LLM in Human Rights
The LLM in Human Rights is designed to provide you with a theoretical and practical understanding of international human rights law in its broader political context, with a particular emphasis on human rights in times of transition, including conflict situations or other political and societal movements.
You will have the opportunity to not only explore the global role of human rights and the international and domestic machinery that promotes and enforces rights, but also how academic debates connect to the practice of human rights.
The programme has a flexible structure, including some interdisciplinary options, that enables you to tailor your curriculum to best suit your individual interests and career plans, drawing from a choice of specialised courses from the Law School and the School of Social and Political Science.
Edinburgh Law School is an ideal place to study human rights. With a history at the centre of the Scottish Enlightenment, we offer a unique academic space for the learning and research of human rights, which includes the University's Global Academies in the areas of Justice, Health, Development, Food and Environment and Society. Together, the Global Academies address crucial global challenges spanning the ambit of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights and each year offer abundant opportunities for students to explore the links between human rights and the fast-paced world around them. The School is also uniquely placed to maximise its relationships with the City of Edinburgh’s many and varied human rights and peace initiatives.
Despite what many in the press may lead the public to believe, human rights and the legal and political machinery that exist to promote and protect those rights are here to stay. Human rights language is embedded across international, regional and national legal frameworks and the LLM is designed to teach you how to use this language for the improvement of the world around you. Human rights increasingly permeates other legal fields and disciplines. Understanding the basis of these rights will inform you as to how use your education to contribute to a more sustainable social and environmental future.
Because human rights are prevalent across such a broad range of disciplines, graduates of our programme have the opportunity to find work across an unlimited field. In addition to specialising in human rights law as practitioners, past students have gone on to work for human rights courts, the diplomatic service, as policy analysts and researchers in the government or in civil society and advocacy organisations, to name but a few of the career paths that have been followed after completing the LLM in Human Rights.
As a leading research institution, those teaching on the human rights programme make a point of bringing their research insights into the classroom.
Whether exploring transitional justice negotiations, deliberating the role of human rights in constitution building, addressing fair trial issues in Guantánamo, teasing out the role of women in security strategies or understanding how national governments prioritise rights through law and policy, academic staff are eager to engage students in their projects. This not only provides real, practical insight into the theory of human rights, but animates the debates about human rights in our seminars.
Additionally, each week you will have the opportunity to attend multiple extracurricular events, adding a further layer of depth to the basic course offerings.
Edinburgh plays host to a wide-ranging schedule of academic and research events throughout the year. You will be able to subscribe to mailing lists in line with your preferences. Rarely does a day pass where there are no extra-curricular events taking place.
In addition to Edinburgh academics often speaking at research related seminars, academic visitors abound in Edinburgh. Through the variety of research centres, particularly the Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law and the Global Justice Academy, students are able to tailor an extracurricular calendar that meets all lines of theoretical, legal and interdisciplinary approaches to human rights. Furthermore, across the year we invite experts into the classroom to cover specific human rights issues in depth.
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If you have any questions about the LLM in Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.
This programme can be taken full time over one year or part time over two years, subject to visa restrictions, and gives you the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects across human rights, law, crime and criminal justice, as well as options from other disciplines. This enables you to tailor the programme 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 information for the LLM in Human Rights
Courses listed below are scheduled for the 2024-25 academic year.
Depending on demand, space on specific courses may be limited.
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. - 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.
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 Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.
Page update: Courses for the 2024-25 year were published on the 3rd May 2024.
Staff teaching on the core courses for the LLM in Human Rights for 2024-25 are experts in their field and are actively involved in cutting-edge research in various areas of human rights, international and public law.
Dr Kasey McCall-Smith - Programme Director 2024-25
Dr McCall-Smith is a senior lecturer in Public International Law and programme director for the LLM in Human Rights. She joined the Law School on a permanent basis in 2014. She is a US qualified lawyer and holds a BA and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas. She also holds an LLM and PhD from the University of Edinburgh.
She is an active researcher in international human rights law, treaty law and is interested in how different actors contribute to the development of international law, including the role of treaty bodies as generators of law. Dr McCall-Smith works alongside numerous civil society organisations and channels this practical experience into her teaching and programming on the LLM in Human Rights. She also has carried out extensive research on the issues of torture and fair trial in the US military commissions in Guantanamo and the conditions of detention, including how detention relates to the prohibition against torture.
Dr McCall-Smith’s work on treaty law focuses on reservations to and interpretation of treaties. While much of her work has focused on human rights treaties, particularly the ICCPR, ICESCR and UNCRC, her current work concerns the ways in which treaty law engenders coherence and divergence across different fields of international law.
Her current research projects include Understanding the Environmental Conditions of Detention and multiple projects focused on implementing the UNCRC Incorporation Act 2024 alongside colleagues in the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Find out more
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.
The staff teaching on this programme are subject to change for the 2024-25 academic year. 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 Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.
Find out what it's like to study for an LLM in Human Rights at Edinburgh Law School from our current and former students.
Daniel, from Romania but now lives in Canada, studied for an LLM in Human Rights in 2022/23 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.
Arnold, from The Republic of Armenia, studied for an LLM in Human Rights in 2021/22 graduating in 2022. 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.
Andreia, from Portugal, studied for an LLM in Human Rights in 2021/22 graduating in 2022. In this video she talks about her experience of studying for an LLM at Edinburgh Law School, life in Edinburgh and her plans for the future.
Daniel, from Denmark, studied for an LLM in Human Rights in 2019/20 graduating in 2020. In this video he talks about his experience of studying for an LLM at Edinburgh Law School, life in Edinburgh, completing his studies during the Covid-19 pandemic and his plans for the future.
Martina, from Italy, studied for an LLM in Human Rights 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.
Desiree studied the LLM in Human Rights in the academic year 2019-20, graduating in 2020.
I am British and Turkish-Cypriot, raised in a divided Cyprus. With first-hand experience of frozen conflict, a big draw for me in choosing the LLM in Human Rights at the Edinburgh Law School became the optional focus on conflict resolution curated by Professor Christine Bell. I was also very drawn to the possibility of a placement-based dissertation and the professional emphasis incorporated within the programme.
Throughout the year our professors took a genuine interest in our background and pursuits, seeking to incorporate these into the course structure. Seminars featured guest speakers presenting their expertise and were always interactive. I gained a renewed appetite for research and a better sense of my desired career path, in large part due to the course structure and enthusiasm of the teaching staff. The student cohort worked as a team from the get-go to overcome any challenges and make the most of the programme together.
Tanya, a student from South Africa studying the LLM in Human Rights in the 2019/20 academic year at Edinburgh Law School talks about her experiences of studying on the LLM.
Georgia, a student from Scotland, talks about her experience of studying the LLM in Human Rights at Edinburgh Law School.
Contact us
If you have any questions about the LLM in Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.
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 entryWe 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.
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:
- In a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI).
UKVI Majority English speaking countries
or
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
Contact us
If you have any questions about applying to the LLM in Human Rights please don't hesitate to contact us.