module (36 hours contact, 164 hours independent study).

Start dates

• September 2026
• January 2027

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

The LLM in Gender and Human Rights is offered on a full-time and part-time basis. The LLM is 3 semesters full-time or 6 semesters part-time.

All modules are worth 20 credits. One credit point represents 10 notional hours of student effort.

Structure/Coherence/Choice

In order both to maximize the module options available to students, and to offer modules which reflect staff expertise and that are viable (in terms of student numbers), all modules have 20 credit credit points each. This enables the programme to share modules with other programmes in the School and University.

A significant dissertation element is also contained in the degree programme. Students' ability to plan and write a dissertation project under academic supervision is a crucial aspect of postgraduate studies, and one of the factors attracting students to a degree of this nature. During the compulsory and optional taught modules, students are encouraged to develop their perspectives on suitable topics for their dissertation and to acquire legally-based research skills to carry out postgraduate research. In this regard, the LAW817 Research and Advocacy Methods module will dovetail nicely with the LAW827 Dissertation module as students will be formally assessed on a written research proposal. This will help students to prepare for the dissertation through improving their communication, research and legal skills. In so doing, successful students will have the necessary qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment and for continuing professional development.

Full-time students study LAW821 Foundations of International Human Rights Law and LAW838 Gender and Human Rights in Semester 1 and choose one module from either LAW810 Economic Social and Cultural Rights or LAW805 Foundations of Transitional Justice.

In semester 2 full-time students take LAW817 Research and Advocacy Methods and two of the optional modules LAW778 Public International Law and Contemporary Global Challenges, LAW777 International Migration Law or LAW811 Equality Law. There is an option for students to start in January and so complete the modules in a different order; modules have been designed to allow this.

Part-time students: In the first year they are recommended to take LAW821 Foundations of International Human Rights Law and LAWLAW838 Gender and Human Rights. In year 2 they take LAW817 Research and Advocacy Methods and remaining optional modules.

With the exception of the dissertation all modules are assessed by two pieces of coursework, e.g., a blog or case study and an essay, etc.

Academic profile

The overall aim of the programme is to gain a systematic understanding, in-depth knowledge and critical awareness of the differential experiences of women and men of human rights norms and institutions, including in conflict and post-conflict situations;

• Understand foundational concepts in gender theory and their application to human rights, international law and transitional justice;
• Gain knowledge and skills in carrying out research projects from design to write-up;
• Enhance skills in critically appraising published and commissioned research;
• Develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to gender policy, research and advocacy roles in the voluntary, public and private sectors in the UK, Ireland and beyond;

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Standard entry conditions

We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.

Entry Requirements

A second class Honours degree or above or equivalent recognised qualification in Law, Social Sciences, Humanities or a cognate discipline. Allowance may be made for special qualifications, experience and background, and students with other academic backgrounds will be considered, where applicants can demonstrate their ability to undertake the programme through the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) or accreditation of prior learning (APL).

English Language Requirements

• English language requirements for international applicants: The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.
• Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.

Careers & opportunities

Career options

Previous graduates have gone onto positions in the local human rights sector and public sector in Northern Ireland, research and policy officer positions, to legal practice in areas related to the LLM and to PhD research. Further, previous graduates have secured work in the United Nations and in international non-governmental organisations.

Fees and funding

10% Alumni Discount

Are you a graduate of Ulster University? Did you know you could be eligible for a 10% fees discount.

Tuition Fee Loans Available

Students domiciled in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and UK students can apply to Student Finance NI for a Tuition Fee loan of up to £6,500 (subject to eligibility).

2026/27 Fees

Postgraduate fees are subject to annual review, 2026/27 fees will be announced in due course.

Scholarships, awards and prizes

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Dissertation Prize

See the Ulster University Scholarships page for opportunities.

We have welcomed scholarship holders in the past including holders of Chevening, Fulbright, Sweeney and GREAT scholarships.

Additional mandatory costs

N/A

It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.

Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.

There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.

Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.