LLM in Human Rights

You must take this course:

• International Human Rights Law (520 credits, must be taken in semester 1)

  This course will focus on the international law of human Rights, primarily through looking at the U.N. system including Charter and Treaty bodies as well as looking at the links between International human rights law and other related fields such as International Humanitarian law and International Criminal law.

You can select between 60 and 100 credits of the following courses:

• Fundamental Issues in International Law (40 credits)
  This is a course aimed at introducing students to fundamental debates about the nature of international law and the international legal order today, and its relationship to states, markets, conflict, justice and human rights. The course is historical, conceptual, theoretical and legal. It introduces students to key ideas and arguments about where the international legal order is coming from and where it is going, what its building blocks are, and how those components are changing. A theme uniting the course is the extent to which the international legal order is shifting from a classical jus inter gentes to something else: a law of global governance, a global administrative law, a law of rights and regulation, or some combination.
   
• Inter-state Conflict and Humanitarian Law (20 credits)
  The course will comprise the study of conflict in international law. It will be concerned with the law relating to the resort to armed force by states. The law relating to self-defence will be studied. There will also be a focus on humanitarian law, in particular, on the law relating to entitlement to combatant status, on the law regulating the conduct of hostilities between opposing forces and the law on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. In addition, there will be a study of post-conflict issues.

• Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (20 credits)

  This course will examine the role of human rights in intra-state conflict and in peace processes. In particular it will examine how peace processes and agreements deal with power-sharing arrangements, transitional justice mechanisms, gender equality, and return of refugees. The course will examine the moral, political and practical dilemmas in dealing with these issues, and consider the extent to which human rights law provides useful guidance and requirements, or hinders conflict resolution efforts. The course will also touch on the overlapping requirements of international humanitarian law and international criminal law.

• Human Rights Law in Europe (20 credits)
  This course will look at the protection of human rights in Europe through a primary focus of the law of the European Convention on Human Rights. The course will also look at some other human rights instruments of the Council of Europe as well as human rights protection in the EU system.
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• Theories of the International Legal Order (20 credits)
  This course aims to provide students with an introduction to key positions and authors in the theory of international law. At the heart of the course is the question, what is the nature of the obligation created by international law and how do we understand its claim to authority? What are the foundations of the effectiveness - if any - of international law as a legal order? In attempting to answer these questions, we will examine works by, among others, Grotius, Vattel, Kelsen, Schmitt, Hart, Morgenthau, Koskenniemi and authors writing from within contemporary debates in international relations. Students doing the course will improve their literacy and their conceptual and analytical agility, and be encouraged to think about how these theoretical texts can (or cannot) shed light on specific problems in international law.

• Child Law in Comparative Perspectives (20 credits)
  This course aims to explore the legal status of children in Scots law, the law in other jurisdictions within the UK and the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Students from other jurisdictions will be encouraged and invited to share research findings from their home countries.

   

• Citizenship in Europe (20 credits)
  The aim of this course is to explore the multi-level governance framework for citizenship in Europe, looking at the national, sub-national and international/European levels at which law operates. The aim is to understand the classic notion of national citizenship in the context of developments such as European Union citizenship and the impact of supranational and international norms such as the ECHR, placing the law throughout in its wider political context.

• EU Immigration and Asylum Law (20 credits)
  The course is aimed to provide the students with the foundations of EU Immigration Law. They will engage in discussion on primary and secondary sources, as well as analysis of the centrepieces of the area. Through the involvement of practitioners, they will be exposed to different approaches and address the topics from a theoretical, and practical, points of view.

   

• Human Rights Law and Armed Conflict (20 credits)
  First, we will consider the extent to which human rights law can apply to armed conflict. In so doing we will examine the principal applicable sources of human rights law; identify, define, and classify the activities of armed forces; consider the relationship between international humanitarian law and human rights law; and analyse the extraterritorial application of human rights law. Second, we will look in detail at a range of military activities and analyse the relevant human rights law. This will include a consideration of lethal and non-lethal targeting, detention operations and air and maritime warfare. It will further consider a careful analysis of the right to life, freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and torture, and the right to liberty. Third, we will analyse the obligations on states to investigate alleged human rights law violations during armed conflict and the enforcement of human rights law. Finally, through an analysis of recent armed conflicts, we will consider the extent to which human rights law can impact the military effectiveness of armed forces and what, if anything, states can do to limit the effect of human rights law. Throughout the course we will consider both the theoretical legal framework applicable to armed conflict and the practical consequences of the application of a state¿s human rights law obligations.

• Global South Actors in International Relations and International Law, 1945-present (20 credits)
  Major powers were often dominant in constructing modern political and legal systems. However, Global South actors have also been a powerful but under acknowledged force in shaping world affairs. The subject of the course is how Global South organisations in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia have shaped political and legal norms and institutions in human rights, peace and security, and disaster management.

   

• Making International Law (20 credits)
  This course will explore the complex and subtle art of international law-making. Focusing on the variable actors and multilateral processes that monitor, add to and adjudicate questions of international law, one of the core aims of the course is strengthening the student¿s understanding of how new rules are created and how existing rules develop along with the global community in the context of shared values. In exploring these issues, students will critically examine questions relating to legitimacy and coherence of the international system. Students will compare approaches across different fields of international law and consider how variances feed into debates about fragmentation and enforcement. The class will complement the wider range of issues covered in Fundamental Issues in International Law.

• Conflict and Peaceful Transition in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (20 credits)
  Since the Cold War, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has witnessed a series of intrastate wars that are among the most prolonged conflicts in the world. As of 2021, there were nine states with active armed conflicts in the region. The failure of conflict resolution and the transition process in the region calls for new and critical approaches. This course provides students with theoretical and practical skills and contextualised knowledge of the EMR relating to transversal issues that interact with conflict and peaceful transition. Student will benefit from a deep and comprehensive vision of the region which will enhance their capacity to offer contextualised and integrative solutions to problematic situations introduced as real-life case studies.

   

You can select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses:

• Global Childhoods and Human Rights (20 credits)
• The Anatomy of Public Law (20 credits) 
• Surveillance and Security (20 credtis)
• Global Crime and Insecurity (20 credits)
• Advanced Comparative Constitutional Law (20 credits)
• Cybercrime and Cyber Security (20 credits)
• The Rule of Law (20 credits)
• Working in Conflict-affected Areas: Understand, Cooperate and Protect (20 credits)
• International Relations Theory (20 credits)
• Gender and Development (20 credits)
• Pursuing Justice after Violence (20 credits)

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 permission of the programme director.

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

View 2024-25 programme information for the LLM in Human Rights

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 human rights, 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.

As an alternative to the conventional dissertation, some students may have the chance to apply to complete a project-based report with an NGO, government department, political party, or other relevant business or organisation during the spring and summer.

You will undertake a research project on a human rights topic linked to the activities of your respective host. The research projects will need to be officially approved by the programme director, and you will have a relevant member of staff as a contact, in parallel with the arrangement for dissertation supervision.

Project opportunities will be made available on a competitive basis, with applications made at the start of semester two.

Placements will be competitive and candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of their marks for the previous semester, with employers making the final decision based on the student's personal statement.

You may also set up projects directly, subject to a formal process of approval by the programme conveners.

Nehal Bhuta joined Edinburgh Law School in 2018 from the European University Institute where he was Professor of Public International Law. His research interests include: International law, human rights, international humanitarian law, history and theory of international law, indicators in global governance, histories of rights, political theory, theory of the state, international criminal law.

Nehal is on sabbatical in semester 1 of the 2022-23 academic year.

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Paolo Cavaliere joined the Law School from September 2014 as a lecturer in Digital Media and IT Law. His main interests in research include the discipline of pluralism and diversity in the media, e-democracy and the relationship between new media and politics, regulation of audiovisual industries and digital media.

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Dr Deval Desai joined Edinburgh Law School in 2020 as Lecturer in International Economic Law. His work focuses on law and development, administrative law and regulation, (de)colonial patterns of knowledge and authority, and theories of the state in the Global South. He has taught on these topics on the European Joint Doctorate in Law and Development; the interdisciplinary masters programs at the Graduate Institute, Geneva; Harvard's Institute for Global Law and Policy; and as a visiting professor at Manchester, Northeastern Law School, SOAS, and the Universidad de los Andes.

Deval previously held research positions at Harvard Law School and the Graduate Institute -- where he helped establish and coordinate the Global Scholars’ Academy, to support collaboration and mentorship among junior faculty in the Global South. Deval serves on the editorial board of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, the Emerging Scholars Forum of Global Perspectives, and previously sat on the editorial board of the Harvard International Law Journal.

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Katy started off her career as a secondary school teacher of Economics and Accounting for seven years. She then graduated with an LL.B from Edinburgh University in 1992 and qualified as a solicitor in 2003.  From 2000 to 2007, she headed up the Scottish Child Law Centre. Katy is also a Safeguarder for the Children’s Hearing System, Child Welfare Reporter in Family Law Actions in Edinburgh Sheriff Court and trained and experienced mediator. Between 2002 and 2007, Katy lectured and taught at Edinburgh Law School on the LL.B, Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (DPLP) and Trainee Continuing Professional Development (TCPD) before being appointed as a Teaching Fellow in the Law School in 2008 and a Senior Teaching Fellow in 2014.

Katy’s particular area of interest is Child and Family Law and Mental Health Law. She co-authored the annotated Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (W Green) and is currently co-authoring a book on Children’s Rights.  Katy is the co-editor of the Family Law Bulletin (W Green). She is regularly invited to speak at conferences on child law matters. Katy is an active member of the Scottish Government’s Cross Party Groups on Children and Young People, and Mental Health.

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Dr. Kathryn Nash is a Chancellor’s Fellow in the University of Edinburgh Law School. Previously she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Political Settlements Research Program. She received her PhD in Politics and International Studies from SOAS University of London, and her research interests include global governance, the role of regional organizations in responding to complex crises, and peace and security. Her book – African Peace: Regional Norms from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union – was recently published by Manchester University Press.

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Juline Beaujouan is a passionate researcher and educator with transdisciplinary experience in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies and a keen interest in collaborative and responsible research practices. She is currently a Post-doctoral Research Fellow with the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), based at the University of Edinburgh. Juline is also a Senior Researcher with Open Think Tank (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute Defense and Security Program (Washington D.C.). 

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Jo Shaw has held the Salvesen Chair of European Institutions in the School of Law since January 2005. Since 2018, she has also held a part time visiting position in the New Social Research programme of Tampere University in Finland.

Between 2009-2013, she was Dean of Research of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, leading on research development and REF submission for the College. From 2014-2017 she was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities.

Since 2017, she has been working on a set of related projects on citizenship regimes: what they are and how they work. Her work has been supported by a EURIAS Fellowship at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (2017-2018) and a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2018-2020). She is also co-Director of the Global Citizenship Observatory. Her current work builds on research previously funded by the European Research Council and the Nuffield Foundation.

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Dr Asanga Welikala is a Lecturer in Public Law at Edinburgh Law School, The University of Edinburgh, and the Acting Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. He is also a Research Associate of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and Research Fellow of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Sri Lanka. Asanga's research interests lie in comparative constitutional law, applied constitutional theory, and Commonwealth constitutional history.

Asanga will be on sabbatical in semester 2 of the 2022-23 academic year.

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Elisenda Casanas Adam is a Lecturer in Public Law and Human Rights and a member of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law. Her main research interests lie in the comparative analysis of public law, focusing on the legal accommodation of national identity, the courts and the judiciary, devolution, judicial review and human rights. She has a special interest in the public law of Scotland and the United Kingdom, and of Catalonia and Spain.

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Leandro’s main research interests lie in EU Constitutional Law, EU Fundamental Rights Law, the law and policy of the EU Area of Freedom Security and Justice. He teaches and is courses organiser of courses in EU Law (Hons), EU Constitutional Law (LLM) and EU Fundamental Rights Law (LLM).

Leandro’s publications focus on the interaction amongst different areas of law and policy, such as crime, migration, and human rights. His first monograph analyses the legislative and judicial approach of the EU in the fields of substantive and procedural criminal law, immigration, citizenship and free movement.

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Stephen Neff's primary research interest is the history of public international law. He is the author of a book on the historical development of international economic law. His current focus is the history of the law of neutrality. Another major interest is international human rights law, from both the academic and the practical standpoints.

Stephen Neff's primary research interest is the history of public international law. He is the author of a book on the historical development of international economic law. His current focus is the history of the law of neutrality. Another major interest is international human rights law, from both the academic and the practical standpoints.

Stephen will be on sabbatical in semester 2 of the 2022-23 academic year.

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Luis is an international human rights lawyer and visiting lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, with particular expertise in economic, social and cultural rights. He leads this area of rights within the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Scotland’s National Human Rights Institution.

He has worked for more than 16 years both in practice and academia across Europe, Africa and the Americas. He has been a Human Rights Specialist at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; a Research Fellow at the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights; an Associate Lecturer at the University of Essex and the University of Pretoria and Georgetown University; a Legal Officer at the Program of Action in Education in Human Rights; a Program Officer at the Jesuit Refugee Service; and a consultant for several international and civil society organisations, including the Organisation of American States, the United Nations, and the Norwegian Union on Municipal and General Employees.

Paul Behrens joined the faculty in 2012. His principal research interests are international criminal law, diplomatic law, international humanitarian law and comparative constitutional law. He is an Associate of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Leicester University and member of the Surrey International Law Centre. Together with the director of the Stanley Burton Centre, he is the founder of an interdisciplinary research initiative which has hosted conferences on selected topics in the field of genocide studies.

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Michelle Burgis-Kasthala joined the Law School in September 2013. Her teaching focusses on public international law and international human rights law. Her research centres on the operation and contestation over international law across the Arab World.

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We require a minimum 2:1 honours degree from a UK university, or its international equivalent, in law. We will also consider candidates with a degree in a non-law subject if they can demonstrate advanced academic study in international relations and/or relevant professional or voluntary work. 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)
• C2 Proficiency, formerly known as Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

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

2. 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

Deadlines for applicants applying to study in the 2025-26 academic year will be published shortly.

We monitor application numbers carefully to ensure we are able to accommodate all those who receive offers. It may therefore be necessary to close a programme earlier than the published deadline and if this is the case we will place a four-week warning notice on the relevant programme page.

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