Program Overview

Introduction to the LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

The LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice is designed for those who wish to pursue a career in criminal law, criminal justice, policy work, or academic research. This cutting-edge and intellectually demanding programme will equip students with an advanced knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and theories underpinning criminal law and criminal justice and how they operate in practice.

Programme Structure

The programme covers the following core areas:

• Current issues in criminal law and criminal justice
• Fundamental principles of substantive and procedural criminal law
• Criminalization
• International, transnational, and European criminal law
• Sexual offending
• Global crime and insecurity
• The penal process
• Different approaches to understanding and critiquing criminal law and criminal justice, including doctrinal, comparative, theoretical, and socio-legal methods

Why Study Criminal Law and Criminal Justice?

The programme is suitable for students who have studied law or a related subject at undergraduate level and wish to develop a specialist understanding of criminal law and criminal justice. It offers rigorous preparation for students considering further work in the fields of criminal law and criminal justice, for example, in academic research, legal practice, government departments, criminal justice agencies, voluntary organisations in the crime and justice field, or in international organisations such as the United Nations.

Research Environment

At Edinburgh Law School, there is an expertise base that encompasses a diverse range of approaches to criminal law and criminal justice, including theoretical, doctrinal, socio-legal, comparative, and critical approaches. Academics teaching on the LLM degree in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice are active researchers in the field and are also involved in policy development and law reform at a national, European, and international level.

Guest Lectures and Seminars

By joining this LLM, students will become part of a thriving academic community. The school runs a fortnightly Crime, Justice and Society seminar series during the year, at which guest speakers present their latest research. Students are also welcome to join related seminars within the School, including those in legal theory, public law, international law, and empirical legal studies.

Programme Details

This programme can be studied full-time over one year or part-time over two years, subject to visa restrictions. The degree and expectations for both modes of study are equally rigorous. Edinburgh Law School offers a wide portfolio of courses in criminal law and criminal justice. On taught courses, studies will be led by members of the Law School academic community.

Courses

The programme consists of 180 credits, comprising taught courses worth 120 credits (60 credits per semester) and a 10,000-word dissertation worth 60 credits.

Compulsory Courses

Students must take the following courses:

• General Principles of Criminal Law (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 1)
• Current Issues in Criminal Law (20 credits, must be taken in Semester 2)

Optional Courses

Students must select between 40 and 80 credits of the following courses:

• Criminal Justice and Penal Process (20 credits)
• EU Criminal Law (20 credits)
• Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)
• International Criminal Law (20 credits)
• Police and Policing (20 credits)
• Responding to Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)
• Sentencing: International Perspectives (20 credits)
• Sexual Offending and the Law (20 credits)

Dissertation

The 10,000-word dissertation allows students to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of criminal law, normally based on a subject studied in one of the courses during the programme. Students are supported with their independent research in several ways, including targeted opportunities to develop research and writing skills, advice on formulating an appropriate research topic, and feedback on developing a specific research question.

Staff

Staff teaching on the programme are experts in criminal law and criminal justice and often engage in research-led teaching. The staff include:

• Dr. Gabrielle Watson, Programme Director
• Dr. Andrew Cornford
• Professor Chloë Kennedy
• Professor Sharon Cowan
• Dr. Dominic Aitken

Entry Requirements

We require a minimum 2:1 honours degree from a UK university, or its international equivalent, in law or a social science subject. Entry to this programme is competitive. Meeting minimum requirements for consideration does not guarantee an offer of study.

English Language Requirements

Postgraduate study in the field of law requires a thorough, complex, and demanding knowledge of English. The University accepts the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 (at least 7.0 in the writing component and 6.5 in each other module)
• TOEFL-iBT: total 100 (at least 25 in writing and 23 in each other module)
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 8 in the writing component and 7 in each other component
• C1 Advanced: 185 (at least 185 in writing and at least 176 in the other modules)
• C2 Proficiency: 185 (at least 185 in writing and at least 176 in the other modules)

Application Deadlines

Due to high demand, this programme operates a gathered field approach to admissions, with two application deadlines. Each application round has a decision deadline, but the admissions team will make as many offers as possible to the strongest candidates on an ongoing basis, in advance of the published decision deadline.

Terms and Conditions of Admissions

The University's terms and conditions form part of the contract with the University, and students should read them, and the data protection policy, carefully before applying.