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LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

The LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law is designed to provide you with an advanced, multidisciplinary knowledge of the legal issues and techniques related to environmental protection, with special emphases on climate change and the marine environment.

Find out more about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law at our upcoming Postgraduate Virtual Open Days:

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Students standing in the Old College Quad

During your studies you’ll evaluate the historic and on-going development of international, European and national law for environmental protection, exploring the inter-relations between these different levels of law making.

You will develop the skills required to analyse the activity of international and supranational legal and political institutions, national governments and domestic courts, NGOs and businesses in the private sector, which are working in environmental protection and natural resources management.

You may also have the opportunity to take environment-related courses from other University of Edinburgh schools, including the School of Social and Political Science and the School of GeoSciences, and Edinburgh University Business School.

Environmental Law is a dynamic, fast-developing and globally important area of law that requires not only specialist legal knowledge but also understanding of underpinning political, economic and scientific issues.

Our LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law has been designed to address demand for this specialist knowledge and to serve as a gateway to employment and research opportunities in environmental law, protection and regulation.

The programme is designed for recent law graduates seeking a career in this field and law professionals or anyone working in an environmental field who would like to enhance their knowledge in this field to help further their existing career.

Many of our graduates go on to make a difference in exciting and relevant roles for organisations and businesses all over the world. Here are just a handful of examples:

  • Sustainable Development Advisor, Royal Dutch Shell, The Hague
  • Transatlantic Fellow, the Ecologic Institute, Berlin
  • Foreign Services Officer, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Intern, Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Bonn
  • Research Assistant on Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Overseas Development Institute, London
  • Judicial Department of the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment Agency

Edinburgh offers a thriving network of climate and environmental researchers and postgraduate students working and studying across many disciplines including: law, political science, geoscience, and development studies.

There are regular opportunities to engage with leading ‘environmental law practitioners’ through co-taught seminars,  professional development sessions and public lectures. The Programme Director is very happy to discuss your own interests in this respect early in the year so we can organise additional sessions if at all possible.

In partnership with Brodies LLP we also run an annual series of Environmental Law Seminars during the academic year, which we encourage you to attend. You can view past lectures by visiting our video channel on the University's media hopper platform.

Visit our Brodies Environmental Law Seminars video channel

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

We offer a wide range of subjects across environmental and climate change law from an international perspective, as well as options from other disciplines. This enables you to tailor the programme to meet your specific interests.

This programme can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years subject to visa restrictions. It offers a wide range of subjects that deal with various aspects of private law from a comparative perspective, with the possibility of choosing additional courses so as to enable you to tailor the LLM to meet your specific interests.

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. Full programme details for the 2024-25 academic year are available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View 2024-25 programme and course information for the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

Courses listed below are scheduled for the 2024-25 academic year.

Depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.

You must take these courses.

  • International Environmental Law (40 credits, full-year)

    This course explores the institutions, rules, and principles concerning the protection of the environment at the international level. The course is designed as an introductory course in order to develop students¿ knowledge of the key sources of international environmental law, their understanding of some of the most important treaties in this field, and an awareness of the challenges associated with the development and enforcement of international environmental law.

  • International Climate Change Law (20 credits, must be taken in semester 1)

    This course has two parts. The first explores the central international legal architecture addressing climate change, namely the  UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), its Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the Paris Agreement (2015). The second part of the course critically explores select advanced issues within the climate regime, analysing these issues in transnational and interdisciplinary framings.

You must select between 20 and 40 credits of the following courses:

  • Climate Change Litigation: Practice and Theory (20 credits)
    This course explores and critiques the emergent phenomenon of climate litigation, and the attendant regulatory regimes of major emitters. The jurisdictional scope of the course will be global, certainly well beyond the Anglo-American world which dominates the literature. There will be three major parts to the course: (1) theoretical approaches to activist litigation in general and climate litigation in particular, including typologies; (2) sectoral studies, i.e. coal, financial services and corporate accountability; and (3) jurisdictional analyses, in particular, China, US, EU, and India. Students should contact the course organiser if they have particular interests which are not covered by the above there may be scope for inclusion.
  • International Ocean Governance and the Protection of the Marine Environment (40 credits)
    The course provides an introduction to the fundamental pillars of the modern law of the sea, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as the key institutions, processes and actors involved in international ocean governance. It aims to identify opportunities for developing effective and integrated policies for the sustainable development of the seas, as well the challenges and barriers associated therewith.

You may be able to select between 0 and 40 credits from courses outside of the Law School depending on availability and with the express permission of the Programme Director.

  • Participation in Policy and Planning (20 credits)
  • Values and the Environment (20 credits) 
  • Sustainable Marine Development (20 credits)
  • Marine Ecosystems and Policies (20 credits)
  • Global Environment: Key Issues (20 credits)

Full programme details are available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View 2024-25 programme and course information for the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

 

You will have the option to take between 0 and 40 credits of courses from different subject areas offered by the Law School, depending on availability and with the express permission of the Programme Director. Depending on demand, space on courses may be limited.

Full programme details, including core and optional courses is available on the University Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study website.

View 2024-25 programme and course information for the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law

Having successfully completed 120 credit points of courses within the LLM, you will be ready to move onto a single piece of independent and in-depth research. The 10,000 word dissertation allows you to focus on a preferred topic from within the field of environmental and climate change law, normally based on a subject you have studied in one of your courses during the programme.

You will be assigned an academic dissertation supervisor who will provide you with support and guidance while you prepare and write your dissertation.

The dissertation is a challenging but rewarding endeavour, asking you to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the relevant literature and an ability to engage critically with a range of sources, drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed during the course of the programme. Students are encouraged to show originality and evidence of independent thinking, whether in terms of the material used, or the manner in which it is presented.

The dissertation is written in the summer months (April to August) after the taught courses are successfully completed.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances or lack of demand for particular courses, we may not be able to run all courses as advertised come the start of the academic year.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

 

Page update: Courses for the 2024-25 year were published on the 3rd May 2024. 

Staff teaching on the core courses of the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law for 2024-25 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of international, environmental and climate change law.

Professor James Harrison - Programme Director 2024-25

James Harrison joined the School of Law as a member of academic staff in July 2007. He holds law degrees from the University of Edinburgh (PhD, LLM) and the University of East Anglia (LLB). James teaches on a number of international law courses, including specialist courses in the international law of the sea, international environmental law, and international law for the protection of the marine environment. His research interests span these areas, considering how the legal rules evolve and interact, as well as examining how international law and policy influences the domestic legal framework. He also has a particular interest in the contribution of international courts and tribunals to the development of international law. James is an Annual Case Review Editor (International Environmental Law) for the Journal of Environmental Law.

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Navraj’s research and teaching address legal responses to climate change, with a focus on public and constitutional law. Current research projects include the:

  • ‘hidden’ places and spaces of climate litigation
  • climate implications of export credit agencies and their regulation
  • nature of intellectual property rights in the context of climate mitigation.

These research and practices areas come together in the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change, integrating cutting edge legal thinking with climate research in cognate disciplines including business and geosciences.

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Rozemarijn Roland Holst teaches and researches in the fields of international law of the sea, environmental law, and climate change law. Research themes include the interaction between law, science and new technology; global commons; international law and critical political economy; international organisations law; and international dispute settlement. She currently holds a Leverhulme Research Project Grant for the project ‘The Making and Unmaking of Global Commons by International Organisations’.

Prior to joining Edinburgh Law School, Rozemarijn held lectureships in International Environmental Law at Durham University, and in Public International Law at Utrecht University. She was a visiting research fellow at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Rozemarijn obtained her PhD (cum laude) from Utrecht University and holds an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law (with distinction) from the University of Edinburgh, and an LLB (cum laude) from the University of Amsterdam.

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Michael Hennessy Picard holds a PhD in Law from the University of Quebec in Montreal, for which he was awarded two Best Thesis Prizes by the Quebec Society of Law Professors and the Quebec Society of International Law. Before joining the Edinburgh Law School, Michael was a research fellow at the McGill Law Faculty, Harvard Law School’s Institute for Global Law & Policy, and University College London.

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The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for 2024-25. Staff listed as on sabbatical will not be available to teach for the duration of their sabbatical.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Find out what it's like to study for an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law at Edinburgh Law School from our current and former students.

Syafiah, Malaysia

Syafiah is a 2023 graduate of the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law at Edinburgh Law School. In this video, she talks about her experience studying the LLM and what it's like to live in the city of Edinburgh.

Hercules, from South Africa, studied for an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in the 2022/23 academic year, graduating in 2023. In this video he talks about his experience of studying for an LLM at Edinburgh Law School, life in Edinburgh and his plans for the future.

Aaron studied the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in the academic year 2021-22, graduating in 2022.

"My name’s Aaron, I’m Canadian-born and have lived in the United States most of my life. Prior to coming to Edinburgh, I studied Philosophy at Reed College and then worked there as an Assistant Dean of Admission. I attended the University of Edinburgh Law School’s LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law through a study abroad partnership with The University of Texas School of Law. As such, Edinburgh’s LLM Programme served jointly as the third year of my JD education in the US.

Global and Environment and Climate Change Law student Aaron

In my prior work and studies, I came to recognise that major global environmental issues, like climate change, marine pollution, and biodiversity collapse, are deeply international in nature. For this reason, I knew Edinburgh’s specialist degree would help me achieve a much deeper level of understanding. This is exactly what I received.

My favourite elements of my time in Edinburgh revolve around my classmates. Hailing from all over the world and multiple disciplinary backgrounds, I made friends who care immensely about the fate of our planet and doing something meaningful about it. Together, we marched in Glasgow during the COP26 conference (the primary conference surrounding the UN’s climate change efforts). Outside of class, we attended book talks in Edinburgh’s many bookstores; climbed Ben Lomond together; helped clean one of Edinburgh’s beaches; and explored the Isle of Skye. Today, I know that, whenever I need them, my classmates are a call away from helping me answer policy, scientific, or legal questions. The program also helped me secure a position at an American law firm working in environmental law, climate change, and energy transitions. "

Anna, from Gibraltar, studied for an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in the 2019/20 academic year, graduating in 2020. In this video she talks about her experience of studying for an LLM at Edinburgh Law School, life in Edinburgh, completing her studies during the Covid-19 pandemic and her plans for the future.

MacKenzie, from the USA, studied for an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in the 2019/20 academic year, graduating in 2020. In this video she talks about her experience of studying for an LLM at Edinburgh Law School, life in Edinburgh, completing her studies during the Covid-19 pandemic and her plans for the future.

Tulyada graduated from Edinburgh Law School's LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law programme in 2019.

Louise talks about her experience of studying for the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law at Edinburgh Law School.

Cecilia Alvarado Villarreal graduated from Edinburgh Law School's LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law programme in 2014.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk

Applications for the 2025-26 academic year are now open.

Please note that the information provided is for entry in the 2025-26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. 

This programme can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years subject to visa restrictions.

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.

We recommend that you apply as early as possible. This is particularly important for applicants who may need to allow sufficient time to take an English language test, for overseas students who may need time to satisfy necessary visa requirements and/or to apply for University accommodation.

Apply for September 2025 entry

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

Supporting your application

  • Relevant work experience is not required but may increase your chances of acceptance.
  • Relevant professional qualifications will be considered.
  • Preference will be given to those with grades above the minimum requirements due to strong competition for places on this programme.

International qualifications

You can check whether your degree qualification is equivalent to the minimum standard before applying.

Check your degree

Students from China

This degree is Band A.

Find out more about our postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

Postgraduate study in the field of law requires a thorough, complex and demanding knowledge of English, so we ask that the communication skills of all students are at the same minimum standard.

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

If you have already met our English language entry requirements for your programme at the time you apply, your application may be considered more competitive in selection than applications where you still need to take an English language test. 

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

Two year expiry

  • IELTS Academic / IELTS Academic for UKVI and IELTS Academic Online: total 7.0 (at least 7.0 in the writing component and 6.5 in each other module)
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 (at least 25 in writing and 23 in each other module)
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components
  • PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 73 in writing and 65 in all other components. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
  • Oxford ELLT (Global and Digital): 8 overall with at least 8 in the writing component and 7 in each other component

Three and a half year expiry

  • C1 Advanced, formerly known as Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): 185 (at least 185 in writing and at least 176 in the other modules)
  • C2 Proficiency, formerly known as Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE): 185 (at least 185 in writing and at least 176 in the other modules)

Your English language qualification must be no more than two years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins, unless you are using CAE/CPE, in which case it must be no more than three and a half years old on the first of the month in which the degree begins.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, that has been taught and assessed in English, either:

  1. In a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI).

UKVI Majority English speaking countries

or

  1. On our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries.

Approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the start of the month in which your programme of study begins.

Full details of the University's English language requirements are available on the University's website

Visit the University's English language requirements web page to find out more

Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes

We also accept satisfactory completion of our English for Academic Purposes programme as meeting our English language requirements. You must complete the programme no more than two years and one month before the start date of the degree you are applying to study.

Find out more about the University's Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes

Your application may not be successful if you do not currently satisfy any of these requirements; alternatively, you may be offered a place conditional on your reaching the satisfactory standard by the time you start the degree.

English language support

The University runs a series of programmes for English Language Education, including a pre-sessional English Language Programme intended to strengthen your English Language skills before you start your programme of study.

Find out more about English language support offered by the University

Due to high demand, this programme operates a gathered field approach to admissions, with two application deadlines as noted below.

Each application round has a decision deadline, also listed below, but note that we may make offers to the strongest candidates on an ongoing basis, in advance of the published decision deadline.

We strongly recommend that you apply as early as possible, especially if you intend to apply for funding. Applications may close earlier than published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand. If you are considering applying for our pre-sessional English Language programme, please make sure you apply in Round 1.

Please note that for an application to be reviewed, it must be a complete application by the deadline with all supporting documentation uploaded, including references and transcripts. English language documentation can be submitted later but if you have already met the English language entry requirements for your programme at the time of application, your application may be considered more competitive in selection than applications where an English language test still needs to be taken.

Selection deadlines

Round Application deadline Decisions by
1 13 January 2025 17 April 2025
2 29 May 2025* 30 June 2025

Deadlines for UK/Scotland fee status

After round 2, if there are still places available, applications will remain open only to applicants who are eligible for the UK/Scotland fee rate, including the EU/EEA Pre-settled Scotland fee status. Applications will remain open no later than 30 June 2025 and may close earlier than this if the programme becomes full, so we strongly recommend you apply as soon as possible.

If you apply with another fee status after 29 May 2025, your application will be rejected.

Please note that the deadline for meeting the conditions of an offer is 15 August 2025.

*Corrected from 20 June 2025

Applications are made online via the University Application Service, EUCLID.

Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure that you have included the following documentation with your application:

  • You will need to submit a personal statement of around 500 words, outlining your academic history and relevant experience. 
    Guidance on writing your personal statement.
  • Degree certificates showing award of degree.
  • Previous academic transcripts for all past degree programmes (please upload the full transcript showing results from all years of study). If you haven’t yet graduated, you may be asked to upload an interim transcript for any degrees that you are currently studying.
  • A reference in support of your application. The reference should be academic and dated no earlier than one year from the start of study on the LLM programme.
    Reference requirements
  • Evidence of English language proficiency, if required.

If you are currently studying for your degree or you are not in a possession of an English test result you may still apply to the programme. Please note that it is your responsibility to submit the necessary documents.

Please be aware that applications must be submitted and complete, i.e. all required documents uploaded, by the relevant application deadline in order to be considered in that round. Your application will still be considered if you have not yet met the English language requirement for the programme.

View full detailed application guidance

Students at this University must not undertake any other concurrent credit bearing studies in this (or in any other) institution, unless the College has granted permission. The College must be satisfied that any additional credit-bearing studies will not restrict the student’s ability to complete their existing programme of study. Students will not be permitted to undertake concurrent degree programmes in any circumstances.

If you are studying at this or another institution just prior to the start of your postgraduate studies you must have finished these studies before the start of the programme to which you have an offer.

After your application has been submitted you will be able to track its progress through the University's applicant hub.

Application processing times will vary, however the admissions team will endeavour to process your application within four to six weeks of submission. Please note that missing documentation will delay the application process.

You will be informed as soon as possible of the decision taken. Three outcomes are possible:

  • You may be offered a place unconditionally
  • You may be offered a conditional place, which means that you must fulfil certain conditions that will be specified in the offer letter. Where a conditional offer is made, it is your responsibility to inform the College Postgraduate Office when you have fulfilled the requirements set out. 
    Please note that the deadline for meeting the conditions of an offer is 15 August 2025.
  • Your application may be unsuccessful. If your application has not been successful, you can request feedback from us or refer to our guidance for unsuccessful applicants, which explains some of the common reasons we why we reach this decision.
    View the University's guidance for unsuccessful applicants

Deferring your offer

We do not normally offer deferrals, however, we may be able to make a very limited number of offers for deferred entry in exceptional circumstances.

View full guidance on deferral requests

If you receive an offer of admission, either unconditional or conditional, you will be asked to pay a tuition fee deposit of £1,500 (within 28 days of receiving your offer) to secure your place on the programme.

Find out more about tuition fee deposits

The University’s terms and conditions form part of your contract with the University, and you should read them, and our data protection policy, carefully before applying.

University of Edinburgh admissions terms and conditions

Apply for September 2025 entry

Contact us

If you have any questions about applying to the LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law please don't hesitate to contact us.

pg.law.enquiries@ed.ac.uk