Research Degrees (MPhil/PhD) in Law
SOAS University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 years
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 4,670 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Request info
* full-time fees per academic year: UK/EU £4,670; Overseas £20,800. Part-time fees per academic year: UK/EU £2,335; Overseas £10,400
Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time
The LLM (Master in Laws) allows students to create their own programme structure, choosing courses from a wide range of subjects and perspectives, including comparative regional law, trade law, law and development, commercial law (including banking, copyright and patent law), human rights, environmental law, Islamic law, dispute resolution, and international law.
The LLM programme is a single subject law programme that may be taken over a period of one year (full-time), or part-time over a period of two, three or four years. Every student will be required to take taught modules equivalent to four full units. The dissertation will be worth an additional two full units and complete the LLM programme.
With permission of the LLM tutor, students will be entitled to select one complementary subject or the equivalent from comparable Master’s module at SOAS including appropriate language module. A complementary subject may be chosen in substitution for either a full or a half-subject.
Examinations for all taught modules will be held in May/June of each year and the dissertation will be due for submission during September of the final year of registration. The assessment for each module may vary according to the extent to which the research component of each module is to be stressed.
It is expected that all students will graduate with an LLM in law. It is possible, however, for students wishing to graduate with a ‘specialist’ degree, to do so by way of opting to take three or more modules from the relevant subject groupings below. In each case, the student must undertake a dissertation in that subject grouping
Gallery
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
First Year
Coursework
During the first year, MPhil/PhD candidates are required to attend the School of Law’s Postgraduate Research Training Seminar, whose purpose is to introduce them to the principal practical and methodological issues associated with postgraduate legal studies. This course introduces MPhil/PhD candidates to both an array of methodologies, as well as different bodies of legal scholarship and theory. MPhil/PhD candidates are also able to avail themselves of general seminars on research methodology offered by the SOAS Doctoral School.
By the beginning of the third term of the first year, MPhil/PhD candidates are required to hand in a draft Research Plan that is an integrated document based on the methodology paper, research paper, draft dissertation abstract, draft table of contents, draft bibliography and working schedule.
Upgrading
All doctoral candidates are first registered as MPhil candidates. The process of upgrading - that is, upgrading registration from MPhil to PhD - takes place at the end of the first year of study (or part-time equivalent) and involves all members of the Supervisory Committee in the assessment of the candidate's work to date. Specifically, the potential of the work to be developed into a PhD thesis of University of London standard. It is based on the Research Plan and a presentation of that plan to the Supervisory Committee. Candidates who are not upgraded in accordance with this process will not be eligible to proceed to submission of a PhD thesis, although they may proceed to submit for an MPhil at the end of two years of full-time registration or part-time equivalent.
Important notice: Doctoral students will be required to complete the Research Integrity Online Programme, as part of their upgrading requirement.
After Year 1
After their first year, doctoral candidates must carefully plan their time so that they can finish their draft thesis well in time before the end of their third year of registration. The process followed by each doctoral candidate is guided by their research project. This may include a period of field research if required by the nature of the project undertaken. Doctoral candidates are encouraged to take part in the Law School's research activities and events, including the PhD Colloquium, activities organised by Research Centres, informal reading groups, and the Law School Research Seminar series.
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
English Language Requirements
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