Access to Justice LLM

Program Overview

Access to Justice - 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 date:

September 2026

Overview

Access to Justice through legal education.

Summary

The LLM in Access to Justice (A2J) is a distinct and unique clinical legal education course in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland, there being no comparable courses at undergraduate or postgraduate level. The course gives students the opportunity to develop legal advice and advocacy skills by allowing them to represent appellants in Industrial and Social Security Tribunals. Students may also assist in Family Law proceedings and will receive training in client care and management, representation, Dispute Resolution and Family Law. Students will also have the opportunity to engage their interest in the provision of legal services more generally as they are required to develop and manage the ‘Ulster University Law Clinic’.

The function of the course is to supplement the existing range of legal service providers by focusing on, and meeting, ‘unmet legal need’ in the fields of Employment Law, Social Security Law and Family Law. In doing so, students are tasked to analyse ‘unmet legal need’, the availability and consumption of legal services and reflect on wider issues of access to justice, ‘equality of arms’, and dispute resolution.

About this course

About

The LLM A2J programme is a distinct and unique contribution to legal education in Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland, there being no comparable programme at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Its function is to supplement the range of legal service providers by focusing on, and meeting, unmet legal need in the fields of Employment Law, Social Security Law and Family Law, whilst giving students the opportunity to develop legal advice and advocacy skills and engaging their interest in the provision of legal services more generally.

To this end, students receive training in Social Security Law, Employment Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution & Employment Tribunal Representation in preparation for providing advice and advocacy, to members of the public with appeals before Social Security or Employment Tribunals. In semester two of year one students will choose an optional module to study - Employment Compliance & Development, Family Law in Practice or International Migration Law. Students will also receive training in client care and case handling with a view to assisting in client cases. This advice and representation will be provided through the ‘Ulster Law Clinic’ in semesters one, two and three. The programme also involves students in the development and management of the ‘Ulster Law Clinic’.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all classes associated with the programme and be punctual and regular in attendance. In semester 1, students will undertake taught modules in Social Security Law and Policy, Employment Law amd Alternative Dispute Resolution & Employment Tribunal Representation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Students will also receive training in client care and clinic management. In semester 2 & 3, students will be based at the Ulster Law Clinic where they will provide advice and representation to users of the Law Clinic. Students will also undertake an optional module, choosing from Employment Compliance & Development, Family Law in Practice or International Migration Law in addition to attending classes in the Dissertation module.

Modules are delivered via a combination of on-line sessions and in-person sessions.

Start dates

• September 2026

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Assessment relates to engagment in the Law Clinic inculding tasks such as legal drafting of case pleadings and documents, trial preparation, client representation and dispute resolution. Student clinicians will be required to undertake legal research and work in firms to complete assessed and assigned legal drafting under the supervision of case managers. Assessment is observational of casework and reflective assessment on case experiences.

Teaching is practically focused and led by Tier 1 professionals in the field, including subject specific master classes on key aspects of employment law, social security law and family law. Mock training exercise are lead by leading law firms and Legal-Island.

The content for each course is summarised on the relevant course page, along with an overview of the modules that make up the course.

Each course is approved by the University and meets the expectations of:

• the relevant generic national Qualification Descriptor
• the applicable Subject Benchmark Statement
• the requirements of any professional, regulatory, statutory and accrediting bodies.

Academic profile

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.

Standard entry conditions

Entry Requirements

You must satisfy the General Entry Requirements for admission to a first degree programme, and hold a GCSE pass in English at grade C or above (or equivalent).

Admission Requirements

Applicants must:

• have gained (i) a second class honours degree or better in law or law related discipline from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, from the Council for National Academic Awards, the National Council for Educational Awards, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or (ii) an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in law or an approved alternative qualification; or (iii) a degree in a relevant discipline with appropriate work/professional experience in the field of access to justice; or (iv) a comparable professional qualification; and
• provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent); or, as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b):
• In exceptional circumstances, where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.

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.

Exemptions and transferability

For a variety of reasons, not least the issue of insurance, no exemptions are granted for prior study, including from employment law and social security law.

Careers & opportunities

Career options

You will develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to 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.

The LLM A2J allows you to develop the analytical skills prized by employers in a wide range of career pathways within the United Kingdom, Ireland and internationally. Students obtain experience in all aspects of legal practice, from client-handling and case-related research, to advocacy and representation, as well as developing and managing a working Law Clinic. The degree is relevant to legal practice and policy, and to research and advocacy roles in the voluntary, public and private sectors. Successful completion also opens up a range of further study and research options.

We are proud to state that all our graduates to date have have transitioned into employment, practice or further academic study. The connections created by the referral network have generated opportunities for our graduates in the form of trainee solicitor positions with members of our referral network and advice organisations. Graduates have also been employed as research interns in the Law Society of Northern Ireland. Other students have taken up funded PhDs examining issues and concepts arising from their LLM studies, and continued working across the legal advice field.

Work placement / study abroad

Student clinicans will have placement with the Ulster Law Clinic. Students will undertake training and will providing specialist legal advice and representation on social security cases employment law cases and family law cases.

Students may also have the opportunity also engage in placement through the Social Justice Hub and/or collaboration with advice giving partners.

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.

See our tuition fees page for the current fees for 2025/26 entry.

Scholarships, awards and prizes

The LLM A2J has received considerable national and international recognition since the Clinic began in January 2013. The Ulster Law Clinic won the prestigious 2014 Law Works and Attorney General Award for best new pro bono activity in the UK, recognising the impact, innovation and sustainability of the Ulster Law Clinic pro bono legal support and partnership work with local and legal communities. The programme also won the Fulbright Public Sector Award 2014 and a nomination by the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law for its global Innovating Justice Award 2014 for ‘a novel idea that can deliver concrete justice results’. The Clinic was shortlisted for the 2016 and 2019 LawWorks and Attorney General Student Award for Best Contribution by a Law School in the UK, and was runner up in 2017 and 2023, recognising the continual quality and complexity of the Clinic's work and engagement with the legal community. The course won the 2017 Gradireland/Higher Education Awards for Postgraduate Course of the Year Award in Law. The Course was again shortlisted for 2019/20 awards.

The unique work of the Ulster Law Clinic is further endorsed by the continued support of our scholarship sponsors, A&O Shearman, which has sponsored Justice Scholarships and maintenance awards from 2015/16 to 2020/21. The scholarships have made a significant difference to the recipients, developing student's research and clinical capacity and the ability of the Clinic to deliver access to justice.

View Available Scholarships

See if you can access financial or other forms of support, including mentorship to excel in your studies.

Additional mandatory costs

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.